Simulated 2020 Baseball Season (JosephC)

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 6 - Red Sox 8, Brewers 7

 

Have to give the bats a lot of credit in the game for continuing to fight back, but once again the pitching let the Brewers down.

 

Woodruff is coming off a bad month and was terrible. 5 earned runs in 3 innings with 3 home runs allowed. His ERA has ballooned to 5.38 and now it looks like his rotation spot is as big of a problem as Houser's. Thank goodness for recent strong showings by Corbin Burnes, who might turn out to be a real savior. On the plus side for the pitching, David Phelps did a good job in this game and has put together a nice string of recent performances. In his last 8 games, Phelps has thrown 6 2/3 innings, allowed 1 earned run, 2 hits, 3 walks and struck out 5.

 

Brewer hitters were all over the bases with 12 hits and a walk, and they managed to get 7 across the plate. Eric Sogard has become a hitting machine an posted another three hits in this game. Keston Hiura hit home run #9. The Brewers kept chipping away and cut what was an early 5-run deficit to 1 on a couple different occasions but just couldn't get over the hump.

 

Jackie Bradley Jr. left this game with a mild injury. He's listed as day-to-day for one day so he will likely be available tomorrow.

 

In other league news, White Sox outfielder Luis Robert tore an ACL and it out for the season. He didn't have much of a positive impact for the White Sox so far, only slashing .246/.277/.415/.692 in 195 plate appearances while playing slightly below average centerfield defense. Padre relief pitcher Pierce Johnson had what was thought to be a mild hamstring strain but his status went to unknown (just like Justin Smoak earlier in the year). Johnson has a 3.86 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 3.97 FIP in 32 2/3 innings.

 

Yadier Molina also recorded his 2000th MLB hit.

 

[attachment=2]6_6_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6-6-batters.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_6_pitchers.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 7 - Red Sox 8, Brewers 7

 

It was obvious in the first inning that this was going to be a high scoring shootout and, frankly, it was amazing that only 15 runs scored in this game because it seemed like there should have been a lot more. Only two home runs were hit which really was the main factor in limiting the scoring. 31 base hits between the two teams and there weren't many cheapies in there.

 

Josh Lindblom and rookie Tanner Houck started and both got rocked. Houck had made 3 previous MLB starts and entered this game with a 10.03 ERA and didn't fare much better against the Brewer bats. The Red Sox rotation has been decimated by injury (Sale out for the year, Eduardo Rodriguez out for several months, Martin Perez (follower) out for several months), but the Brewer's pitching prevented them from taking advantage of this. The one thing that saved Houck was the double-play ball. He got Hiura to ground into double-plays in both the first and the third, and then got Yelich to ground into a double play in the fourth. Jedd Gyroko also hit into a double-play in the fifth inning.

 

Drew Rasmussen entered in the fourth inning and had a good outing. The Brewers had grabbed a 6-5 lead heading to the bottom of the seventh and it was set up for the Williams/Knebel/Hader trio. Instead, Ray Black got the call in the seventh. Black had been struggling but was sharp in this game, four up and four down, taking the team 1 out into the 8th inning. Knebel then came in and gave up a single to Jackie Bradley Jr. and then a 2-run home run to Jeter Downs. The Brewers had scored an insurance run in the top of the eighth so this homer wiped out the 2-run lead. Chris Lee, who has been awesome this year came in for the ninth and gave up a single to Xander Bogaerts, and single to Rafael Devers and then a game winning single by ex-Brewer Travis Shaw.

 

It's also worth noting that Yelich made a great diving catch to end an inning, if the catch wouldn't have been made it would have resulted in at least one more Red Sox run. Avisail also threw out Jose Peraza at the plate. So the Brewers did get some good defense in this game.

 

I was kind of disappointed that Holt got the call at DH instead of Braun but there wasn't much to argue about after the game as Holt had three doubles and a walk. Sogard got the day off and Gyorko had a 2 for 4 game in his place. Garcia, Hiura, Narvaez and Smoak also had multi-hit games. Only Brewer that went to the plate and didn't get a hit was Urias, but he didn't get skunked either as he drove in a run on a ground ball in the second and drew a walk in the third. The hitting for this team is not a problem and doesn't look like it will be a problem anytime soon.

 

Have to admit that the pitching is so horrible that it's not even fun to watch most of these games. Really wish the engine would start making some moves because this is just awful. Lindblom now has a 5.86 ERA, 1.84 WHIP and 5.72 FIP. I'd put Lindblom on waivers and ship him to the minors, I don't see him getting picked up by anyone else as he would still have 7+ million left on his contract. Houser to the bullpen. I'd also send Devin Williams to the minors. Eric Lauer to the rotation. I think Rasmussen is a reliever long-term but he was starting for San Antonio earlier in the year so I would probably give him what would be Lindblom's next start and see how it goes. I'd call up Jesus Castillio, who has been excellent in AAA, to take the open bullpen spot. Castillo's numbers = 20 games, 25 innings pitched, 0.36 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, 2.93 FIP. And it goes without saying, Knebel can join Houser in mop-up duty until he gets things turned around. So my staff would be - Rotation = Peralta, Burnes, Woodruff, Lauer, Rasmussen...Bullpen = Hader, Black, Lee, Phelps, Claudio, Castillo, Houser, Knebel. Come on engine, get to work!

 

[attachment=2]6_7_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_7_batters.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_7_pitchers.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

The game does not have a set draft pool for each team based on picks within the first ten rounds. This works more like it did in a few years back. First round picks have a slot value suggestion...each player has a demand...each team has a draft budget with no cap...if you have enough of an allocated budget to meet all the demands, then it's easy to sign all the players. This only applies to the first five rounds. Every player taken after round five is immediately added to the organization that drafted them. Bottom line, everyone taken after round five is already in the Brewer's organization, first five round picks still have to sign to become Brewers. Based on the amount of the Brewer's draft expenditures (7.2 million), I am fully expecting all of the first five round picks to sign.

 

 

I was wrong about this. Select players do have signing bonus demands, so certain picks after round five do have to sign. So picks in round 6-35 will not necessarily be Brewers. Here is is the list of draft picks indicating which ones have signed. The draft pick signing deadline is August 3rd, so all picks that do not sign go to next year's draft (I don't think the game is elaborate enough to make 4-year university commits ineligible for the next few drafts). Also, it's now a possibility that some later round guys will sign which may prevent the Brewers from signing all of the first five round picks.

