Brewers Hitters in September

[Greenleaf1]

I was curious to see how a lot of hitters finished since so many of them are young with room for improvement and may have had some long stretches of failure before success (Broxton/Arcia), so just wanted to see how they finished. Here's a list:

 

Impressive:

- Keon Broxton: .311/.380/.556 in 13 games (50 PA), 3 HR, 4/7 SB

- Chris Carter: .232/.328/.586 in 29 games (116 PA), 11 HR

- Jonathan Villar: .227/.333/.536 in 28 games (115 PA), 8 HR, 12/14 SB

- Domingo Santana: .289/.343/.557 in 26 games (105 PA), 7 HR, 2/2 SB

 

Solid (or Expected but not overly Impressive):

- Ryan Braun: .273/.323/.511 in 23 games (96 PA), 6 HR, 2/4 SB

- Scooter Gennett: .263/.322/.513 in 26 games (88 PA), 4 HR

- Orlando Arcia: .245/.286/.406 in 28 games (112 PA), 2 HR, 5/5 SB

 

Not Great:

- Hernan Perez: .267/.294/.343 in 28 games (109 PA), 0 HR, 8/11 SB

- Manny Pina: .222/.300/.333 in 16 games (40 PA), 1 HR

 

Susac did ok but only had 19 PA (.789 OPS, 1 big homer). Maldonado was average Maldonado (.685 OPS, 2 HR)

 

Reed (.432), Rivera (.572), Nieuwenhuis (.406) didn't do much in limited playing time but I won't exactly hold that against them since they all at least provided good defense.

 

I put Arcia in solid even though his numbers are comparable to Perez just due to expectation, and Arcia providing more value on defense at a premium position. He's also still getting accustomed to the big leagues, and his .406 SLG plus 5/5 in stolen bases was pretty good for him. He's still on the verge between solid and not great, but I like his chances to improve next year.

 

Hoping that all 4 impressive guys can keep it up next year, they should be big parts of the team next year.

 

Scooter finished strong and will hopefully be providing value to some other team next year.

[JohnBriggs12]

"Scooter finished strong and will hopefully be providing value to some other team next year"

 

He's one of just 2 LH bats in the regular lineup. The other is Villar. Nieuwenhuis by default saw extensive playing time but his numbers aren't worthy of regular duty. I don't think he's a sure thing to be playing elsewhere in 2017. Besides his value in the trade market is likely to be rather tepid.

 

Brewer team OPS vs. RHP was just .716 contrasted with .764 vs. LHP. They have tremendous room for improvement vs. RHP. They should be adding LH bats not subtracting them.

[Greenleaf1]

Villar has been playing a good amount of 2nd base lately, that seems like an indicator that the Brewers are thinking of moving him there next year. If that happens, Gennett is gone no matter what.

 

He's also due a bump in pay, so I can't imagine we'd pay him more to ride the bench.

 

It's possible he returns as a platoon at 2nd, but I think we try to find him another home this offseason.

[JohnBriggs12]

Villar has been playing a good amount of 2nd base lately, that seems like an indicator that the Brewers are thinking of moving him there next year. If that happens, Gennett is gone no matter what.

 

He's also due a bump in pay, so I can't imagine we'd pay him more to ride the bench.

 

It's possible he returns as a platoon at 2nd, but I think we try to find him another home this offseason.

 

They're way too right handed offensively as they posted a very poor team .716 OPS vs. RHP. No reason Villar can't shift between 3B and 2B. Unless they find a big time LH bat to replace Braun, assuming he's traded or deal another RH bat for a LH one, they need Scooter to help balance out the lineup.

 

Bump in pay will be insignificant considering low payroll. Gennett will likely get no more than $2.5 million in arby, tops.

[tmwiese55]

This has been talked about before but I don't see any reason to worry about RH vs LH next year. That is the type of thing you worry about when contending, not now. You don't play Scooter, who we know is what he is, over someone with some kind of potential just because we need a lefty. I might factor it into future targets when you're acquiring people but the daily balance of the lineup to me is irrelevant.

[JohnBriggs12]

This has been talked about before but I don't see any reason to worry about RH vs LH next year. That is the type of thing you worry about when contending, not now. You don't play Scooter, who we know is what he is, over someone with some kind of potential just because we need a lefty. I might factor it into future targets when you're acquiring people but the daily balance of the lineup to me is irrelevant.

 

That's where I differ. Every major league season is precious. Purposely not putting your team into position to improve (when the path is so obvious and not detrimental to long range goals) hurts in the long run. The young players on this team need to learn how to play in pressure situations. I'd go out and get a LH hitting OF to spell Braun and be in soft platoon with Santana who hit just .231/.318/.408 vs. RHP as opposed to .312/.404/.532 vs. LHP. It's a glaring need that won't go away in 2018 either unless it's addressed. Nieuwenhuis just isn't quite up to that role. Neither was Flores, but the fact that both were tried showed they recognize that they needed a balance regardless of where they are in rebuild process.

[Outlander]

Ultimately it only matters what Stearns and Counsell think. This weekend Counsell indicated that they would have been a much better offensive team with left handed options, however it doesn't mean Stearns will provide Counsell with that player or players. Maybe it is an indication however that Counsell will give Scooter plenty of playing time if he is still on the team.

[MrTPlush]

I could see them keeping Gennett and continue to float Villar around the diamond. I don't know if Villar playing second necessarily means Gennett will be traded. It isn't like he would get much of a raise off of league minimum as a 1st year arbitration player. A lot of fans seem to really lik him and he is a good guy so I might just keep him if no one really offers anything in a trade. Not like there is anyone demanding his roster spot at this point.

