I've been away from some time from writing, and it's time to pick up my sword and get back to the fight. Look for more content on the Brewers, Packers and Badgers in the coming weeks, along with anything else I might decide to write about. If you don't care about it then get out, nerd. Onward!
With the 52nd game of the year set to be played tonight, we'll officially reach the end of the first third of the season. Not unlike the institute of higher learning that employs me, I'm ready to hand out grades for the Brewers based on performance vs. expectations.
Catcher
Jonathon Lucroy: A
Martin Maldonado: B+
Unheralded as a prospect coming up through the Brewers' farm system and overshadowed by the likes of
Brett Lawrie and
Angel Salome, Lucroy has emerged as one of the Brewers best and most consistent hitters, and one of the top offensive catchers in the National League. While he has yet to find his power stroke (just two home runs this year), he currently leads the NL in doubles and boasts an impressive .889 OPS to go along with his team-leading .332 batting average.
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This is what happens when you step inside the
ropes with Maldonado |
Maldonado has rebounded from a dismal 2013 at the plate to become not only a serviceable backup behind the dish but a legitimate pinch hit threat. Always a plus defender, Maldonado's resurgence with the bat has allowed Roenicke to use Lucroy at first occasionally to patch up the hole left in the lineup by the injury to Aramis Ramirez. His play earned him a B,
his right hook gets him the plus.
First Base
Mark Reynolds: B
Lyle Overbay: D
Nothing Reynolds has done with the bat surprises you overmuch: his 37% strikeout rate is right on par with his career average, his HR rate of 6.9% is slightly up (and actually just slightly higher than his career best 6.7% during his breakout 2009 campaign) while his AVG and OBP are slightly down. He's been a very pleasant surprise
with the glove, however, flashing web gems on a semi-regular basis. Generally regarded as a poor defender (backed up by a career dWAR of -8.3), he's
been a vision, especially filling in for the oft-injured Ramirez at the hot corner.
You aren't necessarily surprised by anything Lyle Overbay has done with the bat either, which makes it all the more disappointing that the 37-year-old cracked the opening day lineup, espeically when a much younger option was at camp and is having a
much nicer year. He purportedly made the team because of his glove, a point made moot by the surprising play of Reynolds.
I do not expect Overbay to be here to be graded when we reach the end of the second trimester.
Second Base
Scooter Gennett: C
Rickie Weeks: B
Gennett has regressed predictably from his short stint with the major league team last year, sliding into a below-average .266/.304/.386 slash line so far while getting roughly 2/3 of the at-bats at the keystone. Rickie has rebounded from an abhorrent 2013 season and a rough April to be the better hitter of the platoon thus far, and I would expect the starts to be split closer to the 50/50 rate they have been over the last 2+ weeks, if the job isn't given to Rickie outright now that the 600 plate appearances he needs for his 2015 option to vest is out of reach.
Shortstop
Jean Segura: C+
Jean has continued his offensive slide that started after the All-Star break last season, though I think if anything, the real outlier was the hot start he got off to last year. He's started to swing a bit of a hotter bat of late since being inserted into the lead-off spot, and though you'd like to see him walk more, his .273 batting average is adequate. Where you've seen the most alarming drop off in Segura's game is on the base paths, where he has ten steals on 16 attempts. That 62.5% success rate is well below the 78.4% his career average entering the year.
Third Base
Aramis Ramirez: C-
After an encouraging hot start for a notoriously slow starter where he jumped out to a .347/.395/.493 slash line though his first 20 games, Ramirez fell off a cliff, going hitless in ten of his final 14 starts to bring his average all the way down to .252 before he was placed on the disabled list on May 12. The early trip to the DL is a discouraging sign from an aging slugger who missed 70 games last year. The Brewers desperately need his power in the lineup going forward.
Utility
Elian Herrera: C-
Irving Falu: Incomplete
Elian Herrera is a slightly below replacement level back-up everything and Irving Falu is a male human who has played shortstop in the major leagues before. Both of them are terrible and nobody cares.
Outfield
Carlos Gomez: A+
Ryan Braun: B-
Khris Davis: C
Logan Schafer: D-
With most experts predicting regression from his breakout 2013 campaign, Gomez has instead gotten even better, posting an incredible .974 OPS and making a strong case for league MVP on one of baseball's most surprising teams. It all finally clicked for the 28 year old sometime during the 2012 season, and there doesn't seem to be any looking back for GoGo.