 

1. 1B-Aaron Sabato/North Carolina

2. 2B-Casey Martin/Arkansas

3. LF-Slade Wilks/Columbia Academy (Mississippi)

4. RHP-George Klassen/Port Washington (Wisconsin)

5. RHP-Cade Cavalli/Oklahoma

 

6. CF-Alerick Soularie/Tennessee - SIGNED

7. C-Bryant Bowen/South Carolina - SIGNED

8. SS-Jack O'Dowd/Lipscomb (Tennessee) - SIGNED

9. 3B-Jamal O'Guinn/Southern California - SIGNED

10. SS-Yohandy Morales/Monsignor Pace (Florida)

 

11. 3B-Gavin Casas/American Heritage (Florida)

12. LF-Nolan Schanuel/Park Vista (Florida)

13. 2B-Bryce Blaum/Texas A&M - SIGNED

14. 3B-Colt Keith/Biloxi (Mississippi)

15. 3B-Andy Armstrong/Oregon State - SIGNED

 

16. CF-Dylan Nause/Texas Tech - SIGNED

17. 3B-Michael Davinni/Aliso Niguel (California)

18. CF-Jaren Shelby/Kentucky - SIGNED

19. RF-Nick Howie/Eastern Kentucky - SIGNED

20. 1B-Austin Plante/Southern Nevada (Nevada)

 

21. C-Devin Burkes/The Village Charter (Florida)

22. 1B-Liam Hibbits/VCU - SIGNED

23. 3B-Jaden Agassi/Del Sol (Nevada)

24. SS-Jack Mahoney/St. Viator (Illinois) - SIGNED

25. SS-Jonathan Vaughns/St. John Bosco (California)

 

26. CF-Tyler Williams/Oklahoma City - SIGNED

27. 3B-Tim Elko/Mississippi - SIGNED

28. 2B-Brandon Michie/Mercer - SIGNED

29. RF-Mackenzie Wainwright/St. Edward (Ohio)

30. SS-Jalen Vasquez/Fort Dorchester (South Carolina) - SIGNED

 

31. CF-Josh Fitzgerald/Kirkwood CC Iowa - SIGNED

32. 3B-Cole Austin/Arkansas - SIGNED

33. 3B-Zach Needham/Lewis-Clark State - SIGNED

34. 3B-Jordan Stephens/Miami - SIGNED

35. RF-Elliot Willy/Oregon State - SIGNED

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 8 - scheduled day off

 

26 man roster-

Rotation = Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Corbin Burnes, Adrian Houser, Josh Lindblom

Bullpen = Josh Hader (closer), Corey Knebel (setup), Devin Williams (setup), Alex Claudio (middle), Ray Black (middle), David Phelps (middle), Chris Lee (long), Drew Rasmussen (long)

Catchers = Omar Narvaez, Manny Pina

Infielders = Justin Smoak, Keston Hiura, Eric Sogard, Luis Urias, Brock Holt, Jedd Gyorko

Outfielders = Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain, Avisail Garcia, Ryan Braun, Keon Broxton

 

DL = Brent Suter (one week), Logan Morrison (two weeks)

 

Other 40 man roster players-

Pitchers = J.P Feyereisen, Eric Yardley

Catcher = David Freitas

Infielders = Orlando Arcia, Ryon Healy, Ronny Rodriguez

Outfielders = Ben Gamel, Tyrone Taylor

 

[attachment=2]6_8_Team Stats.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_9_Batters.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_9_Pitchers.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

[attachment=3]6_8_NL Standings.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=2]6_8_AL Standings.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_8_NL Wild Card.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_8_AL Wild Card.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 9 - Brewers 6, Padres 2

 

Another great start by Corbin Burnes leads the Brewers to a nice, easy victory. Burnes allowed 3 walks and 1 hit over six innings, and there just were no threats to speak of. Meanwhile the Brewer bats scored 6 runs without the benefit of a home run. I think Chris Paddack is the real deal, but he has been bad so far in the sim and wasn't very good in this game. No homers kept the Brewer's run total down but they still were able to get 5 runs off Paddack and tacked on 1 more against the Padre bullpen. Paddack's season ERA is now up to 7.18.

 

The Brewer bullpen had some shaky moments in the 8th and 9th. Trent Grisham hit a 2 run homer off of David Phelps in the 8th. Josh Hader came in to get some work in the 9th but gave up a walk to Yasiel Puig, a single to Jurickson Profar and Eric Hosmer reached on a rare catcher's interference call...Hader was up to 19 pitches and then Knebel came in and struck out Tommy Pham to end the ballgame. It wasn't a save situation when Hader came into the ballgame, but it was when Knebel came in (tying run was on-deck) so it pumped up the team stats a little bit.

 

Three hit game for Lorenzo Cain who just keeps rolling right along. Two doubles for both Avisail Garcia and Brock Holt. Garcia has finally got it going and Holt is turning out to be an excellent bench piece.

 

In other league news, the Phillies and Rays have made a trade-

Phillies get -

OF-Kevin Kiermaier (185 plate appearances, .240/.314/.353/.667, 3 HR/10 RBI, 8 SB)

SS-Rhoniel Rodriguez

Rays get -

SP-Vince Velasquez (13 starts, 69 2/3 innings, 4.26 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 3.78 FIP, 24 BB/101 Ks)

Kind of a shocker that the Phillies would deal Velasquez after it seems he may have turned the corner. But frankly, he had been a disappointment the previous few seasons so maybe it's a sell high move for them. They definitely needed a centerfield as they had been playing Odubel Herrera there and he's suffered through a .178/.247/.356/.603 slash line. Blake Snell (4.39 ERA) and Charlie Morton (5.11 ERA) have been disappointing, but if they get it turned around, combining Tyler Glasnow (2.61 ERA) and Velasquez with Snell and Morton could really form a top-notch rotation. Rhoniel Rodriguez is a 17 year old fringe/lottery ticket type prospect.

 

[attachment=2]6_29_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_9_batters.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_9_pitchers.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 10 - Padres 7, Brewers 3

 

Very frustrating loss as the Brewers had a 3-0 lead after five innings and end up losing by a large margin.

