DuWayne Steurer

Oh, for sure I don't think that the shift is to blame. I think it's a part of the overall bigger picture though. That being said, I'll throw my opinion in and say I'm actually not in favor of the ban of the shift, even if it is part of the downward trend of lower offense and ugly baseball. It is what it is though, and going forward whether teams and players are for or against it, they have to play within the boundaries that have been set (except maybe the Astros, somewhow hahaha) and the way I see it, if you're going to be a fan of baseball, you have to accept that the game changes, sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse. Things can't go our way 100% of the time, all the time.

With league-wide rule changes in place for defensive alignments in 2023, the left-hand-heavy Brewers offense could benefit more than others. We'll break down the numbers and see what, if any, advantage the Crew might gain from the new ruleset in the coming season. However you feel about the new rules regarding infield defensive alignment, they're coming and probably here to stay. With strikeout totals soaring, defenses shifting on nearly every batter, and batters favoring launch angle and exit velocity over putting the ball in play, league-wide offense plummeted to an OPS of just .706. The league OPS was .700 in 2014 and .700 back in 1992 Over the past thirty years, the .706 OPS posted this past year is the third lowest league OPS. Baseball offense is down, and the powers that be don't seem to like it. On top of that, with strikeouts up and fewer balls in play turning into hits due to the shift, the phrase that more than one person has bandied about in the game (and without) is that the game "isn't aesthetically pleasing." With yearly tweaks being done at multiple levels in the minor leagues, the big one coming in 2023 is the *ban on defensive shifts. The asterisk shows up as we will see a partial ban on defensive positioning (at least not yet). The rules state that the defense must have four players with their feet on the infield dirt and two players on either side of second base when a pitch is thrown. With that in mind, defenses will still have a fair amount of freedom to shift a second baseman deep into the hole, have a shortstop right on top of second base, have the third baseman play in the shortstop position so on. We won't see a third baseman playing in short right field and a second baseman playing fifteen feet behind the first baseman, cutting off sharp line drives into the right field corner. So how does this affect or benefit the Brewers? Rule changes regarding defensive positioning should affect pull-hitting lefties nearly equally across the league. In 2023 the Brewers look to feature (again) a lefty-heavy lineup with mainstays Christian Yelich and Rowdy Tellez, newcomer Jesse Winker, and early indications are that Garrett Mitchell and Sal Frelick could both receive ample playing time in their rookie campaigns. Of the three lefties returning who'll see major playing time, Tellez is the most extreme pull hitter. (via FanGraphs) Partial SeasonsPostseasonPreseason ProjectionsMinor LeaguesRegular MLB Seasons Season Team Level GB/FB LD% GB% FB% IFFB% HR/FB IFH% BUH% Pull% Cent% Oppo% Soft% Med% Hard% 2018 TOR MLB 1.06 26.0% 38.0% 36.0% 11.1% 22.2% 21.1% 0.0% 42.0% 30.0% 28.0% 18.0% 42.0% 40.0% 2019 TOR MLB 1.02 23.7% 38.5% 37.7% 10.3% 21.6% 1.0% 0.0% 42.0% 39.3% 18.7% 15.6% 42.8% 41.6% 2020 TOR MLB 1.38 20.0% 46.3% 33.7% 6.3% 25.0% 6.8% 0.0% 36.8% 37.9% 25.3% 20.0% 42.1% 37.9% 2021 2 Tms MLB 1.08 20.6% 41.2% 38.2% 12.4% 12.4% 11.5% 0.0% 36.5% 36.9% 26.6% 15.9% 48.5% 35.6% 2022 MIL MLB 0.86 15.6% 38.9% 45.5% 12.3% 18.7% 4.4% 0.0% 41.4% 39.7% 19.0% 17.5% 42.1% 40.4% Total - - - MLB 0.99 19.6% 40.0% 40.4% 11.3% 18.7% 6.2% 0.0% 40.1% 38.3% 21.6% 16.9% 43.7% 39.4% Teams shifted 78.4% of the time against Tellez, resulting in a .020 drop in his wOBA, per Statcast. Over the past two seasons, Tellez's shift data has been fairly consistent with teams shifting on him often, and Tellez hitting well in his opportunities against standard alignment. Another factor in Tellez's performance to be considered has to be the .215 BABIP (Batting Average on Balls In Play). Well below his career norm, and any season he's had prior, the Brewers have to expect that number to rebound to some degree. Tellez doesn't strike out at the pace of most 30 - 35 home run sluggers, but having a bit higher BABIP would boost that slugging and OPS. Whether teams are shifting or not, that number seems unsustainable for another full season for Tellez. Despite the seeming perception of Christian Yelich grounding out repeatedly to second base, his spray chart, hit chart, and all the data shows that he distributes the ball evenly to all fields. (via FanGraphs) PostseasonPreseason ProjectionsMinor LeaguesRegular MLB Seasons Season Team Level GB/FB LD% GB% FB% IFFB% HR/FB IFH% BUH% Pull% Cent% Oppo% Soft% Med% Hard% 2013 MIA MLB 4.58 23.0% 63.2% 13.8% 0.0% 16.7% 8.2% 0.0% 32.0% 36.0% 32.0% 17.1% 48.6% 34.3% 2014 MIA MLB 3.42 21.2% 61.0% 17.8% 1.3% 11.5% 6.0% 50.0% 27.8% 40.9% 31.3% 15.8% 50.0% 34.2% 2015 MIA MLB 4.16 22.5% 62.5% 15.0% 0.0% 12.5% 5.2% 0.0% 31.7% 40.5% 27.7% 17.1% 49.9% 33.1% 2016 MIA MLB 2.82 23.4% 56.5% 20.0% 5.6% 23.6% 6.0% 100.0% 36.0% 35.1% 29.0% 17.5% 44.5% 38.0% 2017 MIA MLB 2.20 19.4% 55.4% 25.2% 2.5% 15.3% 4.2% 50.0% 33.3% 37.4% 29.3% 15.9% 48.8% 35.2% 2018 MIL MLB 2.20 24.7% 51.8% 23.5% 4.9% 35.0% 6.6% 33.3% 34.9% 38.1% 27.0% 14.5% 37.9% 47.6% 2019 MIL MLB 1.20 20.9% 43.2% 35.9% 7.5% 32.8% 6.2% 0.0% 39.3% 37.4% 23.3% 14.4% 34.8% 50.8% 2020 MIL MLB 1.70 19.4% 50.8% 29.8% 0.0% 32.4% 1.6% 0.0% 38.7% 33.1% 28.2% 8.1% 50.8% 41.1% 2021 MIL MLB 2.29 22.0% 54.4% 23.7% 2.9% 13.2% 7.7% 100.0% 35.3% 35.3% 29.4% 15.9% 49.1% 34.9% 2022 MIL MLB 2.55 18.4% 58.6% 23.0% 5.3% 