#JJ2DC

[Greenleaf1]

JJ is now top 5 in fWAR among all MLB relievers (Hader is #1).

 

He's also #2 in ERA among qualified MLB relievers (Brian Duensing is still at 0.00) while being 8th in IP.

 

While others previously mentioned are falling off the leaderboard, JJ is staying strong and pitching in high leverage situations. If he maintains a sub-1 ERA for another 6 weeks, he's going to be hard to keep off the AS game. Or at the very least, he'll get a ton of press as the "I can't believe that guy didn't make the team" guy.

[agent39]

Not up to me but well see. So far so good

[agent39]

http://natsgm.com/2018/05/14/the-joshua-kusnick-experience-30-you-dont-get-carpal-tunnel-from-fortnite/

[MadScientist]

JJ now has the best ERA in baseball (min 10 innings). It is a tough spot to hold, as one more run given up would put him at 13 and 2 more would put him in the mid 20's.

[agent39]

And...

[MrTPlush]

His ERA+ is 1067. 100 is considered average.

[YelichPosse]

His ERA+ is 1067. 100 is considered average.

 

So you’re saying he’s ... slightly above average?

[agent39]

Awesome

[agent39]

5. From 2014-to-2016, Jeremy Jeffress established himself as one of the game’s better relievers. At the deadline in 2016, he, along with teammate Jonathan Lucroy, was traded to the Rangers, who were in desperate need of bullpen help. Jeffress wasn’t bad with the Rangers, but he was largely unavailable down the stretch as he went to rehab after a substance issue was brought to light. Jeffress has had his struggles with various conditions, including epilepsy, and because of baseball’s Joint Drug Agreement, treating it has been a challenge. Nonetheless, Jeffress found a home in Milwaukee and, despite holding it together in his short time with the Rangers in 2016, it unraveled for him in 2017.

 

In 39 games with the Rangers in 2017 spanning 40.2 IP, Jeffress posted a 5.31 ERA and was one of the guilty parties in the Rangers seemingly automatic bullpen collapses in the first two months of the year. Later that year he returned to the Brewers and, while not as dominant as he had been in his first tenure, posted a much more respectable 3.65 ERA while regaining his ability to miss bats, going from a 6.42 K/9 with Texas in 2017 to 8.03 K/9 with Milwaukee that year.

 

And so far this year? Jeffress has been awesome. His 0.36 ERA is best among MLB relievers and he ranks 6th with opposing hitters batting just .125 against him. He’s been one of the games best relievers thus far. A free agent prior to this season, Jeffress signed a very team-friendly “prove it” type deal with the Brewers simply because he wanted to stay with Milwaukee and in a comfortable environment. The deal was criticized by the Union, but it appears Jeffress did what was best for him and hats off for that awareness, especially for someone who's battled addiction.

 

Some players are going to perform no matter where they are, but Jeffress’s case is a reminder that these baseball players are humans and not robots. Some of them depend on a comfortable environment, especially when off-the-field challenges get in the way. I’m glad Jeremy has found his comfortable environment and recaptured success

[istanbultaye]

That's a really good write-up.

[agent39]

I was floored. Pa killed me on this. Likely cost me seth lugo as a client. Sucks

[dlk9s]

You should tell me how to do my job more.

 

[MilwaukeeBeers]

I really like JJ and his entire story is one of the best in baseball. Easily one of my favorite players on the crew right now. The swagger he pitches with should put him in the all star game alone. I really hope he continues this absolute tear, but his peripherals look like something has got to give. His BABIP is obscenely low right now.

[MadScientist]

To be fair on the contract, no GM anywhere would have offered him a contract that pays him what a reliever pitching as well as he has this year would get.

 

I'm guessing that he will make another 7-900K, based on his current usage, and realistically there will be some regression. So by the end of the year, it will look closer to a fair contract.

[agent39]

To be fair on the contract, no GM anywhere would have offered him a contract that pays him what a reliever pitching as well as he has this year would get.

 

I'm guessing that he will make another 7-900K, based on his current usage, and realistically there will be some regression. So by the end of the year, it will look closer to a fair contract.