 

Zach Davies took the mound for the Padres and looked like he did during most of his time in Milwaukee, solid but not spectacular. The Brewers got two runs in the second inning when Justin Smoak walked, Luis Urias had a double down the first base line that maybe should have been fielded by Wil Myers, Eric Sogard then had a sacrifice fly that scored Smoak and Manny Pina singled in Urias. Bottom of the fifth was a very interesting half inning. Eric Sogard singled, then Manny Pina hit an absolute tailor-made double-play ball that shortstop Greg Garcia booted for an error. Houser than laid down a sacrifice bunt to move up the runners, Lorenzo Cain singled which scored Sogard but Pina also tried to score on the play and Trent Grisham threw him out by a mile. Avisail Garcia then grounded out to end the inning. So the error by Garcia resulted in a run for the Brewers, but the baserunning blunder by Pina potentially took more runs off the board.

 

Adrian Houser got three outs on very hard hit balls in the first two innings, fly outs by Tommy Pham and Francisco Mejia, and a single by Grisham and then settled down for the next three innings. He only allowed one hit and two walks in the first five innings, and then it all fell apart in the sixth. Pham led off the inning with a single, Garcia struck out, Manny Machado singled and then Grisham hit a 390 foot homer to tie the game at three. Counsell immediately pulled Houser which seemed like the right choice.

 

Alex Claudio came into the game and got the last two outs of the sixth and one out in the seventh and then left the ballgame with what appeared to be a back injury.

 

Devin Williams was the next guy in and was a total disaster. Wil Myers walked, Abraham Almonte struck out (out #2 of the inning as Claudio had gotten the first out), Pham was intentionally walked, Garcia hit a tapper back to Williams that he fielded and then threw over the head of Smoak for a 2-base error that scored Myers...and then Machado came up and hit a 3-run home run. Game over. Williams is charged for 4 unearned runs but he was the one that committed the error on an easy play so he was responsible for all 4 of those runs.

 

I guess if there was an positive to this game, it's that Drew Rasmussen and Corey Knebel both made appearance later in the game and both looked sharp.

 

Claudio's injury has been described as a sore back and he's listed as day-to-day for one week. Claudio hasn't been very good but he's pitched in a ridiculous amount of games (44 out of 66 games played) so I guess he provides some value in that regard.

 

And, needless to say, if this is the way things had proceeded in reality, the Urias/Lauer for Grisham/Davies trade would be very controversial among Brewer fans right about now-

Grisham = 288 plate appearances, .257/.376/.473/.849, 10 HR/29 RBI, 7 SB, 1.8 WAR

Davies = 14 starts, 83 2/3 innings, 3.55 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 3.79 FIP, 11 BB, 55 Ks, 1.6 WAR

(Davies home ERA is 2.70, road ERA is 4.46)

Urias = 244 plate appearances, .226/.321/.377/.698, 6 HR/27 RBI, 3 SB, 0.9 WAR

Lauer (in AAA) = 12 starts, 59 1/3 innings, 3.49 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 5.24 FIP, 17 BB, 58 Ks, 0.7 WAR

And then there are the domino effects from the deal-

-Garcia gets a notable contract = 240 plate appearances, .231/.268/.362/.630, 6 HR/30 RBI, 1 SB, -0.4 WAR

-Arcia to the minors = .226/.306/.581/.886, 0.3 WAR in 13 MLB games, .316/.383/.480/.862, 1.9 WAR in 47 AAA games

 

The Reds and Cardinals both win. The Reds are now 1 1/2 games behind and the Cardinals are 2 1/2 games behind.

 

[attachment=2]6_10_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_10_batters.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_10_pitchers.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 11 - Padres 7, Brewers 4

 

Roster move made-

J.P. Feyereisen recalled from AAA, Drew Rasmussen optioned to AAA

 

Felt pretty good about this one as team ace Freddy Peralta took the mound. Peralta got 2 strikeouts and a weak ground out and looked sharp in inning #1. The Brewers came to bat and got a run scoring double from Ryan Braun, a run scoring single from Keston Hiura and a sac fly from Omar Narvaez and held a 3-0 lead at the end of the first. It all went downhill from there. Peralta struggled in the second, allowed two runs in the frame, and then gave up a 3-run home run to Francisco Mejia in the third which ended Peralta's day.

 

The Brewers were trailing by a 7-3 score heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, threatened in both the 8th and the 9th, but could only push across one more run to make the final score 7-4. Drew Pomeranz started the eighth inning and allowed a single to Christian Yelich, Hiura hit into a fielder's choice, Omar Narvaez singled and Luis Urias walked to load the bases with one out. This forced Kirby Yates into the ballgame early. Hiura scored when Brock Holt hit into a fielder's choice and then Yates got Eric Sogard on a weak ground ball to end the inning. The Brewers got the first two men on in the ninth inning but Braun hit into a double-play that didn't end the game but pretty much ended any chance the Brewers had of winning the game.

 

7 relievers used right before a big series with the Reds, so the engine will probably have Rasmussen back tomorrow. Nick Castellanos crying as he has a hand contusion and will miss the Brewer's pitching staff (listed as out for the next five days). Last time these two teams met, Castellanos had 11 RBIs in the 3 game series. Sonny Gray is also on the DL with a sprained elbow (out for 3 more weeks).

 

In other league news, the following players have all suffered season ending injuries:

Minnesota starting pitcher Michael Pineda (shoulder inflammation) - 20 2/3 innings, 3.05 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 4.96 FIP

Washington starting pitcher Austin Voth (elbow ligament reconstruction) - 20 1/3 innings, 4.87 ERA, 1.72 WHIP, 7.01 FIP

Pittsburgh shortstop J.T. Riddle (ruptured MCL) - 102 plate appearances, .160/.218/.255/.473

 

[attachment=2]6_11_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_11_batters.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_11_pitchers.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 12 - Brewers 4, Reds 3

 

Excellent come from behind victory. Christian Yelich, who has been slumping (sub-.700 OPS in June), hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 8th to give the Brewers the late-inning win.

 

Top 100 prospect Tyler Stephenson made his MLB debut for the Reds and hit a 3-run home run in his first major league at bat. At that point it looked like it would be another tough outing for Brandon Woodruff, but he settled down and pitched well from that point forward. Woodruff only allowed 1 baserunner in innings 3-5 (a walk to Votto in the third), and then he struck out Jesse Winkler to start the sixth before getting pulled with a pitch count of 95. I'd probably say it was Woodruff's best performance since May 4, a 6 2/3 inning performance against the Marlins in which he only allowed 1 run.