14.7% 6.2% 33.3% 34.4% 35.3% 30.3% 13.9% 52.2% 33.9% Total - - - MLB 2.46 21.5% 55.8% 22.7% 3.9% 21.7% 5.9% 44.4% 34.0% 37.3% 28.7% 15.4% 46.2% 38.4% Accordingly, teams don't shift on Yelich all that much, at 30.6%, and interestingly when they do, his wOBA last season was .368 in 206 plate appearances compared to the .311 wOBA posted in his non-shifted plate appearances. During previous campaigns from 2018 to 2021, teams were shifting on Yelich more in the 50-55% range. It could be that Yelich becoming more of a singles and doubles hitter, and definitely a guy who uses all fields, is forcing teams to defend the whole field. Jesse Winker is an interesting case, as he had an extreme down year in 2022, seemingly due to playing injured for much of the season. Winker's shift data is strange in that in all but one season in his career, he has posted a higher wOBA while being shifted than not shifted, yet teams continue to shift against him, and his spray charts and hit data suggest he is a heavy pull hitter. (via FanGraphs) PostseasonPreseason ProjectionsMinor LeaguesRegular MLB Seasons Season Team Level GB/FB LD% GB% FB% IFFB% HR/FB IFH% BUH% Pull% Cent% Oppo% Soft% Med% Hard% 2017 CIN MLB 1.70 16.5% 52.6% 30.9% 3.3% 23.3% 2.0% 0.0% 40.8% 37.8% 21.4% 12.2% 52.0% 35.7% 2018 CIN MLB 1.24 24.0% 42.1% 33.9% 8.9% 8.9% 5.1% 50.0% 37.1% 37.1% 25.7% 11.8% 44.3% 43.9% 2019 CIN MLB 1.96 26.4% 48.7% 24.9% 4.3% 23.2% 1.5% 0.0% 39.9% 36.3% 23.7% 15.5% 43.2% 41.4% 2020 CIN MLB 1.67 23.1% 48.1% 28.8% 6.7% 40.0% 0.0% 0.0% 46.2% 31.7% 22.1% 10.6% 40.4% 49.0% 2021 CIN MLB 1.26 24.7% 42.0% 33.3% 9.5% 20.7% 4.8% 0.0% 39.4% 35.6% 25.0% 15.8% 47.7% 36.5% 2022 SEA MLB 0.96 20.6% 38.9% 40.6% 17.4% 9.7% 4.3% 0.0% 38.5% 35.7% 25.8% 20.5% 50.8% 28.7% Total - - - MLB 1.32 23.2% 43.7% 33.1% 10.5% 17.1% 3.4% 28.6% 39.5% 35.9% 24.6% 15.6% 46.8% 37.6% There's a lot to parse here. Winker's hard hit percentage fell off a cliff last year, after trending down in 2021. His flyball percentage was well up, but it didn't really translate into home runs in Seattle, which is somewhat to be expected. First and foremost, for Winker's 2023 to be successful, he needs to be healthy. Digging through the data, it's hard to tell how much of Winker's drop off was due to injury, playing in Seattle, or other factors. With the limited ability to shift next year however, a healthy Winker should be able to benefit. The rest of the Brewers roster still has a lot of left handed sticks as of early December. Garrett Mitchell and Sal Frelick should see plenty of time in the outfield. Victor Caratini and newly acquired utility infielder Abraham Toro each hit from both sides of the plate. It's possible on any given night the Brewers could send as many as six batters to the dish from the left side of the plate. The Brewers struggled against left handed pitching last year, and with their current makeup, it's possible that trend could continue. As the off season continues, it will be interesting to see how General Manager Matt Arnold approaches the lineup makeup of the team as it currently stands. With youngsters Frelick and Mitchell, who have had varying success against left handed pitching in their minor league careers and who are both more suited to on base roles rather than slugging and run producing roles, the Brewers offense could see a boost against left-handed pitching with these types of players more able to utilize the diamond with the shift being banned. Sal Frelick's splits in 2022 - (via StatCast) Platoon Splits Team Lg Type PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS HBP AVG OBP SLG OPS Nashville Sounds Triple-A vs Left 77 66 26 1 2 1 11 6 7 3 .394 .467 .515 .982 Biloxi Shuckers Double-A vs Left 65 55 15 1 1 2 7 6 10 3 .273 .369 .436 .805 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers High-A vs Left 24 19 4 1 0 0 1 5 4 0 .211 .375 .263 .638 Nashville Sounds Triple-A vs Right 140 123 43 10 0 3 14 13 9 2 .350 .417 .504 .921 Biloxi Shuckers Double-A vs Right 188 169 56 11 2 3 18 14 23 1 .331 .384 .473 .857 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers High-A vs Right 68 60 19 4 1 2 8 8 10 0 .317 .397 .517 .914 After an initial struggle at High A, Frelick hit well against lefties at both stops the rest of the season. Whether that will translate into success against the tough lefties he'll face at the major league level remains to be seen, but certainly those numbers are encouraging. Ultimately, regardless of where the fielders stand, the Brewer offense should be better than it was in 2022, and it absolutely has to produce better results than it did against left-handed pitching. However, with a bevy of pull-heavy lefties on the roster, a ban on the shift could make life easier for a few of the guys who will most likely be installed in the middle of the order in Tellez and Winker. Despite the fact that the shift ban should affect everyone equally, a team heavy on left handed batters like the Brewers could benefit more than some if the lineup stays as currently constructed. What do you think, Brewer Fanatics? Is the ban on the shift going to play any kind of role for the Brewers current lefty-heavy offense? Will the Brewers continue to struggle against left handed pitching regardless? Does Matt Arnold have a few more moves up his sleeves that will make a bigger difference than where the second baseman stands? Let us know what you think in the comments! 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Mitchell has 24 homeruns total between college, minors, and his brief major league stint. It might be a tad early to be projecting him as a possible 30 homerun guy. Before we start tagging all these guys as possible 4-5 WAR players we might want to see them play in the majors. Projecting Chourio to put up MVP level production is pretty heavy before he's even reached double AA.