Enough ink has been spilled on Braun to fill the library at
Oldtown (nerd check), so I won't waste your time. He's been what he's been for his entire career, with some injury struggles and a DL trip, which is what you'd expect when a great baseball player that was using PEDs to recover faster from injuries stops doing that.
I was all set to kill (
FIGURATIVELY) Khrush for his poor play, and DM for believing he was a legitimate starter after 130 at bats, and then he went 12 for 31 in his last eight games with four home runs to bring his average up 30 points to a nearly respectable .244. If he can get his OBP up over .300 and keep the power stroke he seems to have found once again, we can hold off on pressing the panic button for now.
Schafer is on this baseball team because he can play defense better than anyone available in the minors and Caleb Gindl didn't take the job away from him when he was up for a cup of coffee during Braun's DL stint. Neither of them can really be considered viable long-term replacements if anyone gets hurt, so cross your fingers and toes.
Starting Pitcher
Kyle Lohse: A
Yovani Gallardo: A-
Jeff Suppan Matt Garza: D
Wily Peralta: A+
Marco Estrada: C+
With the notable exception of the Brewers' biggest free agent signing in franchise history, the starting rotation has been excellent. Kyle Lohse has been the steady, innings-eating stopper all year, Yovani has bounced back from a dismal 2013 and is on pace to set a career high for ERA (discounting his four start 2008 campaign cut short by an ACL tear). Wily Peralta is really putting it together in his second full season, ranking 5th in the NL with a 174 ERA+ (nerd check). Estrada has been solid, if not a bit lucky, so far this year, but his 16 home runs allowed (five more than anyone else in the NL) points to impending regression.
Garza, thus far, has been a disaster, and with breakout seasons from potential starters Tyler Thornburg and Will Smith, as well as Jimmy Nelson knocking on the door, you've got to wonder if that $50 million could have been better spent
filling other holes. The good news is two-fold: The Brewers are in first place with their "ace" running for mayor of Struggle City, and his advanced numbers point to some unluckiness that could signal a turnaround.
Bullpen
Francisco Rodriguez: A
Will Smith: A+
Tyler Thornburg: A-
Zach Duke: A
Brandon Kintzler: B-
Rob Wooten: B+
Jim Henderson: C
Wei-Chung Wang: F*
This is the story of the Brewers season right here. The bullpen derailed the team's season in 2012, showed improvement in 2013, and has emerged as one of the best units in the league this year. K-Rod, signed to his third consecutive one-year deal with Milwaukee in the off-season, has been dominant in his surprise return to the closer role, and while I'm in no way convinced he'll be this good all year, I also won't fall victim to the recency effect and and recognize the season he's had to date. The Fresh Prince has been absolutely unreal, surrendering one earned run in 24 innings of relief. Former starter-turned-LOOGY Duke is having his best season. Henderson had been fairly effective prior to a disastrous five run outing that immediately proceeded a trip to the DL.
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This is not a good reason to keep
someone on an MLB roster |
And then, of course, there's Wang, the 21-year-old Rule 5 draft pick who likes to star in
fun dance videos with his bullpen mates and is entirely incapable of getting major leagues hitters out. The grade for him is an F, obviously, but in truth the failing grade belongs to Melvin, who refuses to admit his clever move to grab the young lefty who was only eligible for the draft on a technicality isn't working. Perhaps on a team that wasn't contending (see Johan Santana and the Twins in 1999), you could afford to waste the roster spot on a guy who belongs in A ball, but if this team plans to stick around in the division race all year, it's time for Melvin to let his pet project go. The argument that he's not hurting the team is no longer valid, as they've lost all six games he's appeared in and you're already starting to see some fatigue set in on his teammates that are being overused to compensate for him. The Brewers continuing to employ Wang is not only crippling their team, but it's pushing back his development and potentially ruining a promising career. I'll have a full article on this in a week or two if he's still on the team when Gorzelanny makes his 2014 debut.
That's what I've got for my Brewers report card. Thanks for stopping in and let me know what you think in the comments below.
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Chicago Cubs (19-32, 5th in NL Central) at Milwaukee Brewers (32-22, 1st in NL Central)
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