 

The Brewers got a run in the second inning on a passed ball that allowed Justin Smoak to score, and then another run in the fourth when Luis Urias doubled and Eric Sogard knocked him in with a single. Yelich then hit the game-winning 2-run blast in the 8th.

 

Hader struggled a bit in the ninth, allowing a walk to Mike Moustakas and a single to Freddy Galvis, but he was able to strike out Tyler Stephenson to end the game and record his 12th save.

 

The Reds and Cardinals are now tied for second place, 2 1/2 games behind the Brewers.

 

In other news, the engine has made a trade that makes zero sense to me-

Padres get-

LF-Nelson Cruz (202 plate appearances, .185/.292/.428/.720, 13 HR/27 RBI)

Twins get-

RHP-Kirby Yates (25 1/3 innings, 3.55 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 4.28 FIP)

2B-Owen Miller - in AA - (184 plate appearances, .358/.424/.459/.883, 2 HR/21 RBI)

I just don't get how Cruz fits into the Padres lineup? Neither Pham (.841 OPS) nor Puig (.740 OPS) look like they need to be replaced. Maybe 1B to take at-bats away from Hosmer (.691 OPS), but Cruz has never played there and OOTP only gives him defensive ratings as a LF and a RF (obviously very bad ratings at both spots). Yates wasn't having a great year but trading him definitely weakens their pen. I like Owen Miller as a prospect in real life...in the game he has decent enough ratings and goes into the Twins prospect ranking at #20 (he'd be 11th in the Brewers system)...so he's a pretty nice role-player level prospect and IMO more than just a throw in lottery ticket.

 

[attachment=2]6_12_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_12_batters.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_12_pitchers.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 12 - Reds 7, Brewers 3

 

Roster move made-

J.P. Feyereisen optioned to AAA, Drew Rasmussen recalled from AAA

 

Brewer starting pitching woes continue. Josh Lindblom was the starter, gave up a 2-run home run to Jesse Winkler, and Mike Moustakas scored another run on a Freddy Galvis sac fly to put the Brewers in a 3-0 1st inning hole. Lindblom allowed another 2 baserunners in the second inning but was bailed out when Avisail Garcia gunned down Nick Senzel at third. He then pitched a solid 3rd and 4th but then ran into trouble again in the 5th and allowed a 2-run homer by Moustakas.

 

On the other side, Tyler Mahle is having a really good season for the Reds and handled just about every Brewer not named Sogard with relative ease. Mahle threw a complete game, struck out 10, didn't walk anybody and only allowed 4 hits. Two of those four hits were solo home runs by Eric Sogard. It could legitimately be said that Sogard has been the team MVP so far this season. .305/.383/.525/.908 with 10 home runs. Never underestimate veteran grit!

 

Normally I don't comment on MiLB movement because so much happens that it is just about impossible to follow. But today will be an exception. Brice Turang has been promoted to Biloxi. There was really nothing more for Turang to do at Carolina as he was slashing a ridiculous .349/.484/.503/.986. Only 3 home runs in 244 plate appearances but still almost a 1.000 OPS. Other thing I like it that he was grading as a 55 shortstop and a 35 second basemen when the season began. He has played 2B all year and now grades as a 55 shortstop and 50 second baseman so the engine has also added the position flexibility as well. Have to admit that I wouldn't mind seeing the engine stick him at 3B since the Brewers have Hiura and Urias at 2B and SS, although I doubt the engine would do that.

 

The Brewers have also signed 3rd round pick LF-Slade Wilks. 740k signing bonus.

 

In other league news, Yankees SS-Gleyber Torres broke a bone in his foot and will miss four weeks. Big blow for the Yankees as Torres has a .300/.352/.578/.929 line this year.

 

[attachment=2]6_13_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_13_batters.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_13_pitchers.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 14 - Reds 3, Brewers 2

 

Roster move made-

J.P. Feyereisen recalled from AAA, Drew Rasmussen optioned to AAA

 

Had a good feeling about this one as the pitching matchup really seemed to favor the Brewers: Corbin Burnes (3.33 ERA) versus Anthony DeSclafani (5.59 ERA). But DeScalfani only allowed 2 runs in 8 innings and Burnes had one rough inning and the Reds won the game.

 

Biggest difference in this game was Red's centerfielder Travis Jankowski, who made several highlight defensive plays and took several Brewer runs off the board.

 

The Brewer runs came in the second on a Justin Smoak home run and in the seventh when Luis Urias knocked in Smoak on a single. They had two men on base in the bottom of the ninth when Luis Urias hit a sinking liner to center that Jankowski made a spectacular diving catch on to end the ballgame.

 

Burnes went 9 up, 9 down with 5 strikeouts through the first three innings and really appeared to be on a roll. Then in the fourth Jankowski led off the inning with a walk, Jesse Winkler singled, and then Omar Narvaez threw the ball into left field on a double steal attempt. Jankowski scored on the play and Winkler advanced to third. Eugenio Suarez then came up and hit a 2-run home run to conclude the Reds scoring.

 

The loss drops the Brewers to 35-35. After a 2-0 start to the season, followed by a loss, followed a 4 game winning streak...the Brewers were off to a 6-1 start so this is actually the first time the Brewers have not had a winning record in the sim. The Reds and the Cardinals are now only 1/2 game back and the Pirates are sticking in there at only 3 1/2 games back.

 

In other league news, we have a swap of minor leaguers between the Red Sox and the Marlins-

Marlins get-

RHP-Thad Ward - in AAA - 41 1/3 innings, 5.66 ERA, 1.86 WHIP, 4.33 FIP, also had 21 1/3 innings in A+ with much better numbers (1.69 ERA)

Red Sox get-

LHP-Daniel Castano - in AAA - 57 1/3 innings, 4.24 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 5.37 FIP

RHP-John Baker - 7th round pick in 2020 Draft

The inclusion of Baker in this trade is a screw-up by the engine. Trading of draft picks and recently drafted players have different game settings that can be altered by whatever the user prefers. I initially thought I had screwed up the sim setup, but I have checked the settings and have the Trading of Recently Drafted Players setting at "Next Offseason." So this is an engine screwup.

Thad Ward goes into the Marlins top prospect list at #19, John Baker goes into the Red Sox top prospect list at #17 and Daniel Castano isn't listed. Would have to think the motivator for this trade is that the Red Sox see Ward as far enough along where he could eat up some MLB innings this season, as the Red Sox pitching staff has been wiped out by injuries.

