1/4 of the way analysis

[jay87shot]

Today will be game 40, I think overall with the team getting healthy and on a 5 game win streak things are looking up.

Rotation- Overall the rotation looks solid, Misi is developing into an ace and Harrison has been shown top of the rotation ability. Sproat and Henderson look to be improving and both likely have 3 upside. Woody and Preister are dark horses that if we don't get anything from them we will be ok but are both going to start rehabs (again). Drohan, Crow, and Gasser look like solid depth and Patrick has been solid but unspectacular, however as a 5 he is more than serviceable.

Bullpen- After a rocky start they are shaping into form, with Uribe, Ashby looking dominate and Megill getting close to back on track the 8/9 seem in good hands. Hall and Anderson have been reliable and the rest of the depth hasn't let us down. Koenig, Yoho, and Rob Z offer depth and more upside.

Lineup- With the team at full strength the lineup looks much better and is forming into shape. Joey has shown some signs of life at SS and Hamilton has been possible at 3B. I expect Lara to come up relatively soon and pressure Mitchell and Frelick to get it together. At least with Chourio, Vaughn, and Yeli back there should be a lot more consistency.

Defense- By no means has the defense been bad but it hasn't been elite like we have become accustomed to. According to feilding bible Mitchell is at -3 runs, Bauers -2, Sanchez and Rengifo a -1. Nothing crazy there but Turang 5, Hamilton 3, and Ortiz 2 are the only ones above 1 DRS. I do feel like as the season progresses the past couple years some of the defensive stats for our guys improve. 

Season Grade= A- 

[DonBarclay]

5 minutes ago, jay87shot said:

According to feilding bible Mitchell is at -3 runs

It feels like there are some balls that Mitchell is no longer going 100% for to try to prevent injury. Those 10-30% type catch probability plays. I have no data to back this up, but in watching him, it seems he’s much less likely to put his body on the line for those balls. That would be great if he was still OPSing in the .800 range, but at .650, he needs to be a ++ defender to be an every day player. 
 

Something’s gotta give with Mitchell, and soon. K rate keeps climbing, walk rate keeps falling, and defense isn’t making up for any of the short comings at the plate. I agree with giving him a long leash because there’s just so much upside, but the trend can only continue for so long until they have to severely limit his playing time or consider a demotion. 

[Fear The Chorizo]

The Brewers are doing Brewer things - which leads to sustained winning baseball.  Getting Chourio back is huge to improving the early season OF offense issues, and hopefully Yelich stays healthy.

At some point 3b/SS offensive weakness at the MLB level needs to be addressed if this team is serious about a postseason run - whether that's promotions from within or a deadline trade, it needs to happen.  Pitching-wise, you gotta hope Priester rounds into form and can be the innings-eater a deep but young rotation needs when we get to the dog days of summer - otherwise they're going to wear down.  Woodruff, who knows?  Love that Harrison and Sproat have rounded into consistent rotation pieces already.  Sproat still has command issues, but you have to keep giving that arm the ball every turn through the rotation.

[Frisbee Slider]

38 minutes ago, DonBarclay said:

Something’s gotta give with Mitchell, and soon.

-0.1 bWAR for Mitchell. 
.338 OPS in May (34 PA)

[cragi]

seems with Mitchell, once the book was out on him not hitting the high fastball, he's kind of fallen apart across the board. Maybe some time at AAA could fix that, but its going to be Ortiz-ugly if he stays up trying to work it out

[MoreTrife]

5 minutes ago, cragi said:

seems with Mitchell, once the book was out on him not hitting the high fastball, he's kind of fallen apart across the board. Maybe some time at AAA could fix that, but its going to be Ortiz-ugly if he stays up trying to work it out

I am FAR from an elite athlete but the "Mitchell can't hit high heat" thing is fascinating to me. If it is a known issue, can he not just spent countless reps in the cage getting fed high heat? Recognizing it, attempting to hit it, attempting to lay off, etc? Or just reaching the limits of his human ability? 

[Frisbee Slider]

Jett Williams with .890 OPS in May (34 AB) and 1.054 OPS vs LHP this season (32 AB).

Luis Lara’s results are better in May than April. 1.113 OPS against LHP.

Eddys Leonard still has 1.040 this season.

We have outfield options in Nashville