Best storylines of the season to date?

[Playing Catch]

I wanted to start a "Blake Perkins Appreciation Thread," but (A), I wasn't sure that was a big enough topic on its own to merit a thread, and (B), I was worried it would jinx him.

I was going to find some thread to highlight his contributions, but realized there are so many pleasant surprises on this team so far. I saw someone in the IGT thought he was closing in on "favorite player," territory. Are there any other favorite storylines so far?

Perkins, BTW, has already racked up 1.5 fWAR on the season. He just makes so many winning baseball plays, as do many of the other guys. Up and down the lineup, Ortiz, Yelich, Contreras, the Turangutan. They've all been great.

And I haven't even mentioned the pitching.

[wiguy94]

Bryan Hudson turning into one of the best firemen in the MLB.

Jared Koenig, the 30 year old rookie, coming out of nowhere to be a flexible middle reliever.

Brice Turang making the quantum leap that Murphy predicted.

Those have to be my three favorites.

[young guns]

Ortiz keeps making me think "I think Ortiz is my favorite", but then other players also do good things. Whoa is us we have to many good players!

[wibadgers23]

Turang for me. With his elite defense, he just needs to be serviceable offensively and he’s done that and more so far this year. Guy is just a really good all around baseball player.

[sveumrules]

Hudson (+2.18 WPA), Koenig (+1.07 WPA) and even Paredes (+0.78 WPA) have been impactful out of nowhere acquisitions for sure. Those three guys have more WPA than 27 teams entire bullpens have produced.

ZiPS projected Turang (1.4 WAR) and Ortiz (1.6 WAR) for three combined wins, they’re currently at 4.3 WAR and counting.

Perkins has taken his opportunity and ran with it, already topping his preseason ZiPS by half a win. His acquisition thread is looking more and more like a BF all timer.

Wilson (83 ERA- | 127 FIP-) and Rea (88 ERA- | 115 FIP-) keeping alive the rich Brewers tradition of marginal pitchers majorly beating their FIPs has been fun to watch. Brewers are 13-8 in games “started” by the pair.

So that’s like four wins from nondescript bullpen pickups, an extra couple wins from young position player breakouts, and if you assume the Brewers shouldn’t be much more than a .500 team with Wilson/Rea starting that’s another two tree wins there.

Obviously there’s a lot of quick and dirty math going on, but that accounts for something like eight or nine of the team’s current twelve games over .500.

[Jim French Stepstool]

All of the ones mentioned above (Turang is probably a personal favorite), But I just have to put an extra star next to Perkins due to Wiemer being in AAA & Mitchell not able to stay healthy. So, so valuable. And the baserunning skills to go along with the speed---the game on Saturday when he scored on the Chourio double, I know there were two outs but that ball never even got to the track & he scored from 1st. Just exemplary.

[brewmann04]

the ability to stay in first place without a True ace and a patchwork starting rotation and without their allstar closer.

[Baldkin]

11 hours ago, wibadgers23 said:

Turang for me. With his elite defense, he just needs to be serviceable offensively and he’s done that and more so far this year. Guy is just a really good all around baseball player.

A couple of rangs is my favorite player. I dunno why. 

The fact that he's become an actual hitter, considering the wet noodle he swunglast year?

[Fear The Chorizo]

I think the best storyline for me is the fact I'm having a hard time picking the "best" one this season since there are several:

• Ortiz being good enough to make the Burnes trade feel like at worst a wash knowing the Brewers have him on their roster for the forseeable future - nevermind how much better it will look if Hall can get healthy/put it together and with whoever they pick in the draft coming up with that extra choice
• Turang doing what I thought he would do on the field after a year of MLB experience and an offseason to mature into his frame.
• Contreras and Yelich putting up borderline MVP-level years
• Noticeable shift in the offensive approach with a mix of young players and vets who work the count, steal bases, and score in different ways
• Continued reliability of the bullpen, despite injuries and roster turnover
• Chourio proving he's not overmatched at the MLB level (and showing some recent signs of taking the jump of adjusting to MLB pitchers attacking him)
• Winning games despite trading away their ace, their co-ace resigned in the offseason so he can rehab all of 2024 after shoulder surgery, their closer missing the first half of this season with injury, and injuries all over the place - Proving this organization has a heap of young and underrated talent throughout.  

[Samurai Bucky]

I would have to put the culture change overseen by Murphy and Weeks.  Murphy seems to handle things very well which produces winning baseball and a good clubhouse.  Here are some examples of how I think Murphy has taken the team to the next level:

• You don't have to "mishit home runs" to be good offensively.  The Brewers are one of the top scoring teams in baseball by making solid contact and making good decisions at the plate.
• He keeps his players engaged.  We get frustrated when some of the regulars get days off, but I think it can be a good thing.  This helps with morale.
• He listens to the players.  The Adamas / Contreras lineup changes last week tells me he listens.  I believe that produces more of a willingness for the players to buy into Murphy's strategies.
• I would add managing the pitching, but I'll put that superlative on Chris Hook.

For me, managing is more than X's and O's (or whatever the appropriate analogy is for baseball).  Murphy and Weeks seem to have a very good clubhouse culture.  Of course, winning helps with that.  😉

 

[rickh150]

THE story, of course, is that we are up 7 games in the division on June 11.  And doing it with the following…

      _ 22nd in payroll, a third of Yankees and Mets

      _ a severely makeshift and injury-riddled rotation including Woodruff, Miley, Gasser, Burnes (trade), Junis, Ross, etc.

      _ a new manager

 

[Jim French Stepstool]

3 hours ago, Samurai Bucky said:

I would have to put the culture change overseen by Murphy and Weeks.  Murphy seems to handle things very well which produces winning baseball and a good clubhouse.  Here are some examples of how I think Murphy has taken the team to the next level:

• You don't have to "mishit home runs" to be good offensively.  The Brewers are one of the top scoring teams in baseball by making solid contact and making good decisions at the plate.
• He keeps his players engaged.  We get frustrated when some of the regulars get days off, but I think it can be a good thing.  This helps with morale.
• He listens to the players.  The Adamas / Contreras lineup changes last week tells me he listens.  I believe that produces more of a willingness for the players to buy into Murphy's strategies.
• I would add managing the pitching, but I'll put that superlative on Chris Hook.

For me, managing is more than X's and O's (or whatever the appropriate analogy is for baseball).  Murphy and Weeks seem to have a very good clubhouse culture.  Of course, winning helps with that.  😉

 

All great points. I was very skeptical when Weeks was given the bench coach position, but Murphy really wanted him & it's seemed to work out extremely well.

Any mention given to Hook is very well-deserved. If he was in New York or Boston & their rotations were this riddled by injury and he still had them performing at a similar level, the pedestal the national media would have him on would make the Hoan Bridge look like a speed bump.

[Playing Catch]

Certainly the shift in leadership, both Stearns to Arnold (started last year, kinda), and Counsell to Murphy, Murphy to Weeks, is one of the storylines for the season. Just the overall upheaval and changes the club endured, the shift away from pitching and finding a different path to find wins... It really is remarkable, and if they are able to sustain this to 90+ wins and a division title, the rest of the league will need to stand up and take notice.