 

[attachment=2]6_14_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_14_batters.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_14_pitchers.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 15 - scheduled day off

 

Roster move made-

Drew Rasmussen recalled from AAA, J.P. Feyereisen optioned to AAA

 

26 man roster-

Rotation = Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, Adrian Houser, Josh Lindblom

Bullpen = Josh Hader (closer), Corey Knebel (setup), Devin Williams (setup), Alex Claudio (middle), Ray Black (middle), David Phelps (middle), Chris Lee (long), Drew Rasmussen (long)

Catchers = Omar Narvaez, Manny Pina

Infielders = Justin Smoak, Keston Hiura, Eric Sogard, Luis Urias, Brock Holt, Jedd Gyorko

Outfielders = Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain, Avisail Garcia, Ryan Braun, Keon Broxton

 

DL = Brent Suter (one day), Logan Morrison (five days)

 

Other 40 man roster players (36 players)-

Pitchers = J.P Feyereisen, Eric Yardley

Catcher = David Freitas

Infielders = Orlando Arcia, Ryon Healy, Ronny Rodriguez

Outfielders = Ben Gamel, Tyrone Taylor

 

[attachment=2]6_15_team stats.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_15_batting.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_15_pitching.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

[attachment=3]6_15_NL Standings.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=2]6_15_AL Standings.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_15_NL Wild Card.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_15_AL Wild Card.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

AAA batting

 

[attachment=3]6_15_AAA batting.jpg[/attachment]

 

AAA pitching

 

[attachment=2]6_15_AAA pitching.jpg[/attachment]

 

AA batting

 

[attachment=1]6_15_AA batting.jpg[/attachment]

 

AA pitching

 

[attachment=0]6_15_AA pitching.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 16 - Twins 8, Brewers 3

 

Adrian Houser versus Homer Bailey. Bailey has found the fountain of youth and is having a pretty good season (following the game he has pitched 92 innings with a 3.91 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 4.24 FIP). We all know what Houser has done so far in the sim. This matchup may very well favor the Brewers in real life, but it didn't in the sim and unfortunately this game went pretty much as expected.

 

It doesn't help that the Twins lineup can flat out hit. They have 6 regulars with an OPS of .834 or better. A 7th regular has an OPS of .793. The two regulars below that are centerfielder Byron Buxton and catcher Mitch Garver, both good defenders that play superior defense (in Buxton's case, plus-plus-plus defense).

 

Houser, coming off a good start and a respectable start and looked like he was maybe starting to turn the corner, was absolutely terrible. He was smacked around in the first inning for four runs, pretty much everything off the Twins' bats were rockets. Keston Hiura committed an error with one out in the second inning, then Josh Donaldson drew a walk and Miguel Sano doubled and that was the end of Houser's day. 6 hits, 2 walks, 5 runs (4 earned) in 1 1/3 inning. Chris Lee and Ray Black, two of the best relievers, were also charged with giving up runs. Both of these guys are starting to fade, thankfully others like Drew Rasmussen and David Phelps have been better recently. Certainly the highlight of Brewer pitching on this day was Corey Knebel, who pitched the eighth and had a 3 up, 3 down, 3 strikeout performance against Donaldson, Sano and Max Kepler.

 

Lorenzo Cain led off the game with a home run. Luis Urias doubled in Braun in the fifth. Christian Yelich hit a 428 foot bomb to straight away right field in the ninth. Keston Hiura with an 0-4 day and he's been struggling. Hiura has a .222/.255/.400/.655 slash line in June.

 

The loss drops the Brewers below .500 for the first time this year. The Cardinals and the Reds both win, so the Brewers also drop from 1st place to 3rd place in the standings.

 

In other league news, we have a bunch of injuries to report-

Braves pitcher Cole Hamels has a torn labrum and will miss at least four months (33 2/3 innings, 5.35 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, 3.87 FIP)

Rockies pitcher Jairo Diaz has a torn flexor tendon and will miss the next fourteen months (26 innings, 6.23 ERA, 2.23 WHIP, 5.14 FIP)

Marlins pitcher Elieser Hernandez has a torn muscle in his back and will miss the next four months (36 2/3 innings, 7.61 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, 5.22 FIP)

 

[attachment=2]6_16_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_16_batting.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_16_pitching.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 17 - Brewers 7, Twins 1

 

Roster moves made-

J.P. Feyereisen recalled from AAA, Drew Rasmussen optioned to AAA

Brent Suter activated from the disabled list and sent to AAA for a rehab assignment

 

Nice easy win as the Brewers jumped out to an early 5-0 lead and cruised to victory.

 

Brandon Woodruff with a great performance. It looked like he had a legitimate chance to throw a complete game, but he allowed a one out walk to Mitch Garver and a single to Willians Astudillo in the eighth and quick-hook Counsell put Feyereisen in the game. Feyereisen got the last two outs in the inning but then walked three batters in the ninth which brought Hader into the game to finish things out. Hader had only pitched 1 time since the 9th and, with another day off tomorrow, it seemed like a good opportunity for him to get some work in. Back to Woodruff, the only run he allowed was in the fifth on a single by Eddie Rosario that scored Miguel Sano. Other that that it was smooth-sailing. I don't know if I would say that this was Woodruff's most impressive performance of the year as he had some good outings early, but it's easily the best start that he's had since early in May.

 

On the other side, Jake Odorizzi took the mound for the Twins and was awful. Brewer hitters had no trouble with him and pounded out 8 hits in 2 2/3 innings, and there weren't many cheapies in there. Best inning for Milwaukee was the third when they scored four runs. Manny Pina led off with a double, Lorenzo Cain singled, Eric Sogard singled which knocked in Pina, Christian Yelich grounded into a fielder's choice that scored Cain, Keston Hiura singled, Yelich scored on a wild pitch, Justin Smoak struck out and Ryan Braun singled to knock in Hiura. Zack Littel came into the game at that point and got Luis Urias to fly out to end the inning. Lorenzo Cain, Eric Sogard and Keston Hiura all with 3 hit performances.

 

The Cardinals win and the Reds lose. St. Louis now alone in first place with Milwaukee 1/2 game back and the Reds 1 game back.

 

In other league news, Mariners pitcher Clayton Richard announced he will retire at the end of the year. Richard had signed a minor league contract with the Mariners on March 30 and worked his way to the major league roster where he hasn't been very good (41 innings, 5.93 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 6.30 FIP). For his career he's at 71-88 with a 4.56 ERA.