I agree with this, in general. I do think the Brewers need to do better than "hey, they were "xth" in offense!" while having great pitching, and struggling to score runs at times. Bending spoons to say "they were 3rd in the NL in runs from (insert date) to (insert date)" to make the argument that the offense isn't *that bad* underlies the fact that they just weren't great. Rowdy's fun! He hits a lot of dingers. But he's also below average (0.9 WAR), no matter how many people want to say he made some great scoops at first base, he's not a good defender. A .760-.770 ops out of the position that's supposed to supply the biggest pop isn't cutting it. So looking there is the logical choice. Like you said, Yelich isn't going anywhere. Wong's option has been picked up. Adames is a borderline all-star caliber SS. We've got a bevy of ready or near-ready outfield stud prospects who need to play, so it's 3B or 1B, and Bell and Abreu are both available, and a tier below the "break the bank" players that are going to be out there. What will Abreu command? I don't know. 2/30? 2/36? 3/45? There's obviously a line somewhere, but I hope we don't go into next season with an entire roster of .750 OPS guys again so we can say "from May 17th to August 2nd the Brewers were 4th in the NL in runs!"

I agree with this, in general. I do think the Brewers need to do better than "hey, they were "xth" in offense!" while having great pitching, and struggling to score runs at times. Bending spoons to say "they were 3rd in the NL in runs from (insert date) to (insert date)" to make the argument that the offense isn't *that bad* underlies the fact that they just weren't great. Rowdy's fun! He hits a lot of dingers. But he's also below average (0.9 WAR), no matter how many people want to say he made some great scoops at first base, he's not a good defender. A .760-.770 ops out of the position that's supposed to supply the biggest pop isn't cutting it. So looking there is the logical choice. Like you said, Yelich isn't going anywhere. Wong's option has been picked up. Adames is a borderline all-star caliber SS. We've got a bevy of ready or near-ready outfield stud prospects who need to play, so it's 3B or 1B, and Bell and Abreu are both available, and a tier below the "break the bank" players that are going to be out there. What will Abreu command? I don't know. 2/30? 2/36? 3/45? There's obviously a line somewhere, but I hope we don't go into next season with an entire roster of .750 OPS guys again so we can say "from May 17th to August 2nd the Brewers were 4th in the NL in runs!"

