Shaw placed on Paternity List, Brett Phillips called up to make MLB debut

[SoCalBrewfan]

There are two weak spots in the Brewers' lineup:

 

Arcia: .246/.289/.361/.650

Villar: .207/.281/.315/.595

 

Those are the two offensive weak spots. Defense is another story...Arcia's D is good enough that he's a net positive even with that offense. Perez according to FanGraphs is our third most valuable defender, with plus defense at a few positions. (Small sample caveats apply.) Our outfield defense has been pretty terrible across the board, though; even Broxton has been worse than I would have expected. I think there's a place for Phillips now as a lefty bat, semi platoon partner for Broxton, and plus defender across the outfield. I think Franklin is released soon.

 

EDIT: Scooped by 3and2 !

[adambr2]

Hernan has a .770 OPS and a career OBP of .284 (.304 OBP this year). It is really easy to overrate him because he flashes excellence at times. The offensive numbers he puts up are nothing special in the corners. His value is as a super utility player. Phillips looks like a defensive upgrade vs any of our MLB OF's and hopefully he can hit well enough to be a starting OF in MLB at some point soon. Looks like there is some swing & miss in his approach for sure

 

This. Perez is exactly who he was last year. Does some things very well, streaky, can play anywhere, still can't get on base. He's not a guy you want to find an every day position for because he would lose a lot of value that way.

[rickh150]

At the game last night (Phillips first)- a couple thoughts....

 

The largely quiet crowd was surprising loud after BP's first career hit. I was sitting and clapping. Many were standing and cheering loudly, not typical for the avg.rookie. Why is this? Do they see him as a fan favorite, funny man? Do they view him as the future in CF? Both? Neither?

 

We could use another OF on the roster, and his arm/D fills a need with Braun out. My guess is that Franklin's days are numbered. Then again, Franklin could be this year's Captain Kirk.

[jerichoholicninja]

At the game last night (Phillips first)- a couple thoughts....

 

The largely quiet crowd was surprising loud after BP's first career hit. I was sitting and clapping. Many were standing and cheering loudly, not typical for the avg.rookie. Why is this? Do they see him as a fan favorite, funny man? Do they view him as the future in CF? Both? Neither?

 

We could use another OF on the roster, and his arm/D fills a need with Braun out. My guess is that Franklin's days are numbered. Then again, Franklin could be this year's Captain Kirk.

 

I noticed that too and was going to post in the in-game thread about it. He's basically the human version of Hank the Dog because his stupid laugh has been played up so much. He's going to be a casual-fan favorite for however long he's a Brewer because of it.

[brwrsfan]

I dunno....I think there are more people than we realize that know about some of our prospects, especially the good one. People hate losing and with the "rebuild" more or less being a public thing, some people probably knew who he was.

 

It reminded me of when Corey Hart got his first at bat a long time ago. He had one PH appearance (I think) before being sent back down. Crowd gave him a standing ovation when he came to the plate. More or less as a sign that the future is getting close.

 

I would be stunned if the Brewers sent Arcia down unless he completely and utterly fails at the plate. .240 isn't good by any stretch but he is showing some small signs of improvement. As others have mentioned, his defense is top notch. At the SS position, that's going to carry him a long long way.

 

I'm glad to see some of the stuff about Perez. His ONLY value (IMO) is his versatility. He's an average hitter that struggles to get on base unless he's going extremely hot. He's not great defensively, but they can stick him anywhere. His numbers as a full time player at anywhere other than SS or 2b I think would leave a lot to be desired.

[monty57]

I dunno....I think there are more people than we realize that know about some of our prospects, especially the good one. People hate losing and with the "rebuild" more or less being a public thing, some people probably knew who he was.

 

It reminded me of when Corey Hart got his first at bat a long time ago. He had one PH appearance (I think) before being sent back down. Crowd gave him a standing ovation when he came to the plate. More or less as a sign that the future is getting close.

 

I would be stunned if the Brewers sent Arcia down unless he completely and utterly fails at the plate. .240 isn't good by any stretch but he is showing some small signs of improvement. As others have mentioned, his defense is top notch. At the SS position, that's going to carry him a long long way.

 

I'm glad to see some of the stuff about Perez. His ONLY value (IMO) is his versatility. He's an average hitter that struggles to get on base unless he's going extremely hot. He's not great defensively, but they can stick him anywhere. His numbers as a full time player at anywhere other than SS or 2b I think would leave a lot to be desired.

