2017 position player group

[Pugger]

with ryan braun and jonathan villar both expected to return next week, one has to think that if wanting to stick with an eight-man bullpen, that the brewers will option lewis brinson and designate nick franklin for assignment.

 

eric sogard has definitely proven he deserves to start at second base for the time being, so it will be interesting to see what defensive position(s) villar plays during his minor league rehab assignment.

 

Did I hear correctly that Braun and Villar are going to be playing with the T-Rats in Appleton this weekend?

 

Yes they are!

 

Great! I will be there on Saturday singing the National Anthem with my old Sweet Adelines chorus -> Fox Valley. I hope they both play!

[djoctagone]

That's a pretty loaded bench now either way, no? Perez, Aguilar, Villar/Sogard, Vogt. Is there a better bench in baseball?

it's a really nice balance of speed and power. just imagine what the brewers could accomplish offensively if they went back to a 12-man pitching staff.

[djoctagone]

eric sogard is hurting, and the brewers are still carrying an eight-man bullpen.

 

lewis brinson has been swinging a hot bat since being optioned, and he can be recalled for the series at yankee stadium, where the dh will be used, and hernan perez can be used more in the infield.

 

i'm hoping that the brewers recall brinson friday and start him in all three games (perhaps one in center and two in left).

 

zach davies could be optioned after his start on thursday and be recalled to start monday 17 july in pittsburgh. or, the brewers could option michael blazek or josh hader. i know that davies was upset that he was optioned last year during the all-star break, but it was done to bring in an extra bat. (interestingly, davies was recalled on 17 july of last year.)

[FVBrewerFan]

Or they could send Scahill down again. Would love to see Brinson come up for that series as well, and if he looks more comfortable/ confident this time around maybe he stays up and Broxton becomes the 4th OF. Bold move in the midst of pennant race though.

[djd1228]

Outside of a truly awful july/august I dont think Broxton loses his starting spot this year. I know hes streaky but hes carried our offense at times Stearns could easily flip him in the offseason and get a solid haul if he has another second half like he did last year. Brinson should only be up with the MLB club starting everyday if theres an injury to any of our top 3 OFers. He'll get his chance as our 4th OFer in september and should be the guy starting in CF next April after Broxton is traded.

 

Edit: I do agree with him coming up for the weekend series though and lettinf braun/thames DH

[3and2Fastball]

I would hope Braun is the DH most of the time in NYC. Considering how often he is injured and how much the Brewers benefit from him in the lineup, I'd keep him off the defensive side of the field as much as possible

[3and2Fastball]

In regards to Brinson. During their brief stays in MLB I saw zero evidence that Brinson should be considered better than Brett Phillips

[liveforoctober]

Am I wrong for wanting Phillips over Brinson for the 3 game set simply because of the left handed bat? We will get Montgomery (LHP) in game 1 so I’m assuming Braun is the DH with Aguilar at 1st and Thames or Perez in LF. But then we get Severino in Game 2 and Tanaka in Game 3. I think I’d rather have Braun DH with Thames at first and Phillips in left for the final two, no?

[Humans Need Water]

In regards to Brinson. During their brief stays in MLB I saw zero evidence that Brinson should be considered better than Brett Phillips

What evidence did you see that Phillips was equal to or better of a prospect than Brinson

[Greenleaf1]

To be fair, a short bench doesn't matter much when you are using the DH, since you won't need to pinch hit for pitchers.

 

With 5 games over 5 days, my guess is they'll want to keep the 8 man bullpen, and the situation this year with Davies is different from last year I believe (he had already burned his 2016 option at that point hadn't he? This year he hasn't). I'm not sure a move is necessary at this point, even though Brinson is clearly killing it at AAA since being sent down and I'd love him up ASAP.

[brewerfan82]

In regards to Brinson. During their brief stays in MLB I saw zero evidence that Brinson should be considered better than Brett Phillips

What evidence did you see that Phillips was equal to or better of a prospect than Brinson

[sarcasm]He made that one really good play in center his first game.[/sarcasm] In all fairness, he did restrict it to their "brief MLB stays". So he's not taking into consideration either's minor league careers or their prospect statuses to this point and I guess technically Phillips' .400 OPS in 11 PAs was better than Brinson's .361 OPS in 35 PAs, despite Brinson only striking out 42% of the time in comparison to Phillips' 70% of the time?