As the Brewers head into their first off-season under new President of Baseball Operations Matt Arnold, we'll be taking a look at some of the ways the team may look to improve on the 86-76 record that saw them fall just short of a playoff spot in 2022. In this article, we'll look at two of the possible first base targets Arnold may look at (and one that was rumored to be a trade target at the deadline last year in Josh Bell) who could add some punch to the Brewers lineup. By all accounts, the Brewers regular first baseman and fan favorite, Rowdy Tellez had a fine 2022 season. He bashed 35 home runs, 23 doubles, and knocked in 89 run. While he only hit .219 for the year, he drew a respectable 62 walks and for a power-hitting slugger, struck out at a reasonable rate, with just 121 whiffs in 599 plate appearances. With a .767 OPS and a 115 OPS+, first base, at first blush, wasn't the main problem for the Brewers offense. Taking a deeper dive into Tellez's numbers though, he posted a -1.3 brDWar, and Fangraphs didn't like his defense much either, slotting him at -12.9 runs with the glove. His BABiP was surprisingly low, at .215, which was well below his career norms, and well below any number in his career prior, so that number should be expected to rebound in the coming season. But with a player like Rowdy Tellez, should Matt Arnold stand pat or look to improve? Taking a look at free agency, the two players who are available and may fit the Brewers budget are Josh Bell and former American League MVP, Jose Abreu. It's worth noting that acquiring either of these players doesn't preclude the Brewers from bringing back Tellez, with the addition of the DH to the National League. The Brewers have the luxury now (finally) of carrying a bat-only player on the roster. Taking a look at Jose Abreu, the obvious drawback is his age. Abreu will be 36 on Opening Day 2023. Abreu hit .304 in 2022, though his power took a dip, down from 30 home runs in 2021 to just 15 in 2022. Whether that's age-related, or just an odd fluctuation, it's hard to say. His launch angle at 8.0 degrees was the lowest of his career, but not by a large amount. His barrel percentage, hard hit, and exit velocity are still all in line or close to career averages. Despite his age, he's not showing much, if any, age-related decline. Season Team Level Events EV maxEV LA Barrels Barrel% HardHit HardHit% AVG xBA SLG xSLG wOBA xwOBA 2015 CHW MLB 474 91.0 114.9 9.7 42 8.9% 197 41.6% .290 .270 .502 .456 .361 .338 2016 CHW MLB 508 89.7 113.4 10.3 36 7.1% 199 39.2% .293 .280 .468 .467 .349 .348 2017 CHW MLB 506 90.6 114.9 11.1 43 8.5% 231 45.7% .304 .290 .552 .520 .377 .364 2018 CHW MLB 396 91.3 115.5 12.2 35 8.8% 179 45.2% .265 .277 .473 .493 .337 .356 2019 CHW MLB 492 92.1 117.9 10.9 59 12.0% 237 48.2% .284 .279 .503 .517 .344 .358 2020 CHW MLB 182 92.9 114.0 10.9 26 14.3% 97 53.3% .317 .299 .617 .587 .411 .399 2021 CHW MLB 433 92.0 115.6 10.4 44 10.2% 212 49.0% .261 .252 .481 .457 .354 .349 2022 CHW MLB 495 92.2 113.0 8.0 47 9.5% 256 51.7% .304 .296 .446 .486 .361 .373 Total - - - MLB 3486 91.3 117.9 10.4 332 9.5% 1608 46.1% .292 .506 .364 He did sock forty doubles and put up a more-than-solid .304/.378/.446 (.824) slash line, with a 133 OPS+. Any team investing two or three years in him is probably expecting to get a little more pop out of their first base position, of course, but there's a bit of a gamble that his power dip was a one-year anomaly. The .446 slugging percentage was the lowest of his career, and while at his age expecting Abreu to put up the numbers he did in his late 20's is unrealistic, the Brewers (or any team to sign him) would probably be banking on getting 20+ home run power for a few more seasons. Abreu's defense wasn't fantastic, and never really has been. He was -0.9 brDwar and was rated at -11.9 runs defensively at Fangraphs. Despite his poor defense, Abreu put up a 4.2 bWAR and a 3.9 WAR, per Fangraphs. Again, given age-related decline, we should expect that number to dip a little bit over the next few years, but that's still a sizeable improvement over the 0.9 WAR Tellez supplied this past season. The other target the Brewers may look at for first base, Josh Bell, was previously discussed at the trade deadline as a possible upgrade for the position. While the Brewers didn't acquire him, the Crew may take another look at Bell now in free agency. Bell's season was definitely a tale of two halves. In Washington, he hit a very nice .301 with 14 home runs with an .877 OPS. With Washington well out of the playoff race early, Bell's name was attached to just about every contender looking for some extra offense, including the Brewers. In the end, Bell went to the Padres, where he struggled immensely for the rest of the season, hitting a paltry .192 with just three home runs over 210 plate appearances. While it's hard to ignore the struggles he had down the stretch, Bell is just entering his age-30 season, and has a solid track record of success at the plate over seven major-league seasons. Like Abreu, Bell's power numbers were down last season, with 17 home runs between Washington and San Diego. Season Team Level GB/FB LD% GB% FB% IFFB% HR/FB IFH% BUH% Pull% Cent% Oppo% Soft% Med% Hard% 2016 PIT MLB 1.75 21.4% 50.0% 28.6% 9.4% 9.4% 7.1% 0.0% 22.3% 34.8% 42.9% 22.3% 44.6% 33.0% 2017 PIT MLB 1.64 17.7% 51.1% 31.2% 11.8% 19.1% 6.3% 0.0% 41.5% 29.6% 28.9% 20.6% 46.8% 32.6% 2018 PIT MLB 1.49 19.0% 48.5% 32.5% 9.2% 9.2% 8.2% 0.0% 33.8% 37.6% 28.6% 19.2% 47.0% 33.8% 2019 PIT MLB 1.18 18.8% 44.0% 37.3% 6.5% 23.9% 3.3% 0.0% 42.5% 33.2% 24.3% 13.2% 41.3% 45.4% 2020 PIT MLB 2.17 18.6% 55.7% 25.7% 8.3% 22.2% 3.8% 0.0% 38.6% 37.1% 24.3% 10.7% 47.9% 41.4% 2021 WSN MLB 2.02 20.0% 53.5% 26.5% 5.7% 25.5% 3.3% 0.0% 39.0% 35.8% 25.3% 12.0% 50.5% 37.5% 2022 2 Tms MLB 1.63 18.6% 50.4% 30.9% 9.9% 12.1% 3.5% 0.0% 38.4% 36.0% 25.7% 17.1% 53.3% 29.6% Total - - - MLB 1.60 18.9% 49.9% 31.2% 8.7% 17.7% 4.9% 0.0% 38.3% 34.5% 27.2% 16.4% 47.7% 35.9% Bell's HR/FB ratio dropped by more than half, playing in Washington and San Diego. While Pittsburgh isn't exactly known as a hitting haven, Bell's numbers took a big hit playing in two pitcher-friendly environments in 2022. Should the Brewers pursue Bell, Miller Park with its short right-field porch should prove to be a friendlier hitting environment for the big switch-hitter. Despite his struggles in San Diego, Bell secured a respectable 3.0 bWAR for the season, with a 124 OPS+. Like Tellez and Abreu, Bell's strength is with the stick, and not with the glove. Between both stops, Bell scored a -1.0 brDWar for the season and has historically been subpar at best in the field. The question around Bell and Abreu, of course, will be contract length and value. Bell is younger and will command a longer commitment, and possibly more dollars per year. At 30, his future may be slightly more projectible, and he hits from both sides of the plate. Abreu put up slightly better numbers for the season, and will almost certainly require fewer years of commitment, given his age. Either one may be a solid fit and allow the Brewers to tandem with Tellez at first base and designated hitter for the next couple of years. What do you think Brewer fanatics? Is either of these slugging first basemen a good fit for the Brewers? Which one would you target? Or is there someone else out there that is a better fit? Let us know in the comments! View full article