 

I agree about the fans. Overall, I think Wisconsin has intelligent sports fans who follow their teams very closely. Phillips isn't "Hank the Dog," he's a very good baseball player who is getting his first chance, and the fans appreciate that.

 

Even though I'm the one who brought up Arcia's name, I do agree that it is very unlikely he will ever get sent down. I understand he brings value on the defensive end, I just believe he will be a lot more valuable when he's in his prime years, and we're losing some of those years so that he can learn on the job when his bat is not yet MLB ready. That said, the Brewers made their decision to bring him up last season, and I don't believe they will go back on that, even if it might make sense.

 

The versatility of Perez and others on the team leads us to the conclusion that all of us can agree on: Franklin is the guy who should go. He, too brings value only because of his versatility, but we have plenty of guys who have that who are better then him. I think Phillips should stay up at least as long as Braun is out, rotating guys around to try to keep everyone fresh

[tmwiese55]

I think they should let Franklin go and keep Phillips up too. I just looked today for an update on Braun, and best I could find was about 5 days ago saying along the lines that they expected him out several weeks. So we probably shouldn't expect him back before say June 20 at the earliest. I'd rather have a real OF as an option instead of hybrids like Franklin/Sogard. IF is covered by Perez and Sogard. Last night there was at least two routine balls that Franklin looked really shaky on.

 

Plus, it just seems Craiger insists on playing everyone no matter what so I'd rather have Phillips there instead of Franklin. Basically with all our depth and versatility with Perez I don't see why Franklin needs to be on the field other than emergencies and pinch hitting, but if he insists on the 25th man starting then might as well have Philipps there. And obviously being a lefty he's a good backup to all 3 of our main OFs, and he's a plus on D so could be useful as a late inning defensive sub for a guy like Braun or Thames in left.

[3and2Fastball]

I don't think the Brewers are convinced that Arcia is the longterm answer at SS anyways. Which is another reason to not send him down. Mauricio Dubon is hitting .295 in AA at the age of 22 and if he isn't as good as Arcia defensively he's close.

[Outlander]

If anything Franklin shows how valuable a guy like Perez is and how Perez is underrated by many. He plays a number of positions well and will give you an OPS around 750, that is valuable on any team. Franklin is versatile but not all that great defensively and can't really hit.

[danzig6767]

Hernan has a .770 OPS and a career OBP of .284 (.304 OBP this year). It is really easy to overrate him because he flashes excellence at times. The offensive numbers he puts up are nothing special in the corners. His value is as a super utility player. Phillips looks like a defensive upgrade vs any of our MLB OF's and hopefully he can hit well enough to be a starting OF in MLB at some point soon. Looks like there is some swing & miss in his approach for sure

This. Perez is exactly who he was last year. Does some things very well, streaky, can play anywhere, still can't get on base. He's not a guy you want to find an every day position for because he would lose a lot of value that way.

Perez really frustrates me because i do think he's a pretty skilled hitter, but he just refuses to not only walk more, he also doesn't take more pitches off the plate to get in better counts where a pitcher has to throw him better pitches to hit.

 

If Hernan had even just half of the plate discipline that say Sogard has, i really believe that he'd be a consistent .800+ OPS hitter because he has good both home run and gap/line drive skills, but way to often he's swinging at crap which contributes to getting himself out.

 

With all of the money in baseball today and his skills as a hitter, it baffles and frustrates me as to why Perez won't take more pitches to maximize his skillset as a hitter.

[monty57]

Perez's .770 OPS ranks him #124 in all of baseball in terms of OPS (minimum 100 PA). That means on average each team has about four guys who OPS higher than him. Not really something to complain about, especially from a guy who plays decent defense at seven different positions.

 

I get the frustration in having him not take more walks, but it's a heck of a lot better than the frustration in watching a guy with a good eye who can't hit.

[MrTPlush]

Brett Phillips got so much attention from fans because of the laugh and the fact teams are way better at notifying fans of prospects these days. Anyone can understand a prospect ranking etc. and every night they feature MiLB tidbits during the games.

[bjkrautk]

I don't think the Brewers are convinced that Arcia is the longterm answer at SS anyways. Which is another reason to not send him down. Mauricio Dubon is hitting .295 in AA at the age of 22 and if he isn't as good as Arcia defensively he's close.

 

...Arcia hit .307 (.347 OBP, .453 Slg.) in a full season of AA in 2015, as a 20-21 year old.

