Time to Start Worrying About Villar?

[tmwiese55]

cmon guys. He's not getting sent down anytime soon nor should he be after last season. A few more off days here and there for now to give Perez some ABs. Maybe a move lower in the lineup if things don't change in another week or two. He's earned a long leash. It's still so early that a simple stretch of 3-4 games will move his % to respectable territory.

 

For example, last week Yasmani Grandal raised his avg from 214 to 276 in 4 games and one game was one pinch hit AB. Relax.

[adambr2]

I still believe in Villar and think he's a good player. Maybe not quite as good as his 2016, but much better than his 2017 so far. I would keep playing him but maybe move him down to 8, or even bat pitcher 8 and bat Villar 9. Just until he gets his stuff back together at the plate.

 

I don't know why they haven't done this already. Take some of the pressure off him and push him down to the bottom of the lineup. I still believe in Villar as well, but he doesn't need to be batting at the top of the order every day right now.

 

When Braun returns I'd go

 

1) Broxton

2) Thames

3) Braun

4) Shaw

5) Santana

6) Bandy/Pina

7) Arcia

8) Villar

9) Pitcher

 

Perez can fit in there just about anywhere when he plays. Or like you said pitcher 8th and Villar 9th would actually be my preference but I don't think Counsell will do that.

[JohnBriggs12]

cmon guys. He's not getting sent down anytime soon nor should he be after last season. A few more off days here and there for now to give Perez some ABs. Maybe a move lower in the lineup if things don't change in another week or two. He's earned a long leash. It's still so early that a simple stretch of 3-4 games will move his % to respectable territory.

 

For example, last week Yasmani Grandal raised his avg from 214 to 276 in 4 games and one game was one pinch hit AB. Relax.

 

The Brewers sent their starting 2B down in May 2015 and their 2016 opening day starter down in June 2016. It shouldn't matter what they did the previous year or what you anticipated them doing before the season. You have to carry your weight at this level and Villar's not.

 

Villar has about 50 more AB's than Grandal. It's one thing when a guy like Aaron Hill in 2016 was hitting a lot of line drives and under .200. Eventually those start to fall in. But Villar, with the exception of the occasional bomb, still strikes out a lot and is making a lot of weak contact.

[Greenleaf1]

Moving him to the bottom of the order means he'll get a lot less good pitches to hit. I remember JJ Hardy struggling mightily in the 8-hole, but having a lot of success in the 2-hole where he was much more likely to get better pitches because of who was batting behind him.

 

I'd like to see an in depth article that digs deep into advanced stats talking about Villar this year vs. last year because I want to know if there's anything significant that has stood out about his awful start this year.

 

After Braun gets back I think it serves the team best to have Perez/Sogard/Arcia/Villar all splitting time at SS/2B.

[Baldkin]

Pitchers aren't going to change how they pitch to Villar based on who the on deck hitter is. It just doesn't happen.

 

His BB% is down 3%, his K% is up 4%, his BABIP is down 100 points, his GB% is up 6%, LD % is down 3%.

 

He's basically been hugely worse in every measurable way this season.

[BrewCrewForever]

I will also say he has hit a lot of balls hard that have been outs. Last year had more luck, this year been unlucky. But yeah he seems to be swinging and missing a lot more this season. But I'm still on the Villar bandwagon.

[Bombers]

I'd wait until after the next homestand to look at him. He was good at home so far. It really seems like he doesn't like playing in the cold. A large number of his bad games were in cold games.

That's a good point and could be a reason. I haven't looked at his splits or advanced metrics. The numbers tell a story and I'm sure the Brewers are deep into them analyzing what the issue may be

[Lathund]

Home: .773 OPS (106 OPS+)

Away: .393 OPS (10 OPS+)

 

That's quite something.

[rickh150]

Home: .773 OPS (106 OPS+)

Away: .393 OPS (10 OPS+)

 

That's quite something.

 

I really don't want to trot him out there much longer in the leadoff spot. He has to produce. Does he have an option?

[Ennder]

Home: .773 OPS (106 OPS+)

Away: .393 OPS (10 OPS+)

 

That's quite something.

 

That plays into my cold weather thoughts. His slump heavily coincides with the 2 road series we played where it was very cold. He has been fine the rest of the year including on the road in Cin and in Tor.

[Greenleaf1]

This cold theory is definitely something to keep an eye on going forward. Hopefully he'll have a nice homestand and the theory can continue.

[Fear The Chorizo]

My theory is we're talking about a smattering of early season AB's that 1 hot week can still make statistically insignificant.

[Ennder]

Over the past 14 days he is now hitting .295 with an .812 OPS. In May he has a 25.3 K% and a 10.8 BB%, both slightly better than his career average.

[rickh150]

More Sogar

[trwi7]

More Sogar

 

He's a 31 year old journeyman who had a hot week. He should be getting almost no playing time.

[rickh150]

More Sogar

 

He's a 31 year old journeyman who had a hot week. He should be getting almost no playing time.

 

Play him until he gets cold.... had 2 four hit games in a series and since he's hardly had 8 at bats so our 200 2b can keep playing everyday. Nuts.

[JohnBriggs12]

More Sogar

 

He's a 31 year old journeyman who had a hot week. He should be getting almost no playing time.

 

Villar needs to get hot to be considered a journeyman at this point. We're nearly a third of the way into the season and he's hitting .214. It's a better lineup with Sogard in it. By the way, Scooter's OPS is now at .854. Just sayin.

[Boomer5]

I found it interesting that CC is taking a little heat for letting Villar hit in the 9th yesterday. That says a lot about how far he has fallen from 2016.

[MrTPlush]

More Sogar

 

He's a 31 year old journeyman who had a hot week. He should be getting almost no playing time.

 

Villar needs to get hot to be considered a journeyman at this point. We're nearly a third of the way into the season and he's hitting .214. It's a better lineup with Sogard in it. By the way, Scooter's OPS is now at .854. Just sayin.

 

No one cares about what Scooter Gennett is doing as a bench player here except you. And saying "Just Saying" is annoying. Stop acting like you are something special because Scooter Gennett has proven he was a better choice to keep in your mind. It gets old.

[pacopete4]

I don't recall Villar looking so out of control with his swing last year.

[Austin Tatious]

I was about to say the same thing. His pitch recognition seems to have fallen apart. He seems off balance.

 

Baseball is a very tough game mentally as we all know. Once you go in a funk, the simplest thing can get difficult. Overcoming the mental challenges is as tough of an issue in baseball as there is.

[homer]

More Sogar

 

He's a 31 year old journeyman who had a hot week. He should be getting almost no playing time.

 

Villar needs to get hot to be considered a journeyman at this point. We're nearly a third of the way into the season and he's hitting .214. It's a better lineup with Sogard in it. By the way, Scooter's OPS is now at .854. Just sayin.

 

Stop playing "I told you so games" with players who are no longer here. They derail threads every time you do it.

[pacopete4]

He's been atrocious against left handed pitching. It is so strange because that has always been his highest OPS side of the plate. Career- .763, 2016- .930, and 2017- .546.

[Dragonbait]

Bill Hall v2.0?

[3and2Fastball]

Now that he is over 200 at-bats, it is no longer a small sample. He needs to start producing more. Moving him down in the batting order could help

 

Considering that he isn't elite defensively, he really needs to hit in order to produce. I'm not at all convinced that he is better than Hernan Perez, for instance