CF & OF Rest of the Season

[Warning Track Power]

Lewis Brinson and Brett Phillips need to play in the Majors for the rest of the season. Platooning them and giving the other LF or RF when Braun or Santana need a breather is the way this team should go. The days of Hernan Perez in the OF (even if he is the best defensive OF on the team like Counsell has stated) need to be over. Hernan as the 5th OF is fine, but Brinson and Phillips need all the time they can get. What is the likelihood Counsell will adhere to something like this and, given Sogard's dimming star, focus on giving Perez the IF utility position again?

[Ennder]

Pick one and start them almost every day, the other stays in the minors. There is no reason to start them in a platoon until they prove they need one.

[Jenkins5]

With how much rest Braun needs & giving Santana a game or so a week off doesn't hurt. Many teams are are able to get 4 OFs starter ABs.

[OnaBadger58]

Pick one and start them almost every day, the other stays in the minors. There is no reason to start them in a platoon until they prove they need one.

Agreed. Give Brinson what you gave Arcia last year: consistent playing time. Keep Brett down. If the Brewers are out of it in September, get Phillips regular pt as well.

[djoctagone]

if i'm david stearns, this is what i'd do:

 

recall keon broxton for tuesday's game. when it's time to activate jeremy jeffress, designate carlos torres for assignment.

keon broxton has not appeared in tonight's game in las vegas (currently through five innings).

[reillymcshane]

Pick one and start them almost every day, the other stays in the minors. There is no reason to start them in a platoon until they prove they need one.

Agreed. Give Brinson what you gave Arcia last year: consistent playing time. Keep Brett down. If the Brewers are out of it in September, get Phillips regular pt as well.

I'll agree as well. Let the guy you see emerging as your CF play everyday. There will likely be growing pains, but the more he plays, the better his chance to get his game together and really be a solid contributor. My preference is Brinson, but whatever the team wants to do is fine.

 

I think the Arcia comparison is good.

[folly412]

Keep em both up. With Braun's fragility there are always at-bats to go around. They've both conquered AAA.

[djoctagone]

keon broxton will not burn his final option if he spends less than 20 days optioned to the minors this year. he just met the minimum 10-day stay, so a recall today would allow the brewers to option him once more before september roster expansion and not burn that final option.

 

phillips and brinson have both burned their first option, so the brewers can afford to be liberal in shuttling them back and forth.

[tmwiese55]

I'd prefer both up and in about a 50/50 platoon. And of course there's extra ABs with Braun missing about one of every 5th game. And some DH days coming. That said, it seems the roster juggling and option rules are making it look like Broxton will be the one back up. Maybe it's best to give him one last go up here and see what happens, if he can finish hot it obviously helps the team and his trade value in the offseason. If he flops again, you know you're done with him and have given him every chance you could.

[3and2Fastball]

Brinson's bat has been stunningly awful in his small sample so far. He needs plenty of at-bats to finish out the season so the Brewers have a better idea of what they have in him going into the winter.

[BrewCrewForever]

Brinson has looked bad in a few AB's. But in some others he has looked really good taking a couple of walks in some deep counts and spitting on some tough breaking balls. Got to keep giving him AB's so he can work through it.

[Lathund]

Brinson has a .115 BABIP. His ratio of soft/medium/hard contact is virtually identical to Manny Piña, who's running a .376 BABIP. His stats should improve significantly even if he keeps doing the exact same thing he is now. I hope he's up to stay now for the rest of the season.

 

EDIT: Looking at Statcast, his average exit velocity is the 33rd best in the majors. 5 spots and 0.4 MPH behind Stanton. EV obviously isn't the only thing that matters, but again it shows that he makes good contact. More hits will come.

[MrTPlush]

Unless we want to market Phillips in an attempt to raise his value I am starting Lewis Brinson every single day. Brinson is the future not Phillips. Phillips won't be here a year from now.

[tmwiese55]

Unless we want to market Phillips in an attempt to raise his value I am starting Lewis Brinson every single day. Brinson is the future not Phillips. Phillips won't be here a year from now.

 

And maybe it's better for trade value to have Phillips in AAA putting up great stats than to come up and possibly struggle.

[MrTPlush]

Unless we want to market Phillips in an attempt to raise his value I am starting Lewis Brinson every single day. Brinson is the future not Phillips. Phillips won't be here a year from now.

 

And maybe it's better for trade value to have Phillips in AAA putting up great stats than to come up and possibly struggle.

 

Maybe. I don't think his trade value is all that high anyway unfortunately. Refinding yourself in Colorado Springs probably doesn't mean a whole lot. Probably leaves many skeptical of the results. Walking even less while striking out the same. Gigantic power surge(Colorado Springs?) and unsustainable BABIP driven results.

 

Might be low enough where the downside of struggling at the MLB level is worth the risk...maybe not. I wasn't advocating the move. Just throwing it out there as the only way I would rationalize Brett Phillips stealing playing time.

