Jump to content
Brewer Fanatic

Time to Start Worrying About Villar?


cmon guys. He's not getting sent down anytime soon nor should he be after last season. A few more off days here and there for now to give Perez some ABs. Maybe a move lower in the lineup if things don't change in another week or two. He's earned a long leash. It's still so early that a simple stretch of 3-4 games will move his % to respectable territory.

 

For example, last week Yasmani Grandal raised his avg from 214 to 276 in 4 games and one game was one pinch hit AB. Relax.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 220
  • Created
  • Last Reply
I still believe in Villar and think he's a good player. Maybe not quite as good as his 2016, but much better than his 2017 so far. I would keep playing him but maybe move him down to 8, or even bat pitcher 8 and bat Villar 9. Just until he gets his stuff back together at the plate.

 

I don't know why they haven't done this already. Take some of the pressure off him and push him down to the bottom of the lineup. I still believe in Villar as well, but he doesn't need to be batting at the top of the order every day right now.

 

When Braun returns I'd go

 

1) Broxton

2) Thames

3) Braun

4) Shaw

5) Santana

6) Bandy/Pina

7) Arcia

8) Villar

9) Pitcher

 

Perez can fit in there just about anywhere when he plays. Or like you said pitcher 8th and Villar 9th would actually be my preference but I don't think Counsell will do that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

cmon guys. He's not getting sent down anytime soon nor should he be after last season. A few more off days here and there for now to give Perez some ABs. Maybe a move lower in the lineup if things don't change in another week or two. He's earned a long leash. It's still so early that a simple stretch of 3-4 games will move his % to respectable territory.

 

For example, last week Yasmani Grandal raised his avg from 214 to 276 in 4 games and one game was one pinch hit AB. Relax.

 

The Brewers sent their starting 2B down in May 2015 and their 2016 opening day starter down in June 2016. It shouldn't matter what they did the previous year or what you anticipated them doing before the season. You have to carry your weight at this level and Villar's not.

 

Villar has about 50 more AB's than Grandal. It's one thing when a guy like Aaron Hill in 2016 was hitting a lot of line drives and under .200. Eventually those start to fall in. But Villar, with the exception of the occasional bomb, still strikes out a lot and is making a lot of weak contact.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Moving him to the bottom of the order means he'll get a lot less good pitches to hit. I remember JJ Hardy struggling mightily in the 8-hole, but having a lot of success in the 2-hole where he was much more likely to get better pitches because of who was batting behind him.

 

I'd like to see an in depth article that digs deep into advanced stats talking about Villar this year vs. last year because I want to know if there's anything significant that has stood out about his awful start this year.

 

After Braun gets back I think it serves the team best to have Perez/Sogard/Arcia/Villar all splitting time at SS/2B.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pitchers aren't going to change how they pitch to Villar based on who the on deck hitter is. It just doesn't happen.

 

His BB% is down 3%, his K% is up 4%, his BABIP is down 100 points, his GB% is up 6%, LD % is down 3%.

 

He's basically been hugely worse in every measurable way this season.

"I wasted so much time in my life hating Juventus or A.C. Milan that I should have spent hating the Cardinals." ~kalle8

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd wait until after the next homestand to look at him. He was good at home so far. It really seems like he doesn't like playing in the cold. A large number of his bad games were in cold games.

That's a good point and could be a reason. I haven't looked at his splits or advanced metrics. The numbers tell a story and I'm sure the Brewers are deep into them analyzing what the issue may be

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Home: .773 OPS (106 OPS+)

Away: .393 OPS (10 OPS+)

 

That's quite something.

 

I really don't want to trot him out there much longer in the leadoff spot. He has to produce. Does he have an option?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Home: .773 OPS (106 OPS+)

Away: .393 OPS (10 OPS+)

 

That's quite something.

 

That plays into my cold weather thoughts. His slump heavily coincides with the 2 road series we played where it was very cold. He has been fine the rest of the year including on the road in Cin and in Tor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

More Sogar

 

He's a 31 year old journeyman who had a hot week. He should be getting almost no playing time.

 

Play him until he gets cold.... had 2 four hit games in a series and since he's hardly had 8 at bats so our 200 2b can keep playing everyday. Nuts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

More Sogar

 

He's a 31 year old journeyman who had a hot week. He should be getting almost no playing time.

 

Villar needs to get hot to be considered a journeyman at this point. We're nearly a third of the way into the season and he's hitting .214. It's a better lineup with Sogard in it. By the way, Scooter's OPS is now at .854. Just sayin.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

More Sogar

 

He's a 31 year old journeyman who had a hot week. He should be getting almost no playing time.

 

Villar needs to get hot to be considered a journeyman at this point. We're nearly a third of the way into the season and he's hitting .214. It's a better lineup with Sogard in it. By the way, Scooter's OPS is now at .854. Just sayin.

 

No one cares about what Scooter Gennett is doing as a bench player here except you. And saying "Just Saying" is annoying. Stop acting like you are something special because Scooter Gennett has proven he was a better choice to keep in your mind. It gets old.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't recall Villar looking so out of control with his swing last year.
"This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was about to say the same thing. His pitch recognition seems to have fallen apart. He seems off balance.

 

Baseball is a very tough game mentally as we all know. Once you go in a funk, the simplest thing can get difficult. Overcoming the mental challenges is as tough of an issue in baseball as there is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brewer Fanatic Contributor
More Sogar

 

He's a 31 year old journeyman who had a hot week. He should be getting almost no playing time.

 

Villar needs to get hot to be considered a journeyman at this point. We're nearly a third of the way into the season and he's hitting .214. It's a better lineup with Sogard in it. By the way, Scooter's OPS is now at .854. Just sayin.

 

Stop playing "I told you so games" with players who are no longer here. They derail threads every time you do it.

"Dustin Pedroia doesn't have the strength or bat speed to hit major-league pitching consistently, and he has no power......He probably has a future as a backup infielder if he can stop rolling over to third base and shortstop." Keith Law, 2006
Link to comment
Share on other sites

He's been atrocious against left handed pitching. It is so strange because that has always been his highest OPS side of the plate. Career- .763, 2016- .930, and 2017- .546.
"This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now that he is over 200 at-bats, it is no longer a small sample. He needs to start producing more. Moving him down in the batting order could help

 

Considering that he isn't elite defensively, he really needs to hit in order to produce. I'm not at all convinced that he is better than Hernan Perez, for instance

The David Stearns era: Controllable Young Talent. Watch the Jedi work his magic!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

The Twins Daily Caretaker Fund
The Brewer Fanatic Caretaker Fund

You all care about this site. The next step is caring for it. We’re asking you to caretake this site so it can remain the premier Brewers community on the internet. Included with caretaking is ad-free browsing of Brewer Fanatic.

×
×
  • Create New...