While the Brewers fell short of the playoffs for the first time in five seasons, there were still noteworthy performances on the diamond to talk about. Congratulations to the Brewer Fanatic Most Improved Player for 2022, Hoby Milner! The Brewers came into 2022 with high hopes, riding the wave of four consecutive playoff appearances. However, by the end of the year, despite tallying 86 wins, the Crew fell just short of the Phillies for the final wild-card spot. Amid injuries, and at times inconsistent offense, and a pitching staff that just didn't perform up to the very high standards that were set for them in 2021, the team just wasn't able to put together long stretches of wins after a 32-18 start that was the best fifty game season opening in franchise history. Despite the failure to reach the playoffs, there's still more than a handful of positives to take from an eighty-six-win team and in this article, we're going to look at the most improved players on the 2022 Brewers. 3rd place SP Eric Lauer On the surface, Lauer's statistics look pretty similar from 2021 to 2022. He posted a 3.69 ERA and a 4.50 FIP in 2022, compared to a 3.19 ERA and a 4.04 FIP in 2021. His WHIP, walk, and K rates are almost all the same from season to season. His home run rate took a slight bump up, unfortunately. Lauer did stay on the field for the '22 Brewers, making 29 starts and throwing 158 2/3 innings. Lauer had stretches in 2022 where he looked close to becoming the "fourth ace" for the Brewers, joining Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, and Freddy Peralta at the top of the rotation. He carried an ERA in the low twos until mid-June when he got blown up for eight earned runs in a single start. Lauer's last start of the season he pitched six hitless innings and was removed for pitch count. More so for those stretches where he flashed "ace" material and not necessarily the raw numbers, and coming into his age twenty-eight season, Lauer earned a few "most improved" votes from the panel. 2nd place DH/UTIL Keston Hiura For the time that Hiura was in the lineup in 2022, he didn't return to his rookie form, but definitely added some punch to the lineup, with a .765 OPS and fourteen home runs in 266 plate appearances. After his disastrous 2021 campaign, getting any kind of offensive production out of Hiura had to be looked at as a bonus for the Crew. Hiura's reverse splits (.866 ops vs RHP, .619 OPS vs LHP) were a hindering factor, as he saw 109 of his 266 plate appearances against left-handed pitching. While it's heartening to see him providing offense, he'll probably have to continue to work on his reverse splits and cut down the strikeout rate (41.7% in 2022) for him to find a full-time job in 2023. 1st place RP Hoby Milner Hoby Milner entered 2022 with a total of 77 1/3 innings pitched for four teams over five seasons, and they had been best described as "bad" at best, and that could be considered generous. Over his previous two seasons, Milner had surrendered a ghastly thirteen home runs over just 35 innings. Coming into 2022, it's hard to know what the Brewers expected from Milner. A sidearm lefty who barely hits ninety, who's historically been really bad against righties, who will now have to face a minimum of three batters? That sounded like a recipe for disaster. I'm not here to tell you Hoby Milner is suddenly a Cy Young candidate, or reliever of the year candidate, or even that he's going to be great next year. Relievers, by nature, are pretty volatile from year to year. But in 2022 Milner caught proverbial lightning in a bottle and had a solid season from the front to the back. Throwing 64 2/3 innings, Milner posted a respectable 3.76 ERA/3.16 FIP, while lowering his home runs allowed to just five over those 64 2/3 innings. On top of that, Milner's splits were much better than they had been historical allowing just a .704 OPS against right-handers, against a .655 OPS vs. left-handed batters. With the Brewers bullpen going from a strength in 2021 to a sudden (and inexplicable) weakness in 2022, having Milner become a reliable middle-inning option was one of the few things that seemed to go right for the Brewers pen this year. Certainly, the role of the LOOGY has changed, and it appeared that there wouldn't be a place in the game for soft-tossing left-handers that struggle to get out right-handed batters. Milner certainly adjusted last year, and if he finds his way onto the Brewers in 2023, we'll hope he continues having success. Congratulations to Hoby Milner. Now let us know who you think was the Most Improved Brewers player in 2022? View full article