 

 

Good thing his agent is competent and knows his client after 12 years

[MrTPlush]

The contract always seemed fair to me. If he pitches well he locks up almost $10mil. He has never really pitched well elsewhere for an extended amount of time. The last time he left he got caught up in non baseball issues. Who knows what would have happened if he went elsewhere this year. Could have continued a downward slope out of baseball.

 

I think he made the right decision financially and personally for the long term by returning to Milwaukee. I get the MLBPA wants players always chasing the top dollar, but there can be good reasons to not.

[DuWayne Steurer]

The MLBPA can say what they want.... the occasional guy who goes to a place for reasons other than money isn't going to keep other guys from getting their money if multiple teams are bidding for their services.

[MrTPlush]

The MLBPA can say what they want.... the occasional guy who goes to a place for reasons other than money isn't going to keep other guys from getting their money if multiple teams are bidding for their services.

 

Especially a Tier 3 reliever. Not like he is Alroldis Chapman taking some out of the ordinary deal.

[Ennder]

It would be really strange for 2 RP from the same team to make it. If Knebel hadn't gotten hurt and he had been a completely dominant closer while Hader still did what he has done, I could see it. Jeffress just has almost no chance.

[MrTPlush]

It would be really strange for 2 RP from the same team to make it. If Knebel hadn't gotten hurt and he had been a completely dominant closer while Hader still did what he has done, I could see it. Jeffress just has almost no chance.

 

He would make it if he made it to July with mind boggling stats. I don't see that happening however.

[MadScientist]

It would be really strange for 2 RP from the same team to make it. If Knebel hadn't gotten hurt and he had been a completely dominant closer while Hader still did what he has done, I could see it. Jeffress just has almost no chance.

 

He would make it if he made it to July with mind boggling stats. I don't see that happening however.

He's at 21 scoreless appearances. He's starting to get some buzz (https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/brewers-jeremy-jeffress-making-it-look-easy/). And if he hits 30, national media should be picking it up in a big way. Barring a melt-down, if he isn't selected he should get in the final vote (then it will be up to us).

[agent39]

Hes up today. Ill be at the park

[agent39]

https://theathletic.com/366002/2018/05/23/rosenthal-how-fortnite-and-a-farting-dog-named-domino-gave-jeremy-jeffress-and-the-brewers-a-boost/

 

 

I teared up.

[agent39]

A dog? A video game? These are the additions to Jeremy Jeffress’ life that are helping him stay out of trouble off the field?

 

Well, yes, according to the Milwaukee Brewers’ right-hander, who just happens to be one of the best relievers in baseball this season.

 

“After the game, I have to come home and see my little pup, let him out of the cage, take him out a little bit,” Jeffress said. “And then I go straight to Fortnite.”

 

Jeffress’ history of substance abuse includes 50- and 100-game suspensions for marijuana use while in the minors during the late 2000s and an arrest for DWI on Aug. 26, 2016. A diagnosis of juvenile epilepsy in 2013 helped explain the high anxiety and seizures he has experienced as an adult, as well as his tendency to self-medicate.

 

Fortnite, the wildly popular video game recently suspected of causing David Price’s carpal tunnel syndrome (it did not), is actually something of a godsend for Jeffress, who began playing in spring training with fellow Brewers reliever Will Smith and later was joined by two other members of the team’s bullpen, Josh Hader and Corey Knobel.

 

“We play on line. We have headsets. We talk to each other,” Jeffress said. “It’s a team thing.”

 

Jeffress’ agent, Joshua Kusnick, said the game not only is contributing to his client’s success, but also the success of the Milwaukee bullpen, which ranks first in the majors in ERA for a Brewers team that is 31-19, the best record in the National League,

 

Of Jeffress, Kusnick said, “He doesn’t go out anymore. He’s obsessed with Fortnite to the point where there are no more distractions. He goes home after he’s done with work. He’ll do his video (study). He’ll do his research.

