Brewers acquire Curtis Granderson for CF Demi Orimoloye

[Humans Need Water]

OK lets see here Thames has a wRC+ of 103 while Braun has a wRC+ of 94. Yeah having Thames over Braun in the playoffs would be a bad idea. Also Thames has a ISO of .268 which puts him in the elite power hitter category while Braun only has a ISO of .193 which puts him just above average.

 

If you want to go even further Braun has an even lower percentage of hard hit balls at 38.6% while Thames has a 49.3%.

Statcast says otherwise....

 

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/team/158

 

Thames 2nd half - 147/183/507, 4.2 BB%, 49.3 K% (just under 35% on the season), 24 wrc+

Braun 2nd half - 291/336/822, 5.4 BB%, 11.6 K%, 118 wrc+

 

Braun 4 DRS in LF (Yelich is 0 and Thames -1). Yelich 3 DRS in RF (Thames 2). So the defense as a unit is significantly better with Braun there instead of Thames. I can't believe these numbers would even need to be stated when it's blatantly obvious with the eye test.

 

Now factor in BABIP with exit velocity/hard hit/etc and compare to their previous years as well. *All* the info pointed to Braun having a lot of bad luck in the first half. His 2nd half numbers could easily be his season numbers based on how he swung the bat. The eye test also confirmed it. Thames had a very productive first half both in terms of how he swung the bat and his statistical performance. But has not swung the bat well in the 2nd half - he's not even hitting the ball hard and the eye test confirms this. I like Thames. He's talented and is an offensive threat he's just been struggling hard since the break, which means there's no way he should be chosen over Braun *right now*. Even if you take Thames first half vs Braun's second half you still go with Braun more times than not due to all aspects of the game. Also, I have no idea why anybody would reference ISO unless it's packaged with a dozen other metrics to paint an entire picture - that stat solely proves ones power, which has nothing to do with how good a player actually is (ie Cain's ISO is 127).

 

Granderson was acquired because Thames isn't getting the job done. Not Braun...but Thames. It's another depth piece and we gave up Demi, who won't be a MLB player. If they make the playoffs I see us going with a bench of Thames, Granderson, Perez, Schoop, Kratz and rolling with 12 pitchers.

[pacopete4]

You’re right Adam. It’s not 40. It’s above that in the second half. 56% in August. Wow. Again, it’s a weird hill to die on.

 

And that was one heck of a post Humans Need Water.

[adambr2]

You’re right Adam. It’s not 40. It’s above that in the second half. Again, it’s a weird hill to die on.

 

And that was one heck of a post Humans Need Water.

 

And it's 34.6% for the season, which is not 40%, so it was a heck of a lot less than 40% in the first half. You never said "in the second half", until right now. He's going through a very bad stretch, but you're making him out to be totally useless trash which he is not.

 

There's no need to trivialize the point of Nate multiple times (or me, whoever you are referring to), by saying "it's a weird hill to die on." You made your point, he made his.

[SomewhereInTime]

OK lets see here Thames has a wRC+ of 103 while Braun has a wRC+ of 94. Yeah having Thames over Braun in the playoffs would be a bad idea. Also Thames has a ISO of .268 which puts him in the elite power hitter category while Braun only has a ISO of .193 which puts him just above average.

 

If you want to go even further Braun has an even lower percentage of hard hit balls at 38.6% while Thames has a 49.3%.

Statcast says otherwise....

 

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/team/158

 

Thames 2nd half - 147/183/507, 4.2 BB%, 49.3 K% (just under 35% on the season), 24 wrc+

Braun 2nd half - 291/336/822, 5.4 BB%, 11.6 K%, 118 wrc+

 

Braun 4 DRS in LF (Yelich is 0 and Thames -1). Yelich 3 DRS in RF (Thames 2). So the defense as a unit is significantly better with Braun there instead of Thames. I can't believe these numbers would even need to be stated when it's blatantly obvious with the eye test.

 

Now factor in BABIP with exit velocity/hard hit/etc and compare to their previous years as well. *All* the info pointed to Braun having a lot of bad luck in the first half. His 2nd half numbers could easily be his season numbers based on how he swung the bat. The eye test also confirmed it. Thames had a very productive first half both in terms of how he swung the bat and his statistical performance. But has not swung the bat well in the 2nd half - he's not even hitting the ball hard and the eye test confirms this. I like Thames. He's talented and is an offensive threat he's just been struggling hard since the break, which means there's no way he should be chosen over Braun *right now*. Even if you take Thames first half vs Braun's second half you still go with Braun more times than not due to all aspects of the game. Also, I have no idea why anybody would reference ISO unless it's packaged with a dozen other metrics to paint an entire picture - that stat solely proves ones power, which has nothing to do with how good a player actually is (ie Cain's ISO is 127).