The Brewers took on the Pirates in another critical three game series starting Monday. Despite a series win over the rival Cubs in the weekend set, a disappointing loss in Friday night's tilt left the Brewers still chasing the Padres for the final wild card spot, down a game and a half after the weekend. Game 1 -- Brewers 7, Pirates 5 Box Score Brewers ace Corbin Burnes took the hill for the first game of the series. The Brewers struck first, getting an RBI single from Willy Adames in the third, and an RBI double from hot hitting Hunter Renfroe later in the same frame. Staked to a three-run lead, Burnes pitched four scoreless innings, working around trouble until the fifth. An RBI single, and a three-run homerun by notorious Brewers killer Oneil Cruz gave the Pirates a 4-3 lead. The Pirates tagged Burnes for one more run in the sixth, and carried a 5-3 lead into the eighth inning. With two outs in the eights, and still down 5-3, Omar Narvaez drew a walk, prompting the Pirates to bring in reliever Wil Crowe. Freshly minted Brewers callup Garrett Mitchell greeted Crowe with his first career big league blast to tie the game. Devin Williams pitched a scoreless top of the ninth for the Brewers and Keston Hiura sent 'em home happy two batters into the bottom of the frame. Williams got the win for the Brewers on the walk-off, and his record improves to 5-3 on the year. Game 2 -- Pirates 4, Brewers 2 Box Score Jason Alexander took the hill for the Brewers tonight looking to stretch the Crew's modest win streak to four games. Alexander pitched well tonight and set a career high in strikeouts before the end of the third inning, with six punchouts. The Brewers staked Alexander to a 2-1 lead, on a Kolten Wong two-run homerun in the fourth inning. Alexander was pulled at the end of the fifth inning, having thrown just 59 pitches and allowing just three hits and one run. An argument could be made for sending Alexander back out to work another inning, but the top of the order was also due back up, and Alexander has an 1.112 OPS against when he faces the opposing order a third time through. That has to play in the decision making. Hoby Milner relieved Alexander and pitched a scoreless sixth. Matt Bush took the seventh, and gave up a run on a solo home run to Michael Chavis. Brad Boxberger and Peter Strzelecki each gave up a run in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, as the bullpen collectively failed to back up Alexander tonight. The Brewers had a golden opportunity in the bottom of the ninth, with men on first and third and only one out, but Luis Urias grounded into a game ending double play to end the threat. Boxberger took the loss, dropping to 3-3 on the season. Game 3 -- Brewers 6, Pirates 1 Box Score Freddy Peralta took the hill for the series win.. Peralta pitched five solid innings, giving up just one run, on a solo home run to former Brewer (and noted Brewer killer) Ben Gamel, who has a higher OPS against the Brewers than any other team aside from the Tigers and Mariners, who he has only 8 plate appearances against. Aside from the dinger to Gamel, Peralta went five innings and struck out three batters, gave up just two hits, and threw just seventy four pitches. The Brewers tied the game in the fifth, on a Adames RBI double, and took the lead on an Narvaez groundout in the sixth. The Crew tacked on four runs in the seventh, and never looked back. Hiura and Urias RBI singles, followed by a pair of bases loaded walks around a pair of Pirates defensive miscues gave the Brewers a 6-1 lead. Adrian Houser returned and pitched two scoreless innings in relief today to mop up the game and secure the victory for Taylor Rogers, moving him to 3-6 on the year, and giving another series win to the Brewers as they get a day off on Thursday before heading to Arizona to take on the Diamondbacks. View full article

I'm excited about the OF talent at the top of the system. We'll see how it all plays out of course but it's nice to have a logjam at the top levels.