Orlando is currently 22 years old; in fact, he's a half-month younger than Dubon.

 

One of my go-to comps for players who struggled mightily when rushed into MLB playing time is J.J. Hardy, who hit .247 /.327 /.384 (.711 OPS) in his first year in the majors (2005) as a 22-23 year old.

 

Arcia is currently hitting .246 / .289 / .361 at the same age as Hardy's rookie year. He's less ready with the bat, but he's also a better defensive player than J.J. was.

 

To my mind, if you're going to bring a player up as early as Milwaukee has with Arcia, you have to stick with him and give him the room to improve. That's not to say you can't send him down...but he'd have to look completely lost at the plate before I'd really think about doing so.

[rickh150]

Didn't Arcia have a pretty decent May?

[FVBrewerFan]

I don't think the Brewers are convinced that Arcia is the longterm answer at SS anyways. Which is another reason to not send him down. Mauricio Dubon is hitting .295 in AA at the age of 22 and if he isn't as good as Arcia defensively he's close.

 

...Arcia hit .307 (.347 OBP, .453 Slg.) in a full season of AA in 2015, as a 20-21 year old.

Orlando is currently 22 years old; in fact, he's a half-month younger than Dubon.

 

One of my go-to comps for players who struggled mightily when rushed into MLB playing time is J.J. Hardy, who hit .247 /.327 /.384 (.711 OPS) in his first year in the majors (2005) as a 22-23 year old.

 

Arcia is currently hitting .246 / .289 / .361 at the same age as Hardy's rookie year. He's less ready with the bat, but he's also a better defensive player than J.J. was.

 

To my mind, if you're going to bring a player up as early as Milwaukee has with Arcia, you have to stick with him and give him the room to improve. That's not to say you can't send him down...but he'd have to look completely lost at the plate before I'd really think about doing so.

 

Agreed. And he's not lost at the plate. Obviously he needs to keep improving, but it's not like he's at .500 OPS or something. He has more power, and flashed that earlier in the season. The sense I get is they're having him really focus on hitting line drives to the opposite field. He will have a hard time getting his OPS over .700 until/unless he walks more and/or hits a few more dingers. But there's no proof he would be better off developing in AAA.

 

As for the fan reaction to Phillips? It was a Monday night game, meaning mostly season ticket holders. Those aren't casual fans, so they know who Phillips is and that he could be part of the future.

[MrTPlush]

Didn't Arcia have a pretty decent May?

 

His walks/strikeouts both went down compared to April, but so did his power. Overall it was still pretty terrible production. Nothing really to get excited about.

[istanbultaye]

His walks actually went up in May, his OBP raised more than his AVG did. But you are correct that his power dropped off significantly, and not just in HR. All his XBH totals are half or less from April, in May.

[Outlander]

Phillips back up, Shaw has a medical emergency. Hopefully everything is okay with Shaw and his family.

[MadScientist]

Phillips back up, Shaw has a medical emergency. Hopefully everything is okay with Shaw and his family.

The timing of this is really worrying. They just had a new baby, and a lot can go wrong for the mother and baby. I really hope I'm wrong about this.

[adambr2]

Phillips back up, Shaw has a medical emergency. Hopefully everything is okay with Shaw and his family.

The timing of this is really worrying. They just had a new baby, and a lot can go wrong for the mother and baby. I really hope I'm wrong about this.

 

Me too. Hope there is nothing to this.

[Austin Tatious]

Prayers and best wishes to the Shaw family.

[adambr2]

Prayers and best wishes to the Shaw family.

 

+1

[bork]

"Travis had a baby girl on Tuesday," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said ahead of Friday's opener vs. the D-backs. "There's some health concerns with the baby. He's going to be away from the team through Sunday for sure.

 

No details of what's wrong. He can be gone 3-7 days.

 

http://m.brewers.mlb.com/news/article/235444308/brewers-travis-shaw-on-medical-leave/

[adambr2]

"Travis had a baby girl on Tuesday," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said ahead of Friday's opener vs. the D-backs. "There's some health concerns with the baby. He's going to be away from the team through Sunday for sure.

 

No details of what's wrong. He can be gone 3-7 days.

 

http://m.brewers.mlb.com/news/article/235444308/brewers-travis-shaw-on-medical-leave/

 

That's heartbreaking. Praying Baby Girl Shaw is okay.

[djoctagone]

travis shaw has been reinstated from the family medical emergency list. brett phillips optioned to colorado springs.