 

Granderson was acquired because Thames isn't getting the job done. Not Braun...but Thames. It's another depth piece and we gave up Demi, who won't be a MLB player. If they make the playoffs I see us going with a bench of Thames, Granderson, Perez, Schoop, Kratz and rolling with 12 pitchers.

 

Agree completely on all points, good post.

[MrTPlush]

No, what he is doing now doesn’t matter (since the AS break). It is what he is going to do in the future, that right there folks is what matters.

[adambr2]

OK lets see here Thames has a wRC+ of 103 while Braun has a wRC+ of 94. Yeah having Thames over Braun in the playoffs would be a bad idea. Also Thames has a ISO of .268 which puts him in the elite power hitter category while Braun only has a ISO of .193 which puts him just above average.

 

If you want to go even further Braun has an even lower percentage of hard hit balls at 38.6% while Thames has a 49.3%.

Statcast says otherwise....

 

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/team/158

 

Thames 2nd half - 147/183/507, 4.2 BB%, 49.3 K% (just under 35% on the season), 24 wrc+

Braun 2nd half - 291/336/822, 5.4 BB%, 11.6 K%, 118 wrc+

 

Braun 4 DRS in LF (Yelich is 0 and Thames -1). Yelich 3 DRS in RF (Thames 2). So the defense as a unit is significantly better with Braun there instead of Thames. I can't believe these numbers would even need to be stated when it's blatantly obvious with the eye test.

 

Now factor in BABIP with exit velocity/hard hit/etc and compare to their previous years as well. *All* the info pointed to Braun having a lot of bad luck in the first half. His 2nd half numbers could easily be his season numbers based on how he swung the bat. The eye test also confirmed it. Thames had a very productive first half both in terms of how he swung the bat and his statistical performance. But has not swung the bat well in the 2nd half - he's not even hitting the ball hard and the eye test confirms this. I like Thames. He's talented and is an offensive threat he's just been struggling hard since the break, which means there's no way he should be chosen over Braun *right now*. Even if you take Thames first half vs Braun's second half you still go with Braun more times than not due to all aspects of the game. Also, I have no idea why anybody would reference ISO unless it's packaged with a dozen other metrics to paint an entire picture - that stat solely proves ones power, which has nothing to do with how good a player actually is (ie Cain's ISO is 127).

 

Granderson was acquired because Thames isn't getting the job done. Not Braun...but Thames. It's another depth piece and we gave up Demi, who won't be a MLB player. If they make the playoffs I see us going with a bench of Thames, Granderson, Perez, Schoop, Kratz and rolling with 12 pitchers.

 

I'd like to see Broxton on the playoff roster, guessing it would have to be at the expense of Granderson or Thames (whoever has a worse September, perhaps).

 

They should easily be able to get away with 12 pitchers in the postseason as you mentioned.

[TURBO]

...and we gave up Demi, who won't be a MLB player.

 

I'll take that bet!!!

[phnxcrew]

...and we gave up Demi, who won't be a MLB player.

 

I'll take that bet!!!

 

The skill set is there, but at this point it's an extreme long shot that he could make it to the majors. I'm not a betting man, but i'd bet on him never getting above AA

[TURBO]

...and we gave up Demi, who won't be a MLB player.

 

I'll take that bet!!!

 

The skill set is there, but at this point it's an extreme long shot that he could make it to the majors. I'm not a betting man, but i'd bet on him never getting above AA

 

I understand your point of view, but I say he makes it onto a MLB roster at some point, and could very well be a decent player.

[JosephC]

Orimoloye is not nearly the athlete that Monte Harrison is, so I'm not making a comparison in that regard. However, when the Brewers drafted Orimoloye, he fit the bill of a high potential, slow developer that would probably likely hit some speed bumps along the way. I think what Orimoloye did in Wisconsin this year showed that he was on track and still has a possible future as a big leaguer. I think he's about at the same point as Monte Harrison was following the 2016 season. I'm disappointed that Orimoloye is no longer a part of the organization.

[TURBO]

Orimoloye is not nearly the athlete that Monte Harrison is, so I'm not making a comparison in that regard. However, when the Brewers drafted Orimoloye, he fit the bill of a high potential, slow developer that would probably likely hit some speed bumps along the way. I think what Orimoloye did in Wisconsin this year showed that he was on track and still has a possible future as a big leaguer. I think he's about at the same point as Monte Harrison was following the 2016 season. I'm disappointed that Orimoloye is no longer a part of the organization.

 

agreed.

 

I do not believe that Granderson, at his age, is worth the potential we traded to get him.

 

I want to be proven wrong in the worst way, I want Granderson to be a difference maker that makes me forget who we traded to get him, but will he even play enough for this to happen?

 

Do it Curtis! DO IT!

[StearnsFTW]

Put me in the I'll-believe-it-when-I-see-it camp with Orimoloye.