 

[attachment=2]6_17_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_17_batters.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_17_pitchers.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 18 - scheduled day off

 

Roster moves made-

Drew Rasmussen recalled from AAA, J.P. Feyereisen optioned to AAA and then sent to AA

 

NL Central Standings at the end of today's games-

 

[attachment=2]6_18_NL Central.jpg[/attachment]

 

Lots of injury news from around the league-

Cardinals reliever Jordan Hicks hasn't pitched all season because of Tommy John surgery. Now he has suffered a setback in his rehab and will be out at least the next three months.

 

Giants pitcher Kevin Gausman suffered a torn rotator cuff and will miss the rest of the year. Devastating blow for Gausman and the Giants as he had been one of the best pitchers (108 1/3 innings, 2.08 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 3.23 FIP, 2.2 BB/9, 8.1 K/9, 2.9 WAR). The Giants are going nowhere at 31-43, but Gausman was probably the most attractive starting pitcher who would have been on the trade market. He and Mike Minor would have been my #1 and #2 choices for the Brewers.

 

Mets infielder Jeff McNeil will miss the next five weeks with a back injury. McNeil is having another good offensive season - 285 plate appearances, .307/.354/.471/.826, 8 HR, 29 RBI, 1.7 WAR.

 

Diamondbacks relief pitcher Josh Green was having what was thought to be some minor hamstring problems, but the injury is more serious and he will miss 5-6 weeks. Green has thrown 20 1/3 MLB innings and has a 4.43 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 4.16 FIP.

 

Tomorrow the Rocky Mountain Vibes start play which will mean all the minor league teams will be in action. OOTP does have the Arizona Brewers split into Blue and Gold. Those teams have only played two games, so it's not really worth posting those stats yet. I just posted the MLB, AAA and AA stats a few days ago, so today I am going to post the A+, A and DSL stats.

 

A+ Batting-

 

[attachment=1]6_18_A+ batting.jpg[/attachment]

 

A+ Pitching-

 

[attachment=0]6_18_A+ pitching.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

A batting-

 

[attachment=3]6_18_A batting.jpg[/attachment]

 

A pitching-

 

[attachment=2]6_18_A pitching.jpg[/attachment]

 

DSL batting-

 

[attachment=1]6_18_DSL batting.jpg[/attachment]

 

DSL pitching-

 

[attachment=0]6_18_DSL pitching.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 19 - Diamondbacks 5, Brewers 1

 

The Diamondbacks have been a team of extreme streaks recently. They had lost 8 of their last 9 games prior to this game, but before that had a 9 game winning streak. Like the Brewers they've had good hitting, bad starting pitching and a bullpen that has started to come around (although their closer, Archie Bradley, continues to struggle).

 

The Brewers figured to have the starting pitching advantage as team ace Freddy Peralta took the hill, but a good start by Peralta was wasted as he was out-dueled by Luke Weaver.

 

Avisail Garcia got the scoring started when he crushed a 421 foot solo home run to left centerfield with 2 outs in the third inning. That was it for the Brewers in terms of scoring. The only other good chance the Brewers had was in the top of the first when Lorenzo Cain and Avisail Garcia led off the game with singles, only to have Keston Hiura ground into a double-play and Christain Yelich end the inning on a weak fly ball to left field.

 

Freddy Peralta was excellent. 10 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. Arizona were 12 up and 12 down to start off the game, but Eduardo Escobar led off the bottom of the fifth with a double and then Jake Lamb hit a 2-run homer to give the Diamondbacks the lead. Those were the only 2 guys who reached base against Peralta. He retired the next seven hitters and then Counsell went to the bullpen with Peralta at only 80 pitches.

 

The Brewers still had a chance as they trailed 2-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth. Corey Knebel started the inning got Stephen Vogt to fly out and then struck out Nick Ahmed. Wyatt Mathisen singled and Ketel Marte doubled him in. Alex Claudio then replaced Knebel, Starling Marte was intentionally walked to get the lefty/lefty matchup and David Peralta doubled in the 2 Marte's to give the Diamondbacks a 5-1 lead and effectively end the game. It's so disappointing as Knebel just can't seem to get over that hump. He now has a 7.54 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 5.62 FIP and really should not be pitching in any critical situations.

 

And to make matters worse, both Lorenzo Cain and Justin Smoak were injured in this game. Thoughts of "season over" crossed my mind when Cain exited, fortunately the injury is a sprained finger and he is listed as day-to-day for two weeks. So far, most guys with day-to-day injuries have kept right on playing and it hasn't seemed to negatively impact their numbers. Smoak's injury information is listed as pending which could be a bad sign. If there is any silver lining in that, it's that Logan Morrison's injury time is listed as 2 more days so the Brewers were going to be forced to make a decision on him as he is out of options. So if Smoak is out for any length of time, the Brewers can go back to the Morrison/Braun combo at first base, although Smoak has the best OPS of the three (Smoak = .899, Morrison = .865, Braun = .849).

 

Standings after today's action has the Cardinals in first place with the Brewers and Reds both 1 game back. The Pirates are on a 9-2 run and are 3 1/2 games back.

 

And more injury news from around the league. It's been a brutal week for injuries.

Rays starting pitcher Charlie Morton has elbow tendinitis and is expected to miss 7 weeks. Morton has a 4.68 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 4.52 FIP in 2020. Vince Velasquez has stunk in his first two games with the Rays (6.52 ERA), but now it's looking like he could prove to be a very important pick-up.

Ex-Brewer, current Blue Jay Chase Anderson has a torn flexor tendon in his elbow and is considered out for 15 months, so the rest of this year and probably all of 2021. Tough blow for Anderson and the Jays as his run prevention had been very good (3.69 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 4.33 FIP). The Blue Jays have also been on a pretty nice run and have worked their way up to a 41-35 record. Jordan Romano will take Anderson's spot in the rotation. If I remember correctly, there were a few Brewer fans in this forum that were hoping the Brewers would Rule 5 Romero away from the Jays a couple years ago. Romero had been pitching out of the Blue Jay's bullpen and has a 3.51 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 4.03 FIP in 24 innings of work.

 

[attachment=2]6_19_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_19_batters.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_19_pitchers.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 20 - Brewers 4, Diamondbacks 2

 

Roster moves made-

Justin Smoak put on the 10 day DL, Ben Gamel recalled from AAA

 

Smoak's injury is reported as back stiffness and is a day-to-day injury expected to last 2 weeks. Even though it is listed as day-to-day, the Brewers have put him on the DL, maybe because Morrison will likely be back in less than a week.

