Braun Working on a Swing Change

[coolhandluke121]

 

True, but there's one important aspect missing here.

 

None of those guys cost $20M or anything close to it.

 

 

That and the fact that they don't have no-trade clauses. Choi is a big loss too. They could have played Santana/Thames in RF with Choi/Aguilar at 1B.

 

Braun should be a designated pinch-hitter and play 2-3 times a week. He still seems to be able to summon some power in high leverage situations, but he's worse than ever this year. Always seems a couple days off helps him though.

[MrTPlush]

Not trading Braun was a massive mistake I am still shocked to this day they did not do. One can defend him all they want...and the Braun fans will. That’s what people do when they like a player so much.

 

I would have taken Puig and flipped him for whatever, but Puig has been WAY better in years that matter.... 2017-Present. Since then Puig’s WAR has been 4x higher! Not even in the same zip code of production.

 

Khris Davis in LF would EASILY be more productive than Braun is for us. Once again not even close either.

 

Domingo Santana would easily be comparable at worst and he is dirt cheap. Braun is owed millions!

 

I was really hoping swing changes would help him out...but sure doesn’t look very promising. Maybe he can still turn it around this year and be above average offensively...but not too hopeful so far. BUT Travis Shaw should go back to his usual ways so I don’t see why Braun can’t just click one of these days.

[adambr2]

There were people in 2016 insisting that Bellinger for Braun wasn't enough. It was shocking at the time even without the benefit of hindsight now. People get blinded when they fall in love with a longtime player.

[wntrtxn21]

I do think it's worth questioning whether he should automatically be put in the middle of the order when he's in. Granted, with Jesus and Shaw hitting poorly as well, there aren't a ton of other options, but it feels like Braun would be a better fit at 6-7, at least until he starts drawing walks again.

 

You're correct. Braun is nowhere near a 3-4-5 type hitter anymore. The problem is that the Brewers just don't have anybody hitting other than Yelich-Cain-Grandal. Perez is at about .265. Braun (below .190) - Shaw (below .200) - Moustakas (around .238) - Arcia (.217) - Pina (.222) - Thames (below .250 and whiffing almost 50% of ABs!!). It's amazing they have won as many games as they have with little contribution from all but 3-4 guys and the pitchers giving up HRs at an alarming rate (2nd worst in MLB and second worst in BBs).

[pacopete4]

Braun changing his swing to try to hit more dingers was the foolish part. Should have change his bat length and shortened the swing. Being too proud and stuck in his ways these days.

[MrTPlush]

Braun changing his swing to try to hit more dingers was the foolish part. Should have change his bat length and shortened the swing. Being too proud and stuck in his ways these days.

 

He already mightily struggles with outside pitches...a shorter bat would have just made that even more brutal. Not sure if the positives from that change would really outweigh how much more he would get destroyed outside. Sure he could move up in the box to counter that...but he also gets burned inside horribly...so back to square one we go.

[pacopete4]

Braun changing his swing to try to hit more dingers was the foolish part. Should have change his bat length and shortened the swing. Being too proud and stuck in his ways these days.

 

He already mightily struggles with outside pitches...a shorter bat would have just made that even more brutal. Not sure if the positives from that change would really outweigh how much more he would get destroyed outside. Sure he could move up in the box to counter that...but he also gets burned inside horribly...so back to square one we go.

 

You control a shorter bat much more than the log he uses. I don’t think her struggle as much since he has to get the bat he’s using now going sooner since I’m sure his swing has slowed over the years or pitch recognition has gotten worse.

[coolhandluke121]

 

He already mightily struggles with outside pitches...a shorter bat would have just made that even more brutal.

 

His only struggle is refusing to lay off of them. He should have a more compact swing and be a good singles/doubles hitter like prime Lucroy.

[MrTPlush]

 

He already mightily struggles with outside pitches...a shorter bat would have just made that even more brutal.

 

His only struggle is refusing to lay off of them. He should have a more compact swing and be a good singles/doubles hitter like prime Lucroy.

 

Well he can’t and really never did. So his long bat helps him fight many off...and still does. No point in dreaming of him magically laying off of them now.

[JohnBriggs12]

It's obvious he's having to start his swing a click early to get to good fastballs. As a result, he's flailing at bad breaking pitches that he used to be able to lay off. He needs a lighter bat in his mid 30's or his career might be over. He's fine if he guesses off speed and the the pitcher hangs it a bit but hard stuff that isn't right in his happy zones and breaking balls when he's guessing fastball are making him look old.

[3and2Fastball]

If Braun is still hitting below .200 by June, does he get benched?

[MrTPlush]

Starting his bat early has been happening (always has) since that thumb injury. I remember it being a major issue when that thumb injury was a new thing. I’d guess the thumb problem is still there (I recall at the time it was called a forever thing for him) and that is why he starts the bat earlier...still.