[tmwiese55]

This has been talked about before but I don't see any reason to worry about RH vs LH next year. That is the type of thing you worry about when contending, not now. You don't play Scooter, who we know is what he is, over someone with some kind of potential just because we need a lefty. I might factor it into future targets when you're acquiring people but the daily balance of the lineup to me is irrelevant.

 

That's where I differ. Every major league season is precious. Purposely not putting your team into position to improve (when the path is so obvious and not detrimental to long range goals) hurts in the long run. The young players on this team need to learn how to play in pressure situations. I'd go out and get a LH hitting OF to spell Braun and be in soft platoon with Santana who hit just .231/.318/.408 vs. RHP as opposed to .312/.404/.532 vs. LHP. It's a glaring need that won't go away in 2018 either unless it's addressed. Nieuwenhuis just isn't quite up to that role. Neither was Flores, but the fact that both were tried showed they recognize that they needed a balance regardless of where they are in rebuild process.

 

I'd argue that the way to improve your team is to play a person with the upside to improve rather than a Scooter or Kirk type getting that person's ABs just because they're lefty. You even said, the young guys need to be put in pressure situations, that means playing them rather than giving their ABs to people who have no place in our long term future just to get a lefty in there.

 

When it comes to backups though, yes I'd factor that in. I'd prefer the backup OF to be lefty if possible but I wouldn't let it be the deciding factor on keeping a Kirk if you have a youthful person who might have a shot to be here a while. I have no beef with Scooter, good guy to have had but his being limited to only 2B hurts his chances here. But who knows, he can still be considered the 'backup' at all 3 IF spots because the other two guys can play anywhere. So he can come in at 2B and the other guys move.

[MKE81]

Briggs, I disagree regarding LH bats. They should be adding talent regardless of whatever form that comes in. Is it great to have balance in that regard? Of course. But given we aren't competing for the playoffs next year I personally could care less about that then. The lefties will be in the lineup by the time they're playoff contenders. I think Scooter needs to be gone during winter for sure. He serves no purpose on this team as he blocks Villar from playing 2b, a position that will be his best for defense. Yes that opens up 3b to be back-filled but even if Perez stepped in you upgrade the IF defense by plenty. And even though he might have a lower OBP than Scooter he'll provide similar or more pop while providing much more speed. Plus, like Villar, he's versatile in the field. Scooter is hitting arby years and has 3yrs of control coming off a bounce back year. Someone will take him on even if it's in a platoon role given he's a young, experienced lefty.

 

Susac had limited PT after coming up and in that type of situation I don't pay attention to what they do off the bench vs when they start. Susac started 4 games with a 286/375/946 line. Clearly he's not repeating that for a full season but he should be given every opportunity to start next year. It's realistic to see a 260/330/780 line with 15HR, which is a huge upgrade to Maldy. I like Maldy but he needs a change of scenery with Pina stepping in alongside Susac.

 

I think Stearns fills 3b via trade and tries to acquire someone like a Villar - talented but in a situation where it's difficult for them to break through. I also wouldn't mind if he takes Cecchini off the 40 man resigning him with a ST invite. He's a happy medium between Perez from last year and this year while being a lefty (there's your plug Briggs:) Even if him and Perez split time there it makes sense. He could eventually provide value off the bench moving forward considering he plays both corners. He can be a contributor and have a MLB career regardless of not having a lot of power.

[MKE81]

This has been talked about before but I don't see any reason to worry about RH vs LH next year. That is the type of thing you worry about when contending, not now. You don't play Scooter, who we know is what he is, over someone with some kind of potential just because we need a lefty. I might factor it into future targets when you're acquiring people but the daily balance of the lineup to me is irrelevant.

 

That's where I differ. Every major league season is precious. Purposely not putting your team into position to improve (when the path is so obvious and not detrimental to long range goals) hurts in the long run. The young players on this team need to learn how to play in pressure situations. I'd go out and get a LH hitting OF to spell Braun and be in soft platoon with Santana who hit just .231/.318/.408 vs. RHP as opposed to .312/.404/.532 vs. LHP. It's a glaring need that won't go away in 2018 either unless it's addressed. Nieuwenhuis just isn't quite up to that role. Neither was Flores, but the fact that both were tried showed they recognize that they needed a balance regardless of where they are in rebuild process.

So you want to platoon Santana because, as a first full season player (which was half of that due to injury), he slashed 231/318/408 vs RHP while just turning 24 a couple months ago. You don't platoon guys like Santana, soft or otherwise, for obvious reasons (I mean, clearly you do because Santana is the guy that forced the trade of your boy Davis so you don't like him by default). 2012 A+ vs RHP he slashed 307/394/951 - 2013 AA 242/332/815 - 2014 AAA/MLB 264/360/775 - 2015 AAA/MLB 288/385/888. But hey, again, that would require people to look beyond this past season to see if 2016 has a trend, which it clearly doesn't. For comparison Davis was 241/299/815 vs RHP this year with 32% of those hits being HRs. Santana will be just fine vs RHP.

[danzig6767]

Scooter needs to go bye bye, 2nd base full time as many others have stated should go to Villar who not only is a vastly superior hitter, he'll offer more range and a better arm defensively. Thirdbase is something Stearns can try to address in the offseason. I'd be more willing to just hand it to Perez if he wasn't so allergic to taking walks and given his bad history in the minors also in that regard, the odds of him becoming a significantly more patient hitter are pretty slim.