 

Today's matchup was Corbin Burnes against ex-Brewer Junior Guerra. The score gives the impression that it was a snappy, well-pitched game but in fact both starters allowed a bunch of baserunners and had to continuously pitch out of trouble. The blown opportunities are just too numerous to mention.

 

The only multi-run half inning was in the fourth when the Brewers scored two runs. Keston Hiura struck out and Omar Narvaez flew out on a weakly hit ball and it looked like the inning was going nowhere. The Luis Urias drew a walk and stole second, and Brock Holt knocked him in with a single. Ben Gamel walked and then Corbin Burnes knocked in Holt on a single. Lorenzo Cain then singled to load the bases, but Guerra got Eric Sogard to ground out which ended the inning. Sogard didn't come through in that situation, but in the previous inning he put the first Brewer run on the board when he singled in Cain.

 

Burnes did well in the run prevention department, only allowing 2 runs in 5 1/3 innings. But he allowed 7 hits and 2 walks while only striking out 2 batters. Counsell played with fire putting Corey Knebel into the ballgame in the eighth, but Knebel came through. He gave up a hard hit fly out to Carson Kelly, but then retired Jake Lamb on a routine ground ball and then struck out Yasmany Tomas to end the inning. Once again, Hader looked awesome in the ninth with 2 strikeouts and then got Starling Marte on a harmless pop-up to end the game.

 

Cardinals win, Reds lose (they are playing each other) and the Pirates win. Cardinals all alone in first place, Brewers are 1 game back, Reds are 2 games back, Pirates are 3 1/2 games back.

 

[attachment=2]6_20_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_20_batters.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_20_pitchers.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 21 - Diamondbacks 5, Brewers 4

 

Logan Morrison has been activated from the DL and sent to AAA for a rehab assignment.

 

The pitching matchup was Josh Lindblom versus Robbie Ray and both pitchers were flat out bad. Lindblom pitched three batters into the third inning and then was pulled after hitting Seth Beer in the foot with a pitch. Beer was injured on the HBP and left the game. He had appeared in 3 MLB games prior to this but this was his first start in left field. I was anxious to see what he would do but sim Lindblom is so awful that he even ruined that. It seems like the obvious move would be that Suter would replace Houser in the rotation, but now I think it might be Lindblom that gets replaced instead. Drew Rasmussen followed Lindblom, entered in a jam and struck out Nick Ahmed and Robbie Ray to end the threat. Rasmussen looked outstanding in this game, and the rest of the bullpen got the job done as well. All five Diamondback runs came off of Lindblom in the first two innings, the Diamondbacks had a couple threats after that but couldn't push another run across the plate.

 

Robbie Ray was awful as well, but just a bit less awful than Lindblom and that was the difference in the game. Ray's control was terrible, and he stumbled through the first four innings, somehow only allowing 2 run. His luck ran out in the fifth as he allowed a lead-off single to Keston Hiura, followed by a Ryan Braun double that scored Hiura, followed by a Luis Urias double that scored Braun, and that was the end for Ray. He recorded 12 outs but it took him 105 pitches to get those 12 outs. Kevin McCanna came into the game and got Jedd Gyorko on a ground out, Manny Pina on a weak fly ball and pinch-hitter Ben Gamel on a ground out. The Diamondback's pen was outstanding. 5 innings pitched, only 1 hit and 1 walk allowed.

 

I thought the Brewers had a chance in the 9th inning as Archie Bradley has not had a good year. He had been 20/22 in save attempts but also had an 0-4 record, an ERA of 6.00 and had blown a game against the Brewers earlier in the year when Logan Morrison hit a 3-run homer. But Bradley got the job done in this game. He struck out Avisail Garcia, walked Christian Yelich, got Keston Hiura on a very weak fly ball and then struck out Ryan Braun to end the game.

 

The highlight for Brewers hitters were an Avisail Garcia solo homer in the third and a two RBI performance by Ryan Braun. He was credited with an RBI on a ground out in the third and also had the previously mentioned RBI double in the fifth.

 

The Reds beat the Cardinals (6-5, 12 innings) and the Pirates win again. St. Louis in first place, the Brewers and Reds tied at 1 game back and the Pirates are now only 2 1/2 games out of first place.

 

The Brewers catch a break as the next series is against Toronto and J.D. Martinez is having some back problems and is currently expected to miss the next five games. He had a mediocre start to the season, but since getting traded to the Blue Jays has posted a .388/.461/.582/1.043 slash line. Bo Bichette has missed most of the season with a torn meniscus and will miss at least seven more weeks. Chase Anderson is out with the bad elbow injury. And to nobody's surprise, Hyun-jin Ryu is also out for the next month with what is described as forearm inflammation. Hopefully the Brewers will be able to take advantage of these injuries.

 

[attachment=2]6_21_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_21_batting.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_21_pitching.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 22 - Blue Jays 4, Brewers 2

 

Can now safely say the bats are slumping. 37 runs scored in the last 11 games, 3.36 runs per game (NL average is about 4.7 runs per game).

 

Today's pitching matchup was Matt Shoemaker versus Adrian Houser. Shoemaker was not dominant but was good enough, he threw strikes and got a lot of ground outs and didn't allow many hard hit balls. The Brewers scored a run in the first and the third and that was it. Both runs scored on RBI hits by Omar Narvaez (a double in the first, a single in the third). The Brewers only had 2 baserunners in the last 4 innings. Both of those men reached base on walks, and neither of them advanced to second base. In addition to all the Blue Jays injuries outlined in the last post, Ken Giles, who has a 1.41 FIP this year, threw 36 pitches on Sunday and was apparently unavailable for this game with an "exhausted" status, and the Brewers could not take advantage of getting Justin Miller in the 9th instead (5.13 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 4.93 FIP).

 

Adrian Houser started the game, didn't pitch well but was good enough to at least keep the team in the game. After allowing a run in the third inning, he took the mound in the top of the fifth with a 2-1 lead. Rowdy Tellez led off with a single, but then Vladimir Guerrero Jr. grounded into a double play. Randal Grichuk doubled and then Derek Fisher doubled him in to tie the game at 2. Houser was pulled at that point. Drew Rasmussen came in and needed to get the final out, but gave up a 2 run homer to Lourdes Gurriel Jr on the very first pitch. So Houser gets charged with the third run allowed and the loss, a tough luck situation as Rasmussen only needed to get one out and instead gives up what was the game-winning home run.