 

If a smaller bat would fix the problem, I bet he would do it. But I am guessing he has tried in practice or over the offseason and didn’t like it.

[coolhandluke121]

It's obvious he's having to start his swing a click early to get to good fastballs. As a result, he's flailing at bad breaking pitches that he used to be able to lay off.

 

I tried to say this last year and compared him to A-Rod in 2012, when he hit 33 homers but struck out 145 times. A lot of people just kept quoting hard contact %, but that doesn't prove anything except that he can still hit the ball when he guesses right. Most declining sluggers can. The issues are real and I think this is going to get ugly.

 

If you had a time machine and could waive Braun to keep Santana, would you do it?

[Ennder]

Except his contact rate and K% wasn't changed in 2018 in a meaningful way so what you suggest probably simply isn't true, he actually got better against fastballs than he was in previous years. The data size is way too small this year to make any comments. The only real change in his game in 2018 is he started to struggle with offspeed pitches more than he ever has. He also saw a career low percentage of those pitches last year so the sample was tiny. Braun's problem in 2018 was simple babip and nothing else.

 

I know people want some different answer and hate that response. But I drafted Braun in fantasy and I spent a good hour pouring over stats looking at every tiny detail and there just isn't anything there. He got much worse results than he should have and that just happens some seasons. In almost every way 2018 was Braun's best year from a hitting standpoint since 2015. The only way it wasn't was the number of PA and the actual results. The skills were as good as they had been in years.

[coolhandluke121]

His reflexes have declined and he starts his swing a split second sooner to keep up with fastballs, causing some embarrassing swings against off speed pitches. His K% doesn't do justice to how much he struggled. This clearly was happening last year, and your stats in a vacuum do nothing to disprove it. The first hint of that is usually the beginning of the end for hitters like him. We're seeing the natural progression of that process this year, but it definitely started last year.

 

Sure, he can still mash fastballs. And opponents will continue to throw them and live with the occasional home run, because usually they're just setting him up to look silly on a well-timed breaking ball. And people here will still call out the "Braun haters" every time he hits one out, but the results continue to speak for themselves.

[Ennder]

That shows up in the stats though. It showed up in Bautista's big time. You start to trade LD for FB or you start to lose your ability to hit fastballs or your ability to hit breaking balls goes. Braun was as good as ever against fastballs and breaking balls last season. He barrelled the ball at a better rate than normal, kept his LD% in tact. His expected stats actually went up. This may be happening this year but it isn't likely it was last year. That shows up in the stats quite clearly and it just isn't there. Last year he just had horrible luck.

[TURBO]

Maybe it's time he uses a smaller bat? That 35" monster is getting harder for him to get through the strike zone. Why can't he or his coaches realize this?

[brewmann04]

yes i agree lets go back to your old way Braun

[tmwiese55]

Personally I'd have rather seen him embrace being a contact doubles hitter like a prime Lucroy or even Cain type rather than try to hang onto trying to be a power hitter. He had really developed into a great opposite field hitter there and that seems to have gone away.

[Polish Falcons]

Giving up on Domingo Santana is starting to look like a pretty bad move as he would be a nice upgrade over Braun.

[DHonks]

Giving up on Domingo Santana is starting to look like a pretty bad move as he would be a nice upgrade over Braun.

 

you lost me when you said we gave up on him. That's simply not true

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Giving up on Domingo Santana is starting to look like a pretty bad move as he would be a nice upgrade over Braun.

 

you lost me when you said we gave up on him. That's simply not true

 

I don't know why people do this. If you trade a player for value, it's far from giving up on him. The Brewers got a player in Gamel that profiles much better as a 4th OF, which is exactly what they needed, and a young pitching prospect. I'm glad Santana is doing well, but he was always a square peg in a round hole for this team.

[coolhandluke121]

They needed a starting RF, not a 4th OF. The stuff they've done to accommodate Braun, despite his salary, health, and production, is a curse.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

They needed a starting RF, not a 4th OF. The stuff they've done to accommodate Braun, despite his salary, health, and production, is a curse.

 

I don't disagree. But it is what it is. Braun is gonna be looked at as a starter as long as he's on this team. The best we can hope for as fans is that he finds a few hot streaks and helps carry the offense in short bursts. Santana was never going to displace Ryan Braun in the lineup, no matter how much sense it made.

[pacopete4]

They needed a starting RF, not a 4th OF. The stuff they've done to accommodate Braun, despite his salary, health, and production, is a curse.

 

I don't disagree. But it is what it is. Braun is gonna be looked at as a starter as long as he's on this team. The best we can hope for as fans is that he finds a few hot streaks and helps carry the offense in short bursts. Santana was never going to displace Ryan Braun in the lineup, no matter how much sense it made.

 

Santana had his opportunity to do so last season and stunk up the joint. He basically had the first two months to produce and there was a good chance he would have taken the spot away from Braun and he flatlined.