 

“Then as soon as all of his work is done, instead of doing what he used to do when he would go out and party with whomever, he plays Fortnite with all of his teammates. I’ve never seen a major-league bullpen where no one is going out. They’re doing the right things off the field, and it seemingly is having a positive impact on the field.”

 

While Hader has emerged as the biggest star in the Brewers’ bullpen, all but one of Jeffress’ 25 outings have been scoreless, including his last 21. His opponents are batting .120. His ERA over 25 2/3 innings is 0.35. Some regression is likely, but the average exit velocity against Jeffress is 85.4 mph, the 17th lowest in the majors for a minimum of 50 batted balls, according to StatCast.

 

Jeffress acknowledged his enthusiasm for Fortnite - and the hours he devotes to the video game - make it easier for him to avoid the temptation of night life.

 

“For sure,” he said. “Temptation is everywhere, man. You see temptation in every part of life - TV, the streets, the world, everywhere. Even in a restaurant, you can be tempted by anything. Taking those temptations away, or limiting them, is the best thing for you.”

 

Fortnite, though, is not the only difference in Jeffress’ post-game routine. He also credits his newfound domesticity to his black-and-white pocket bully, Domino, a dog he picked up last November while home in Virginia.

 

“He’s a fat little boy,” Jeffress said. “He takes up a lot of my time as well.”

 

Jeffress brought Domino to Arizona for spring training and mentioned him to Brewers manager Craig Counsell, who quickly sensed how important the dog was to the reliever. Counsell, his wife Michelle, and their four children, ages 8 to 15, keep dogs at home in Milwaukee. When the Brewers broke camp, the Counsells - minus Craig, who was with the club - took Domino with them on the drive from Phoenix to San Diego.

 

“It was my wife, our four kids, her mom and dog and a farting dog,” Counsell said.

 

Counsell was joking, but he and the rest of the Brewers’ organization consider Jeffress’ well-being a serious matter, and Domino figured into that equation. The mother of Jeffress’ child and their daughter, Jurnee, 4, live in Phoenix. Domino keeps Jeffress company when they are not in Milwaukee.

“I definitely wanted him to bring the dog to Milwaukee,” Counsell said. “Look, we’re all looking for comfort and peace and happiness and companionship, all that stuff. A (dog), that’s a great way to do it. As glamorous as this life is, sometimes it’s a little lonely, too.

 

“Everybody has their own way to cope with everything. Really, this is about J.J. maturing and understanding what works for him. We’re trying to help him with that. He’s got a pretty good support system that helps him through it.”

 

Jeffress is grateful for the Brewers’ support - he agreed to a team-friendly, one-year, $1.7 million contract with two club options last Dec. 1 in large part because of his comfort with the organization.

 

His history with the Brewers began when they selected him 16th overall in the 2006 draft. The team sent him to the Kansas City Royals as part of a package for right-hander Zack Greinke in Dec. 2010, re-acquired him as a free agent in April 2014, traded him with catcher Jonathan Lucroy to the Texas Rangers for prospects on Aug. 1, 2016, then re-acquired him for a minor-league pitcher at last year’s non-waiver deadline.

 

“I know everybody from top to bottom,” Jeffress said. “There is no greater feeling knowing that, knowing you have people who know you inside and out, and that you can just be yourself around them.”

 

These days, nothing seems to faze Jeffress, who has escaped a number of hair-raising jams in the season’s first two months, helping the Brewers win games that, in Counsell’s estimation, were “kind of hopeless.” Jeffress talks about becoming a difference-maker off-the-field as well as on. He will host the Brewers’ Bowl-A-Thom on Aug. 5, supporting children and families living with epilepsy.

 

Does a dog deserve the credit? Does a video game? Perhaps the credit simply belong to a pitcher who is trying to do the right things, on and off the field.

 

“It hasn’t been an easy road. It’s definitely been a learning experience,” Jeffress said. “But I’m glad I’ve been through it. I can look forward to the positive things and try not to make the same mistakes twice.”

 

Ken Rosenthal

The Athletic

 

 

Think since im in this i can post. If not delete

[agent39]

Bump