 

Then to make matters worse, Rasmussen came back out for this sixth inning, faced one batter, and then left the game with an undisclosed injury. Despite the poor outing in this game, Rasmussen had been excellent recently. This was the first run he had been charged with since May 24, and had dropped his ERA all the way from 4.82 down to 2.84 (jumped back to 3.09 after this game).

 

Hate to get too down with only being 2 games under .500 and only 76 games into the season. But the combined May/June record is 18-27 and, with the offense now sagging, the team looks pretty bad. What is really frustrating is that much of the problems can be traced to Houser and Lindblom. The Brewers are 4-11 in games that Houser has started and 0-8 in games that Lindblom has started. That's right...4-19 combined. So with anybody else starting, the Brewers are 33-20. The return of Suter hopefully will fix half of this problem, really wish the engine would make another move because this is a real bummer to watch.

 

In other league news, the NL Central is so bad that the Cubs think they are still in it and made a trade (and they are 7 1/2 games back, so why not?).

Cubs get - RHP-Trevor Rosenthal (31 1/3 innings, 4.60 ERA, 1.76 WHIP, 3.94 FIP

Royals get - RHP-Zach Mort (A ball, 19 2/3 innings, 6.41 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, 4.18 FIP), RHP-Jesus Camargo (AA ball, 43 innings, 4.40 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 4.80 FIP), RHP-Johzan Oquendo (19 years old, has not pitched in 2020)

Not only are none of the three prospects Top 30 prospects, none of them rank in the organizational top 50. Oquendo has the highest potential, and would qualify as a lottery-ticket type, but the other two look more like organizational filler types.

 

[attachment=2]6_22_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_22_batters.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_22_pitchers.jpg[/attachment]

[brewcrewdue80]

I think I counted Yelich as 3 for his last 28. Maybe it was 4 for 28. There's your weakness. Looking at much of the other batters, Urias is really coming on, Cain as been very consistent, Hiura is around where you'd expect to him be. It's as if everyone but Yelich is having a better last 10games than season norms.

 

The lack of HRs on the team nearing Halfway is lousy. Yelich at .250 with 15HRs tells me somebody dislikes him after his last 2 seasons. BRef has him at a far more logical .313/.421/.575-.996OPS line with 18HRs. He must be barely at .800 OPS if not under honestly in this sim. Essentially the sim is likely about the worst you can predict for the Brewers 2020 season without significant injuries causing the record.

I could see a run coming of wins if Suter returns to rotation and Yelich approaches the real Yelich vs the predraft Yelich version here.

[PeaveyFury]

Interestingly, Yelich has started slowly and had monster 2nd halfs in at least three of my four seasons thus far, so maybe the sim projects him to perform that way?

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 23 - Brewers 4, Blue Jays 3

 

Roster move made-

Brent Suter put on the 26-man roster

Chris Lee DFA'ed and placed on waivers

Suter is in the rotation and Adrian Houser has been moved to the bullpen

 

Great performance by Brandon Woodruff and some early runs wins this game for Milwaukee.

 

Woodruff started this game by hitting Cavan Biggio and right away you had to wonder how this one was going to go. But then he struck out the next two hitters and got Randal Grichuck on a ground out to end the inning.

 

The Brewers scored three runs against Tanner Roark in the bottom of the inning. Lorenzo Cain and Eric Sogard started off the inning with 2 fly outs. Christian Yelich singled, Keston Hiura doubled him in and then Omar Narvaez smacked a 2-run homer.

 

The Blue Jays got a run in the second, and a great defensive play from Yelich prevented another run from scoring. Derek Fisher led off the inning with a single. Danny Jensen struck out. Billy McKinney doubled, which scored Fisher, but McKinney tried to stretch it into a triple and was gunned down by Yelich. The next batter, Ruben Tejada, singled and it likely would have scored McKinney from second had he not gotten greedy. Roark then struck out to end the inning.

 

The Brewers scored their fourth and final run in the second inning. Luis Urias struck out. Brock Holt had a bunt single. Woodruff sacrificed Holt to second for the second out in the inning. Cain singled Holt to third, and then Sogard singled with scored Holt and advanced Cain to second. Yelich came up and grounded out to end the inning.

 

The Blue Jays concluded their scoring with 2 runs in the top of the third. Biggio popped out to third. Rowdy Tellez doubled. Valdimir Guerrero Jr singled to score Tellez. Grichuk flew out for out #2. Derek Fisher then singled, and Cain threw the ball away for an error with Guerrero going from first to third. The error scored Guerrero and put Fisher at second base. Danny Jensen flew out to end the inning. So two runs scored, one unearned on the very rare bad play by Cain.

 

And that was it for the scoring. The Brewers loaded the bases in the fourth inning, but Keston Hiura flew out on a medium hit ball to centerfield to end the inning. They also threatened in the fifth, but Toronto intentionally walked Holt and then got Woodruff on a fly out to end the inning (unlike real life, sim Woodruff cannot hit at all). Narvaez and Braun had singles to start the seventh inning, but three straight outs by Luis Urias, Brock Holt and pinch-hitter Ben Gamel ended the inning with no runs scored.

 

The Brewers were set up for a Williams-Knebel-Hader situation with the 1 run lead going into the seventh. Instead, David Phelps was the first man out of the pen. He had another solid performance, retiring the Blue Jays in order. Knebel started the eighth and gave up a lead off double to Grichuk. I would have pulled him immediately, but Counsell left him in. Knebel then struck out Derek Fisher and Danny Jansen and then was pulled and Devin Williams came into the game. Williams walked Billy McKinney but then struck out Ruben Tejada to end the inning. I was expecting to see Hader to start the ninth, but Williams was left in for the first batter apparently to take advantage of a righty/righty matchup. It worked as Williams struck out Lourdes Guriel Jr for the first out of the inning. Hader then came in to finish off the game and struck out Biggio. Rowdy Tellez was the Blue Jays last hope and hit a ball down the third base line that Sogard made a diving stop on and then threw out Tellez to win the game.

 

Second strong performance by Woodruff, and the Brewers really need him to get on a roll with the rotation difficulties.

 

Cardinals are in first place, Reds are 1/2 game back, Brewers are 1 game back and the Pirates are 2 1/2 games back.

 

[attachment=2]6_23_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_23_batting.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_23_pitching.jpg[/attachment]