Brandon Lockridge is Making This Team, and It Could Get Loud

[Matthew Trueblood]

Image courtesy of © Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Once it became clear that Pat Murphy is enamored of David Hamilton, the suspense about the Brewers' Opening Day position-player roster was virtually gone. William Contreras and Gary Sánchez will be the catchers. Andrew Vaughn, Jake Bauers, Brice Turang, Joey Ortiz, Luis Rengifo and Hamilton are locks on the infield. Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio, Sal Frelick and Garrett Mitchell are locks in the outfield.

As important a teammate and defensive presence as Blake Perkins has often been over the last two years, it would be tempting to at least write in his name, too, using heavy pencil. That would sew up all 13 spots that will go to hitters when the team breaks camp next week. At this point, though, Perkins looks nearly certain to head to Triple-A Nashville, for one simple reason: Brandon Lockridge will not be denied.

Since he was acquired last July, it's been clear that the Brewers were high on Lockridge, internally. The front office found plenty to like about him, which is why they were willing to trade a promising (if far-off) prospect, Jorge Quintana, to get him. At the time, it felt like a move motivated partially by a vague need for depth and partially by a vague desire to be rid of Nestor Cortes, but every moment since the deal, it's become clearer that Lockridge himself was essential—and that the Brewers were right to like him.

Broadly speaking, the front office and manager Pat Murphy agree on their objectives and plans for the team, but there are times when they clearly hold different views on a particular player. This is not one of those times. Lockridge has become a favorite of Murphy's, too, after he handled himself well and flashed some of the skipper's favorite on-field traits (high-end speed, and a high baseball IQ) during his brief audition last summer. This spring, Murphy has repeatedly referred to Lockridge as "the right who"—his favorite way to praise a player's makeup, implying that they fit well in the clubhouse and have the combination of resiliency and attention to detail that Murphy prizes.

To those soft factors and floor-setters, Lockridge has added thunderous power this spring, making his bid for the roster virtually undeniable. He spent time over the winter adjusting his posture and his swing path, he said, and the results speak for themselves. Of his 23 batted balls in Cactus League play, six have left the bat at 105 miles per hour or more. On Monday, he hit a grand slam against the Dodgers, his second homer of the spring and the latest evidence of the changes he's made.

Speaking to reporters after leaving the contest, Lockridge was detailed and thoughtful about his "swinghauling". 

The biggest things, he believes, are being more opportunistic in taking his 'A' swing early in counts and using better posture to feed a more productive bat path. Let's examine those assertions.

Compare the video above with this hit, from when he was still a Padre last year.

Like the pitch he hit out of Camelback Ranch on Monday, this was a very hittable pitch in an early count. As Lockridge self-diagnosed, though, last year, he wasn't taking an appropriately aggressive cut on such pitches. Indeed, by looking at two crucial moments within these two swings, we can see the differences at work.

The top two panels show Lockridge the moment when his front foot lands, last year and on Monday. The difference here is subtle, but he's more upright and much more engaged in his lower half in the screenshot on the right. By starting a bit more locked in, he begins his swing more explosively this year than last.

In the lower two frames, we see the moment where Lockridge releases his hands to attack the ball—when he makes his final swing decision. Look at how much more open his front hip and shoulder are this spring. Look at how he's letting his top hand drive a more powerful swing, rather than keeping the right elbow tucked to his body and being direct to the ball with less force. He's unleashing himself this spring, and while he's swung and missed more often than he might have otherwise, the hard contact has been more than worth it. 

You can also see the added thickness in his legs this year. Lockridge is much stronger than he was a year ago, so he's naturally swinging faster, but a big piece of his improved performance is the way he's moving, to catch the ball out front and do more potential damage, rather than a simple increase in swing speed. 

Perkins hasn't been able to get untracked this spring. He's batting just .231/.300/.269, with anemic batted-ball data. Lockridge is hitting .323/.462/.742, with his average batted ball hovering around 95 MPH. Spring results don't determine these types of battles, but there's a threshold at which the disparity can't be ignored. Perkins is an exceptional fielder, and Murphy values not just his tools, but his savvy within moments. He feels the wall well. He charges singles and makes excellent throws. He's a switch-hitter.

