Time to talk about future at SS?

[MrTPlush]

I love all these people speaking like it is fact that Brad Miller isn’t the answer at SS. I bet 0% of said people have watched one of the 3 games he has played in and are strictly regurgitating a box score. Way to draw conclusions after 28 innings going strictly off errors. Maybe he is a little rusty? Villar was pretty terrible to start at 2nd base and honestly he is almost above average now.

 

I will make my judgement after a lot more than 3 games...I doubt he is a total hack in the field. Even if he is probably better the Orlando Arcia overall.

[tmwiese55]

I said it a few days ago, Perez right now is the compromise. Better hitter than Arcia/Sogard, better at D than Miller/Sogard. I'm not exactly a big fan of his or anything but he's kind of a baseline of competency, can just roll him at SS a bit more and see what happens

[FVBrewerFan]

I hadn’t heard this claim before, from a recent Ken Rosenthal FOX Sports video segment:

 

“Orlando Arcia came into Spring Training out of shape in the opinion of some with the club.”

 

Maybe this is true, maybe not. Not a big fan of "Un-named sources."

 

Mostly though, I'm trying to figure out what kind of shape I must be in if Arcia was out of shape.

[JohnBriggs12]

Brad Miller can’t come soon enough.

Brad Miller continues to show he isn't the present or future at SS. Glad they sent him to AAA to prove how horrible he is there. I actually would love if the Brewers give up any hope of him playing SS and just have Miller replace Sogard on the roster. The Brewers can just do what they did yesterday with Perez at SS until/if they get an actual upgrade at SS.

 

Perez being hot right now buys Miller time to get acclimated. It won’t last. Perez is what he is. We will see Miller soon.

 

Perez has hit .267 and slugged .410 since he became a Brewer. What he is is a guy who won't walk much but will get his hits and hit for occasional power. Plus he'll put the ball in play and batting behind the top 5 in this order, that should translate into RBIs. That's a lot more than they've been getting from Arcia this year. I think if Perez were ever given full time duty at one position that he'd hit closer to .280, and be a solid offensive player.

[pacopete4]

 

You are really digging your heels in on this one. I'm enjoying the back-and-forth it's producing

 

It’s more of a response to people digging their heels in on a player they’ve probably watched play like three times in their lives. I mean he was acquired by Stearns and sent to AAA to start at SS. What other signs would some like to prove he is most likely going to get a shot at SS when ready?

[pacopete4]

 

Perez has hit .267 and slugged .410 since he became a Brewer. What he is is a guy who won't walk much but will get his hits and hit for occasional power. Plus he'll put the ball in play and batting behind the top 5 in this order, that should translate into RBIs. That's a lot more than they've been getting from Arcia this year. I think if Perez were ever given full time duty at one position that he'd hit closer to .280, and be a solid offensive player.

 

Perez sucks to have in a complete starting role. Those stats you list are great if he ever cared to learn the strike zone and be patient with it. His hot streaks are great. They should ride this one out. He’s an asset on the base paths. But his inability to stay consistent and get on base hurts most of the value he brings. Is he an upgrade from Arcia? That’s not hard at this point. A combination of Miller and Perez is probably the best this team can do right now. It should help that position not be such a black hole. It would leave us with only one true black hole, catcher. And they seem to refuse to accept Pina just not being that good.

[tmwiese55]

but 260/300ish isn't a black hole. Going from true black hole of almost pitcher level incompetency from Sogard/Arcia to just basic mediocrity like Perez's hitting would give is a tremendous improvement. Is he or the situation good? Of course not, but compared to the options and what they've been doing it's a large step.

[adambr2]

Brad Miller can’t come soon enough.

Brad Miller continues to show he isn't the present or future at SS. Glad they sent him to AAA to prove how horrible he is there. I actually would love if the Brewers give up any hope of him playing SS and just have Miller replace Sogard on the roster. The Brewers can just do what they did yesterday with Perez at SS until/if they get an actual upgrade at SS.

 

What's funny about this is that Perez has extremely similar career defensive numbers to Miller, with Miller being superior in some metrics like UZR/150.

 

Yet no one is freaking out about Perez playing SS.

[pacopete4]

Good point Adam. [sarcasm]We should probably make Perez a 1B only on our team then.[/sarcasm]

[502 to Right]

Brad Miller can’t come soon enough.

Brad Miller continues to show he isn't the present or future at SS. Glad they sent him to AAA to prove how horrible he is there. I actually would love if the Brewers give up any hope of him playing SS and just have Miller replace Sogard on the roster. The Brewers can just do what they did yesterday with Perez at SS until/if they get an actual upgrade at SS.

 

What's funny about this is that Perez has extremely similar career defensive numbers to Miller, with Miller being superior in some metrics like UZR/150.

 

Yet no one is freaking out about Perez playing SS.

 

 

There is a big difference between filling in at SS and being the starter. I hope neither Miller nor Perez make many starts at SS. The Brewers need a real SS.

[adambr2]

I honestly think people have just gotten so used to Orlando Arcia defense at SS that anything less seems like a disaster.

 

Brad Miller types at SS aren't unusual around the league. He's got over 3,000 innings at the position.

 

There isn't a gold glove slugging shortstop out there for the getting. If we want to upgrade offensively at the position we do have to sacrifice.

[JimH5]

Arcia has 9 GIDP this year, 8 BB and 7 XBH. His last walk was June 1st, his last XBH (a double) was May 18th.

 

I would be interested in knowing what the coaches are working on with him today. Is it the strike zone? Swing plane? Working the count? Is he taking it in? Stubborn? Do they think he's someone who benefits from being left alone? Is there a coach or teammate who is able to reach him? Is there friction on the team? I don't expect we'll ever really know that stuff, at least until he improves, or is off the team.

 

His defense is still excellent, which says something about his ability to keep his struggles in perspective.

 

But his ABs are really tough to watch.

[tmwiese55]

Certainly seems to get along well with everyone on the team from what we can see on TV.

[xisxisxis]

Just like Manny Parra until....

[markedman5]

Hager just got promoted to CS FWIW

[SRB]

Any legitimacy to Jake Hagers numbers??

 

unfortunately he's a 25 year old who basically was demoted from AAA after last year, I don't believe he has much stock

 

Hager was drafted in the first round out of high school, and had some success his first couple years as a pro as a teenager. Then things got tougher for him. He likely always has had the talent to put up the numbers he is this year. I wouldn't write him off. Some guys take longer to mature.

 

Hager also had a severe knee injury early in his career that probably set back his development a couple years. I'm not counting on him to become a top prospect, but it's always interesting to see a former well-regarded draft prospect who is suddenly putting up big numbers that don't appear to be flukey.

[MrTPlush]

Hager just got promoted to CS FWIW

 

Might be a sign Brad Miller is getting the call soon. Pretty clear the Brewers got Miller to try out at SS and Hager has played only SS this year.

[pacopete4]

Asked what the Triple-A reports say about Miller's defense so far, Arnold said, "A couple of errors, but a couple of really good plays, too. He has made some plays that don't show up in the box score. The reports on him have been really positive so far."

 

Couple errors in the first couple of games there but this report is very encouraging. Now, dump Sogard and let it begin.