[rcc]

Braun should definitely be the DH at Yankee Stadium.

[djoctagone]

Or they could send Scahill down again.

scahill is out of minor league options and would have to be exposed to waivers. if he cleared waivers, he could refuse the minor league assignment.

With 5 games over 5 days, my guess is they'll want to keep the 8 man bullpen, and the situation this year with Davies is different from last year I believe (he had already burned his 2016 option at that point hadn't he? This year he hasn't).

davies had not burned his 2016 option when he was sent down over the all-star break, but by the time he was recalled on 17 july, he had spent more than 20 total days optioned, and thus, burned his option.

 

assuming that the brewers kept davies optioned for less than 20 days in 2017, he would not burn an option in 2017. they would have to keep him optioned for a minimum of 10 days before recalling him, which would mean him not appearing in the phillies weekend series after the break (assuming he's optioned immediately after his start tomorrow against the cubs).

[3and2Fastball]

In regards to Brinson. During their brief stays in MLB I saw zero evidence that Brinson should be considered better than Brett Phillips

What evidence did you see that Phillips was equal to or better of a prospect than Brinson

 

Not a ton. I just don't see why Brinson is considered a better prospect. Phillips looks much more fluid and natural defensively and has a better arm. Neither lit the world on fire with their hitting in their brief time up but just on the eye test I thought Phillips looked more ready. Brinson looked completely overmatched and while, yes, Phillips strikes out too much he did seem to have more of an ability to barrel up a MLB fastball.

 

I'm very concerned about Brinson's Home Road splits in AAA (.395/.265), I suppose Phillips' road splits aren't much better (.277) but they are better....

[Boomer5]

Rookies are rookies for a reason.

 

Guys like Phillips and Brinson are the future. Yes, they looked overmatched initially, just like Arcia did. Let's give these guys ABs over a longer period of time and develop them when the time is right.

[jerichoholicninja]

Brinson hit some balls hard. Phillips looked like he was swinging with his eyes closed half of the time.

[djoctagone]

brinson and jett bandy--both hitting very well since being optioned--would both be eligible to be recalled for the weekend series. but, as mentioned before, brinson makes more sense because he would allow for braun to dh and for perez to sub on the infield with an ailing sogard.

[Greenleaf1]

My guess is that Brinson doesn't get called up, and that Braun/Thames/Sogard all get a day at DH, and hopefully get Aguilar in there for a couple games.

[FVBrewerFan]

Rookies are rookies for a reason.

 

Guys like Phillips and Brinson are the future. Yes, they looked overmatched initially, just like Arcia did. Let's give these guys ABs over a longer period of time and develop them when the time is right.

 

Difference is, Arcia never looked like he was frustrated. Always exuded confidence even when he was struggling. Phillips looked over-excited and nervous, Brinson looked frustrated. Maybe those aren't the right words to use, but they just didn't look "ready." With that said, I'll admit that's a reallllly subjective way to look at a player and could mean nothing at all.

[liveforoctober]

I kind of hope they just DL Sogard for 10 days. If he isn't going to start the next 4 games, bring up a healthy body for the DH situation so we have an extra guy that can start if needed. Sogard can go retroactive to yesterday... he would only miss this weekend's series and then maybe the first game back from break. Perez can back up the infield, Brinson/Phillips can back up the OF.

[djoctagone]

eric sogard to the disabled list and yadiel rivera recalled. this still leaves the brewers with a 13-man pitching staff with three of the next four games in an american league park.

[Lathund]

Not necessarily suggesting a move, but I just noticed that Andrew Susac has a .800 OPS over the last month. So, Colorado Springs and all that, but good to see that he's not struggling as much anymore. Was a top 100 prospect only a couple of years ago, certainly still has potential to be a good ML player. I guess we won't see him until September, unless there's an injury or major dropoff from Pina/Vogt, but good to keep him in mind.

 

On that note, anyone know how he's been doing defensively in CS this season?

[djoctagone]

brett phillips recalled, presumably only until junior guerra's turn in the rotation comes. still gives the club an eight-man bullpen and a five-man position player unit (which has been rare this season).

[djoctagone]

back to a four-man position player unit: jett bandy, brett phillips, hernan perez and jesus aguilar.

[Greenleaf1]

Presumably Phillips is headed back for CS when Sogard comes back.