Anthony Seigler Deserves A Shot To Show His Worth, But He Will Need More Tangible Results Soon

[Jake McKibbin]

Image courtesy of © Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

Anthony Seigler is a canonically Brewers hitter, showcasing elite bat-to-ball skills and plate discipline without a lot of raw power. He's slashing just .188/.250/.188, which begs the question as to why Seigler is getting continued opportunities on the strong side of the platoon compared to Caleb Durbin.

The simplistic reason is that his slash line is a result of a small sample size of batted balls, and his expected numbers are .280/.333/.419, but that doesn't quite tell the whole story. Seigler's plate appearances have been long, drawn-out affairs that often precipitate perfect launch angles and balls into the outfield grass, and he has been unfortunate with how many of these have been directed right at fielders. He lacks the power to clear the fences with any regularity, but he does spray the ball around quite effectively as a left-handed hitter.

To add to this, Seigler's performance at Triple A provided a larger sample of at-bats. It produced a profile that isn't often seen, with incredible consistency of good exit velocities without high-end, booming contact. Most hitters with a high average exit velocity are skewed by their volume of batted balls at 112 mph+, whereas Seigler just seems to find the barrel of the bat with a smooth, easy swing over and over again. Here are his stats as a left-handed hitter (from Eli-Ben Porat) in Triple A before he got called up:

The big thing to note here is that no pitch gave Seigler any real concern in terms of chase rates or in-zone contact, while he slugged well when swinging in the strike zone on nearly all offerings. That's changed very slightly in the majors, where he has struggled to catch up to some of the velocity on show. Pitchers are pounding him with fastballs on the outer third, and Seigler hasn't quite adjusted. He hasn't been able to get to the pull side, and it's holding him back just a little.

The swing decisions have been impressive, but he hasn't been walking much (as pitchers haven't found much to fear in his profile yet), and he's not quite contacting the ball with the same authority as he did in Nashville. All of that is perfectly normal for any hitter given the big jump in quality from Triple A to the majors; however, the Brewers don't have a lot of time for Seigler to figure it out, perhaps a couple of weeks. That's not to say he'll be demoted, but he might see far less frequent playing time after that point.

The other issue the Brewers have is that Caleb Durbin is looking more and more impressive against right-handers of late, with month-by-month production boosting since May:

While his season-long splits haven't been amazing, Durbin's relentless tenacity has far surpassed expectations with the glove at third base. More importantly, Durbin has already gone through the process of adjusting to big league pitching that Seigler just hasn't.

Seigler's underlying performance looks fantastic, and his at-bats are great to the naked eye, but there's only so long that can hold up when the Brewers are chasing every little win around the margins to keep their hot stretch going. There's every reason to believe that Anthony Seigler's luck can turn at any point, but that point needs to come sooner rather than later.

What do you think of the Anthony Siegler and Caleb Durbin platoon used by the Brewers of late? Do you trust Seigler's surface performance or his quality of contact more in the early going? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

View full article

[MattK]

Thanks for breaking that question down, Jake! 

[igor67]

The high number of starts in the platoon is far less of a concern give how quickly Durbin has been used to pinch hit so far. Basically it's more like Seigler has been the 'opener' to face the lefty starter and snagging some favorable ABs.

[Outlander]

Noted it in a game thread a week or two back but not a fan, if they felt a platoon was needed for Durbin should have picked up somebody with a proven track record at the trade deadline. Having a journeyman minor leaguer as the strong side platoon this late in the season doesn't appear to be a great plan. Tried it with Dunn earlier in the season and now Seigler. They do sub in Durbin as soon as a lefty comes in but not real comfortable with Seigler getting the majority of the playing time in the playoffs.

[Brian]

With 50 games left on the schedule and the Cubs on our tail this isn't the time or place to see if Seigler can play at the MLB level. From what I have seen Seigler should only be used as a back up at 3rd or a back up catcher period.

To be 100% he already has 1/2 the MLB at bats as Eric Hasse this year and Hasse was cut, yet Hasse had a batting average that is 56 points higher.  Come on man, this isn't the season for just belonging like a 10 year old baseball league. 