I'm excited about the OF talent at the top of the system. We'll see how it all plays out of course but it's nice to have a logjam at the top levels.

My all time favorite Brewer. And player. Dude was my absolute hero when I was a wee lad and why I still have a soft spot for big swingin', home run hittin', strikeout machines today. I literally cried when they traded him in 83, and I didn't care that he was having an awful, awful season. Him not being a Brewer couldn't even register to my 9 year old brain. Very nice write up. Thanks for this!

My all time favorite Brewer. And player. Dude was my absolute hero when I was a wee lad and why I still have a soft spot for big swingin', home run hittin', strikeout machines today. I literally cried when they traded him in 83, and I didn't care that he was having an awful, awful season. Him not being a Brewer couldn't even register to my 9 year old brain. Very nice write up. Thanks for this!

The Brewers take on the National League top dog Dodgers in a four game series at American Family Field in a mid week series. With the Cardinals now having jumped the Brewers into first place in the NL Central, this series is critical for the Crew if they hope to have any chance at regaining the lead in the division. Game 1 -- Dodgers 4, Brewers 0 https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL202208150.shtml Freddy Peralta worked game one for the Brewers, against (one of) the Dodgers aces, Julio Urias. Peralta struggled with his command, walking four and throwing 92 pitches in just four innings. Freddy only allowed one run on a solo home run in the first inning to Freddie Freeman, but with the Brewers scuffling offense, tonight that proved to be enough. There just wasn't much going on for the Brewers offensively tonight. Four hits, a pair of walks by Christian Yelich. Their best opportunity to score was the bottom of the first when Yelich leadoff with a walk and Willy Adames singled, but a strikeout and two fly ball outs ended the scoring chance. Hunter Renfroe lead off the bottom of the third with a double, but again, didn't move off of second base. On the night, the Brewers went 0-9 with men in scoring position. The team didn't have a lot of baserunners, but in those opportunities, they absolutely failed to cash in. If you're the type that's looking for a bright spot, Jason Alexander came in late and put up three scoreless innings of solid relief work. Freddy Peralta's record drops to 4-3 on the season with the loss. Game 2 -- Brewers 5, Dodgers 4 https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL202208160.shtml The Brewers sent Brandon Woodruff against Ryan Pepiot in game two. The Brewers offense ended the scoreless streak right away with Christian Yelich taking a leadoff walk and Willy Adames banging a two run homerun to left. Woodruff cruised along for the Crew until the fifth, when he gave up a pair of solo homeruns to Mookie Betts and Joey Gallo. With his pitch count in the 90's, that signalled the end of the night for Woody. In the bottom of the fifth, the Brewers got a power boost from an unexpected source. The Brewers held the 3-2 lead until the seventh inning when the Dodgers Chris Taylor hit a solo home run off of Matt Bush. The score stayed knotted all the way until the 11th, when the Dodgers scored their ghost runner off of Brent Suter with a single, but Suter limited the Dodgers to just the one run. In the bottom of the frame, with Andrew McCutchen stationed at second base to start the inning, and closer Craig Kimbrel on the mound, slugger Hunter Renfroe shocked probably everyone watching when he laid a bunt single down the third base line. With runners at the corners, Kolten Wong struck out, Luis Urias walked, and the Brewers faced the prospect of a double play ball ending the rally. Victor Caratini delivered. It's not shown in this clip, but Hunter Renfroe had to get a great read on this ball right off the bat to score on this little bloop. With only one out, he had to be sure that was dropping. Great baseball in the 11th inning from Hunter Renfroe. Brent Suter gets the win, and moves to 4-3 on the season. Game 3 -- Dodgers 2, Brewers 1 https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL202208170.shtml Eric Lauer pitched seven strong innings for the Crew tonight, giving up just two runs on solo homers to Austin Barnes and Max Muncy, but his Dodgers counterpart Tony Gonsolin was even better, shutting down the Brewers for seven innings on just two hits and a walk. Lauer went pitch for pitch with the Cy Young candidate Gonsolin for the first five innings, putting zeros on the board until the sixth, when Barnes got him for a solo homerun, and Muncy followed the next inning with a solo dinger of his own. On the night, Lauer allowed just four hits and three walks while striking out seven against the tough Dodgers lineup. The Brewers got one back in the eighth inning when Christian Yelich singled home a run. Willy Adames had a chance to do some damage, but lined out to short to end the threat. With another chance against closer Craig Kimbrel, the Brewers put men on first and second in the bottom of the ninth, but Luis Urias grounded out weakly to third to end the threat. Down a run, the Brewers had the tying run in scoring position in each of the last two innings, but couldn't push it across. Lauer takes the unfortunate loss and drops to 8-5 on the season. Game 4 -- Brewers 5, Dodgers 3 https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL202208180.shtml With the Brewers needing a win to earn the split, Corbin Burnes takes the mound against Dodgers lefty Andrew Heaney. Andrew McCutchen started things off with a bang in the first inning, launching his twelfth homerun of the season. In the bottom of the third, with the game still 1-0 Crew, he did it again. The Crew added another two-spot in the fifth with a two run homer from Hunter Renfroe, his 21st of the season. The Brewers needed the offense today, as Burnes ran out of gas in the sixth. The Dodgers roughed him up a bit, pushing three runs across the plate before Brad Boxberger relieved him with two outs and got out of the inning. Taylor Rogers, Matt Bush, and Devin Williams handled the last three innings allowing just one walk from Bush, and Williams closed the door in the ninth, striking out the side. Burnes got the win to move to 9-5 on the season, and the Brewers got the much needed split with the very tough Dodgers squad. With the Brewers now hanging three games back of the Cardinals, the team heads to Chicago to take on the Cubs in a three game series. View full article