[FVBrewerFan]

There is value in sitting on the bench in the Majors. Plenty of starts and ABs to go around for both Brinson/Phillips, especially with Braun needing days off. It's not all bad starting a couple games, then taking a day off. Time to reflect on things, watch the game from the bench, slow everything down a bit.

 

They've both been up already so the time is now, in my opinion, to start finding out if/how they fit into the long term plans. Part of me really wishes Broxton would get one more chance, but he has had plenty of chances.

[gregmag]

Phillips won't be here a year from now.

Whom would you keep, or whom do you think they will keep, over Phillips? I'd rate the likelihood of Brewers outfielders hanging on in the medium to long term in this order:

 

Brinson

Santana

Braun's contract

Phillips

Broxton

.

.

.

Newhouse

 

Phillips could be moved, but it doesn't seem likely to me. Braun gets hurt all the time, and Brinson could fail. Broxton has taken a step back, and I think the org may not trust him as a regular going forward. The team can easily keep both Brinson and Phillips as part of a four-man outfield rotation and play both enough to keep them developing.

 

Phillips has trade value, of course. But with the deadline past and Cordell our biggest prospect sacrifice, I don't think we're going to see DS trading top prospects for vets any time soon.

 

(I'm not counting Perez. Maybe he affects others' playing time, but I think he'll get his PAs from people being hurt and ineffective all over the diamond. Wanting to get nearly full-time ABs for your "fourth outfielder" (Phillips) shouldn't cut into Perez's playing time too much; and getting Perez playing time is less important than developing Phillips.)

[djoctagone]

Part of me really wishes Broxton would get one more chance, but he has had plenty of chances.

broxton got hot with colorado springs. and in 30 at-bats against the cardinals this year, he owns a 1.388 ops. when he came back from the minors for good last year, he was killing the ball. give keon three weeks or so. if he struggles, option him down for 10 more days and then recall him in september. he has higher trade value with one minor league option remaining.

[NievesNoNO]

I'd like to see Brinson starting consistently for the next month or so. They can re-evaluate after that. I mean they kept him out of trade talks for a reason. Let's see what he has. At worst he gives them good defense and is likely not worse than Broxton.

[Greenleaf1]

I see no reason why Brett Phillips couldn't have a long, successful career in Milwaukee. I'd be willing to give Brinson a nice, long leash for the rest of the year, but if Phillips comes up in September and Brinson is still struggling I'd have no problem giving Phillips time out there too. Either one could still yet be the CF of the future for the Brewers, and while I'd place all my money on that being Brinson at this point, that's far from a sure thing.

 

On the other hand, we ARE only 2 1/2 games behind the Cubs, so August is likely to be a month where winning is more important than prospect development. If Stearns/Counsell think that Broxton is ready to come back up and have an impact, then Broxton should be back up and taking time away from Brinson until one of them distinguishes themselves.

[sveumrules]

With Braun/Brinson/Santana all being right handed & Phillips being a lefty with the defensive versatility to cover all three OF spots it seems like he could potentially be a perfect compliment as the 4th OF & still get plenty of PAs between spelling everyone & Braun's inevitable injuries.

[OnaBadger58]

Keep in mind that Mike Trout guy stuggled his first time seeing the majors to the tune of .220/.281/.390. (yes I understand the age difference). The first year experience is invaluable. Plug him in the lineup every day (not batting 8th), and let him get an understanding of the big leagues.

[MrTPlush]

Brinson is their guy long term and he will get all the time he needs to prove that much like Orlando Arcia did. Barring a maricle Ryan Braun isn't going anywhere and trading Domingo Santana wouldn't make much sense. You can't just sit Brett Phillips in AAA for years waiting to see if Brinson is legit or not. Brett Phillips will be a notable trade chip this winter or next summer in my mind.

 

If I had my way I would actually make him our 4th OFer, but really more of a 3.5th OFer. Not only would he fill in for injuries, but I would give him quite a bit of playing time to stay fresh etc. Braun being the ultimate cripple would surely give him a good chunk of ABs.

 

While this is certainly possible I think it is more likely he is traded to fill a different need vs. him being a luxurious 4th OFer. When I post a lot of times I say what I think the Brewers will probably do, not necessarily what I would do if I was in charge. This being one of those cases. I like the 4th OFer idea I just don't know if the Brewers would seriously consider that.

[Devinep]

Let Phillips play every day in AAA until Braun goes to the DL- it'll probably happen soon. I'd think the inter league road games coming up will be a way to get Aguilar in the lineup. It would just be better to get him consistent playing time until September

[KeithStone53151]

I would be inclined to leave Broxton in AAA until their season ends and call him back up in September. I think Phillips will come back up soon once we trim from 13 to 12 relievers(which I think happens mid-august as we have 4 off days in the last 2 weeks of august) or an injury happens. Brinson should be getting the lions share of starts as long as he has quality at bats. It's obvious he's going to have some level of learning curve at this point, but unless he's consistently flailing at bad pitches or something he should get most starts. Phillips when he comes up would primarily come in for defense, PH, PR, etc...anything to help us chalk up wins.