Lockridge, though, is faster. He's also a terrific defender. The two are the same age, and each has two minor-league options remaining. It would feel strange to send Perkins to the minors, Murphy acknowledged earlier this month, but he didn't flinch at the idea the same way he did with Jared Koenig during the same conversation. Lockridge, meanwhile, has seized his attention in a way no rival to Koenig's roster spot has done. 

Mitchell might be in position to be platooned. Frelick could benefit from the occasional day off, and when those come, they should come against left-handed pitchers, anyway. Yelich should be shielded from outfield duty as much as possible, and all of them (plus Chourio, and Perkins, for that matter) come with some injury history that suggests a risk of sudden need. Lockridge is becoming the obvious candidate to fill that need. 

"In the last meeting I was in, with our coaches," Murphy said on Mar. 5, "I just had a moment. I figured out, now, why I'm excited—why I believe that this conglomeration of guys can do something."

He meant something big—something beyond even what they did the last two years. And that reason why he's excited, he went on to say, was position-player depth. It was upside that had been absent in the past. He didn't say the name, but it was clear: he was thinking (among others) about Lockridge. Two weeks later, he still is, and two weeks from now, fans are going to be thinking about Lockridge, too—because he's going to be on the roster, making significant contributions.

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[Frisbee Slider]

Was an announcement made that Lockridge will be on the opening day roster? Lastly, is Garrett Mitchell a lock to break camp with Milwaukee?

I have a sneaking feeling that Jake Bauers will have more time in left field than Yelich this season

[SF70]

Lockridge was known as a power/speed prospect early in his career. If he can continue to impact the baseball when the real games begin we could really have something special.

[JohnBriggs12]

You sure Mitchell is a lock?  He's 2 for 21 this spring with 12 K's.  Clearly he needs time at AAA.

I think the outfield vs. RHP should be Bauers in LF, Chourio in CF and Frelick in right.  Against lefties, I'd have Chourio in left, Lockridge in center and Frelick in right.

[Sugarrayray]

Hard for me to not see Perkins making this team. He’s essentially the best teammate in the clubhouse, switch-hitting is important, and he is a better defender than Lockridge. Lockridge made multiple defensive misreads and miscues last year, diving at the wrong times, misjudging balls in gaps, that Perkins hasn’t done at all in 3 years. That doesn’t mean Lockridge isn’t a great defender, but Perkins might just have the ability to be a platinum glove winner if he was an every day player.

 

I am excited about this newfound offensive ceiling for Lockridge. I want to see him continue to prove it in AAA, as spring training results mean…..absolutely nothing.

 

Also, Mitchell was terrible last year. Although I do believe he’s a guy that’ll put up good numbers if he has time to get in rhythm, he never has that time. So I believe there’s a pretty big chance that even if he doesn’t have a season ending injury, his playing time may end up being limited by ineffectiveness at some point this year.

 

 

[Sixtolezcano]

I don’t think it really matters which 2 of Lockridge, Perkins or Mitchell make the OD roster. As we have seen with how the Arnold/Murphy duo manage their roster there should be plenty of opportunities for all 3 OFs to play backup to Yelich, Chourio and Frelick. There is absolutely no reason that a platoon of 2 of the 3 players at any one time during the season shouldn’t work out. As Matt mentioned, with a 162 game season, it is almost certain all 3 probably will be on the roster at some point this year due to injuries, slumps, trades, and right/left hitting game situations. Let them fight it out all season and play the hot hand. After all competition should make the team stronger and the 3 better players. With the Brewers depth this should be a perfect situation.

[mudbutt]

They aren't playing backup though since Yelich is basically the full time DH now, so one of them has to be the starter. I do think Perkins makes and stays on the team no matter what, but he is like permanently the backup. Like if they start out with Mitchell and he fails, I think Lockridge comes up to be the starter and Perkins stays in the backup role for example.

The good news in general is there's a ton of options so you hope one of them pans out, be it Mitchell, Lockridge, Jett, put Chourio in CF and Bauers in LF, hell maybe Baddoo tears up AAA and gets a shot in LF etc.

 

[Sixtolezcano]

To all who were certain Perkins was going to be on the OD roster he was just sent down to Nashville along with Tyler Black, Logan Henderson and Cooper Pratt. Brewer’s roster now stands at 34.