 

It's not as if he had a good year or something. Yeah, he was better than he was in 2017, but that's a pretty low bar. He was average at an age-appropriate level.

 

We'll see, but I'm not worried about losing him.

[clancyphile]

Put me in the I'll-believe-it-when-I-see-it camp with Orimoloye.

 

It's not as if he had a good year or something. Yeah, he was better than he was in 2017, but that's a pretty low bar. He was average at an age-appropriate level.

 

We'll see, but I'm not worried about losing him.

 

2018 was, IMO, a make-or-break year, and Demi was in the middle.

 

The only prospects I really don't like losing in the July-August deals are Meideiros and KJ Harrison. The former had put it together to a Hader-lite potential. The latter was arguably the best offensive prospect at catcher for the Crew.

 

The rest... I'm not that upset about.

[hurricanecrush]

Put me in the I'll-believe-it-when-I-see-it camp with Orimoloye.

 

It's not as if he had a good year or something. Yeah, he was better than he was in 2017, but that's a pretty low bar. He was average at an age-appropriate level.

 

We'll see, but I'm not worried about losing him.

 

2018 was, IMO, a make-or-break year, and Demi was in the middle.

 

The only prospects I really don't like losing in the July-August deals are Meideiros and KJ Harrison. The former had put it together to a Hader-lite potential. The latter was arguably the best offensive prospect at catcher for the Crew.

 

The rest... I'm not that upset about.

Except he won’t stick as catcher, so he’ll be a bad hitting first baseman or leftfielder.

[jjfanec]

So far so good with Granderson. He and Moose are professional hitters. Rarely have bad at bats. Make pitchers work. Love it

[Oxy]

So far so good with Granderson. He and Moose are professional hitters. Rarely have bad at bats. Make pitchers work. Love it

 

I agree. They look very comfortable up there, knowing exactly what they are doing.

 

Also, why wouldn't we roll with 11 pitchers in the Playoffs? There are so many off days I'd much rather have a ton of flexibility on the bench. Other than Cain and Yelich (and Aguilar if he heats up), the rest of the roster is very match-up dependent.

[torts]

.455/.647/1.829

[coolhandluke121]

So far so good with Granderson. He and Moose are professional hitters. Rarely have bad at bats. Make pitchers work. Love it

 

I agree. They look very comfortable up there, knowing exactly what they are doing.

 

Also, why wouldn't we roll with 11 pitchers in the Playoffs? There are so many off days I'd much rather have a ton of flexibility on the bench. Other than Cain and Yelich (and Aguilar if he heats up), the rest of the roster is very match-up dependent.

 

You might easily want to use, on average, 5 pitchers per game in the playoffs. Sometimes even more, considering how pulling starters early has been such a big part of the team's success. I don't think 11 is enough for a series. It's not like they get every other day off.

[tmwiese55]

In the NLDS you never play more than two games back to back though. And every P besides Hader can pitch two days in a row. And come playoffs they might let him as well. Might have to adjust in the NLCS when there is 3 games in a row.

[liveforoctober]

In the NLDS you never play more than two games back to back though. And every P besides Hader can pitch two days in a row. And come playoffs they might let him as well. Might have to adjust in the NLCS when there is 3 games in a row.

 

I think this is correct. With the offensive/defensive options we will have available to us ... I'd rather keep a guy like Broxton over Jacob Barnes if it came down to it for the NLDS. The NLCS we might do the opposite.

[markedman5]

"I do not believe that Granderson, at his age, is worth the potential we traded to get him.

 

I want to be proven wrong in the worst way, I want Granderson to be a difference maker that makes me forget who we traded to get him, but will he even play enough for this to happen?

 

Do it Curtis! DO IT!"

 

He heard you....ask and you shall receive.

[TURBO]

"I do not believe that Granderson, at his age, is worth the potential we traded to get him.

 

I want to be proven wrong in the worst way, I want Granderson to be a difference maker that makes me forget who we traded to get him, but will he even play enough for this to happen?

 

Do it Curtis! DO IT!"

 

He heard you....ask and you shall receive.

 

NICE!

[pitchleague]

I don't have too much to add to the thread but I have to say, I was very impressed in how well-versed he was in speaking with Sophia last night after the game. I hate to say he spoke "eloquently," but he certainly sounded very intelligent. I was very very impressed. I think he could have a future as a public speaker/broadcaster.

[TooLiveBrew]

I don't have too much to add to the thread but I have to say, I was very impressed in how well-versed he was in speaking with Sophia last night after the game. I hate to say he spoke "eloquently," but he certainly sounded very intelligent. I was very very impressed. I think he could have a future as a public speaker/broadcaster.

Oh I had almost literally the same thoughts. My thought was 'this guy's going to be a manager someday', but definitely could go the TV route smoothly too.

[bigredrobbo]

Last night ALONE was worth what we gave up, from now on, it's gravy!