Oh, and by the way Durbin is double the player Seigler is right now. 

[BlazingGunz]

The Seigler hate here and on X is quite amazing.   I think we can afford to be patient, let him keep adjusting to MLB pitching, see what you have here.   His versatility would be invaluable to this squad and let's you craft the lineup in different ways.   If it's not working in a few weeks - then you can send him down for more seasoning.  What do people want - Oliver Dunn up again?  Plus he probably loses his roster spot when Hoskins comes back (until rosters expand at least).

[H-Factor]

  I don't understand why Anthony Seigler is on any major league roster much less the first place Milwaukee Brewers. He reminds me of Craig Counsell at the end of his career when he could barely hit the ball into the outfield. Then he makes a bonehead baserunning error on Sunday by over running second base and getting tagged out. 

  Durbin should be the every day starter with Monasterio filling in for him every so often.

 

[Brian]

16 minutes ago, BlazingGunz said:

What do people want - Oliver Dunn up again?  Plus he probably loses his roster spot when Hoskins comes back (until rosters expand at least).

No one so far has said to send him down but he is totally, totally, totally, 100% a backup player at 3rd, 2nd and catcher.  My complaint is Caleb Durbin is hitting .341 in his last 30 games and a game of rest is ok but not a takeover at third. 

[Bassball]

Patience with Durbin has been rewarded- perhaps it will be with Seigler as well. 
 

[Brian]

42 minutes ago, BlazingGunz said:

The Seigler hate here and on X is quite amazing.

If it seems like hate its not, its about skill. He is visibly and noticeably, as of today inferior. 

[Brewer77]

Seigler is hitting the ball in the air, which is generally a good thing, but if you don’t have much power and you’re not pulling those balls very often, most of them are going to find gloves

Fortunately we are in a position where Seigler isn’t hurting this team and he can have some runway to develop into a useful piece yet this season

[Outlander]

1 hour ago, BlazingGunz said:

The Seigler hate here and on X is quite amazing.   I think we can afford to be patient, let him keep adjusting to MLB pitching, see what you have here.   His versatility would be invaluable to this squad and let's you craft the lineup in different ways.   If it's not working in a few weeks - then you can send him down for more seasoning.  What do people want - Oliver Dunn up again?  Plus he probably loses his roster spot when Hoskins comes back (until rosters expand at least).

What does Hoskins have to do with this, Seigler is playing the majority of time at 3B? Definitely don't want Dunn up, he was the spring Seigler the last couple of years. However Durbin saved the front office from the Dunn/Capra experience and now being pushed to the side. Lefty infielder is something the front office should have addressed at the trade deadline but now it is too late. Everything is coming up roses now but it is the kind of thing that will bite them come playoff time.

[sveumrules]

Collins 2024 Nash (500 PA)
273/386/475 (128 wRC+)
14.2 BB% | 19.2 K%

Collins (first 46 MLB PA)
163/217/233 (27 wRC+)
6.5 BB% | 34.8 K%

Collins (last 267 MLB PA)
291/400/430 (140 wRC+)
13.9 BB% | 22.5 K%

Durbin 24-25 AAA (433 PA)
286/386/473 (127 wRC+)
11.5 BB% | 9.7 K%

Durbin (first 117 MLB PA)
186/270/255 (53 wRC+)
4.3 BB% | 8.5 K%

Durbin (last 204 MLB PA)
313/392/443 (139 wRC+)
8.3 BB% | 9.8 K%

Seigler 2025 Nash (267 PA)
277/416/465 (141 wRC+)
18.4 BB% | 19.1 K%

Seigler (first MLB 38 PA)
176/230/176 (20 wRC+)
5.3 BB% | 13.2 K%

Seigler was better in AAA than both of Collins and Durbin, albeit in a smaller sample. Both Collins and Durbin have kicked out a couple hundred PA of very capable MLB production after getting off to ugly starts. I'm willing to afford Seigler that same luxury to see if we can unearth another one.

Dicing up already small samples into even smaller ones doesn't necessarily get us anywhere, but something else interesting to note is that Seigler is 0 for 10 as a pinch hitter/DH with a 0.0 BB% | 30.0 K%. When he is playing 3B he has hit 250/321/250 (68 wRC+) with a 7.1 BB% | 7.1 K% over 28 PA. Still no great shakes, but far more encouraging than his overall season line (and better than Collins and Durbin to start their MLB careers).

[sveumrules]

1 minute ago, Outlander said:

What does Hoskins have to do with this, Seigler is playing the majority of time at 3B?

With everyone theoretically healthy 12 of the position players will likely be Contreras, Jansen, Vaughn, Hoskins, Turang, Ortiz, Durbin, Yelich, Collins, Chourio, Frelick and Perkins.

Would imagine Monasterio has the edge over Seigler for the 13th spot in that scenario since he is SS capable.

Then in September it would come down to Seigler vs Lockridge for the 14th spot (again, assuming health from all parties). 

[eddiemathews]

It also allows Durbin to get R & R for a while. He only has one speed, never taking an at bat or base running play off, and will probably run into a dugout or tarp given the opportunity. Protecting him from himself until September when things ramp up. And Caleb attracts baseballs while batting like a super magnet, and isn't interested in getting out of the way. 

[Brian]

2 hours ago, Bassball said:

Patience with Durbin has been rewarded- perhaps it will be with Seigler as well. 
 

Not at the expense of our 3 game division lead this late in the season. 

[Turning2]

It's always fun to see new guys come up and get some opportunities. Highly doubt it lasts very long, but they see a window to get him some practical experience to adjust to the bigs. He's not killing them, I like it.  Still, Durbin will carry the bulk of the load most of the rest of the way. 

[folly412]

Was fishing for those month-by-month split stats vs. RHP for Durbin, and nice to see them here. 

My issue with the platoon is just that: Durbin isn't bad against RHP, his numbers vs. RHP improved throughout the season and have been strong since June, he actually has sizable reverse splits throughout his minor league career, and he's better defensively.  

Trying to develop Seigler is fine, but in August it seems like a luxury afforded to teams 10 games up or 10 games back .

[JohnBriggs12]

I could've lived with Suarez taking AB's away from Durbin for a couple of months, but not a raw rookie like Seigler.  

[sveumrules]

1 hour ago, Brian said:

Not at the expense of our 3 game division lead this late in the season. 

The Brewers were 2.5 games behind the Cubs going into play of July 2nd when Seigler made his first start at 3B.

His play hasn't cost the team anything. They are 8 W - 1 L with a +47 run differential in his nine games started at 3B.

[Team Canada]

1 hour ago, folly412 said:

Trying to develop Seigler is fine, but in August it seems like a luxury afforded to teams 10 games up or 10 games back .

Luckily after another 7-10 wins in a row we'll be right in range. ;)

[Joseph Zarr]

21 comments and running on Utility Man and awesome dude, Anthony Seigler, in the year 2025 on Brewer Fanatic? This Fanatic Life is treating me good! Keep on provoking controversy my AAAA Kings! Keep on, keeping on! We have four-leaf clovers allllllll over up in that stadium turf. 

 

[Brian]

Brewers gonna put the hammer down tonight JZ. 

[dsid74]

If the team were struggling I could understand why people wouldn't want to "waste" AB's on guys who are still developing until the team was out of it.  But the team is winning and they have the luxury to give Seigler valuable playing time/experience.  It appears they believe in him and this FO has demonstrated over and over again they know what they are doing.  What if Turang or Durbin got hurt?  I like Monasterio but think Seigler has more upside.  As pointed out by others, almost every rookie struggles in the beginning.  As long as the team is winning I have absolutely no problem getting him reps in the field and at the plate.  It's a long season and getting Durbin off his feet a couple of games per week can only help him too.  

[ghostdrew]

If all we have to complain about is if Anthony siegler  is getting at bats the brewers must be doing something good 😂