While Laureano isn't a defensive whiz, we'd still have Davis as a late inning replacement. Laureano isn't having a great season at the plate, but he's got a recent history of having some pretty good offensive numbers, and a history of being better than Taylor. If he can be had for a price that doesn't include any top 7 - 10 prospects, I'd be willing to roll the dice.

While Laureano isn't a defensive whiz, we'd still have Davis as a late inning replacement. Laureano isn't having a great season at the plate, but he's got a recent history of having some pretty good offensive numbers, and a history of being better than Taylor. If he can be had for a price that doesn't include any top 7 - 10 prospects, I'd be willing to roll the dice.

The Brewers came back from the break looking to hold on to first in the NL Central with a four game series against the Colorado Rockies. With a 1 1/2 game lead over the Cardinals and the trade deadline looming, the Crew had to make this home stand count. Game 1 -- Brewers 6, Rockies 5 (13) It took a while, but they got it done. All-Star starter Corbin Burnes wasn't sharp, using 108 pitches to get through five innings. He gave up only a pair of runs, but just didn't seem to have his command. He struck out five and gave up a two-run dinger to Charlie Blackmon in the third. The Brewers offense gave Burnes the lead back quickly in the bottom of the frame, with Willy Adames hitting his 20th home run of the season, and Andrew McCutchen hitting a two run shot with Rowdy Tellez aboard. Burnes left the game with the lead but Trevor Gott got into two-out trouble with a walk and a double and the Rockies tied the game in the sixth. The score stayed 3-3 until the 10th when the Rockies scored two with the Manfred man and a sacrifice fly. With two outs in the bottom of the tenth, it looked like the Rockies were about to put the game away when Hunter Renfroe tied it back up. Both offenses were held in check until the bottom of the 13th, when Luis Urias sent the few remaining faithful fans home happy with a little flare basehit to score Jonathan Davis from second base for the walkoff winner. With his two innings of scoreless work, Brent Suter vultures his way to 2-3 on the season and the Brewers open up after the break with a win. Game 2 -- Brewers 9, Rockies 4 Box Score The Rockies tagged starter Brandon Woodruff with a run in the first, and after that he continued his recent run of excellent work, pitching six, striking out eight, and giving up just that one run. On the other side of the ledger, the Brewers gave Woody all the run support he needed and then some, tallying three times in the fourth, and then putting up a five spot in the sixth inning to basically cement the game away. The three runs in the fourth came courtesy of another tater off the bat of Renfroe. Renfroe has been exactly as advertised, and just what the Brewers need in the middle of the order. Hopefully he stays a little more healthy in the second half, because his big bat was clutch in this series. The Brewers knocked around former teammates Jose Urena for five runs, and then hit another former Brewer, Jhoulys Chacin , for a pair in the sixth to run the score to 8-1. The Rockies scored three in the ninth off of Connor Sadzeck , who has since been moved down to Nashville, but never got close enough to threaten. Woodruff moved his record to 8-3 with the victory. Game 3 -- Brewers 10, Rockies 9 Box Score What didn't happen? Lead changes, late rallies, pinch-hit homers, you name it. Anyone that turned this one off early missed out. The Crew hopped out to a 5-2 lead after four innings, with Urias hitting a two-run double in the first, and Renfroe hitting his third homerun in three days. Eric Lauer wasn't exactly cruising, but had worked through four, and had a comfortable lead. With one out in the fourth, he walked a man, gave up a two-run homerun to Kris Bryant, and walked another. Jandel Gustave came in to relieve and got out of the inning with the 5-4 lead intact. The Rockies struck again in the sixth, getting a pair of runs off of Gustave before manager Craig Counsell replace him with Hoby Milner who worked out of the jam. The Brewers came right back in the bottom of the frame when Tyrone Taylor pinch hit a solo homerun and tied the game back up at six. The tie was short lived as the Rockies Elias Diaz slapped a two-run single off of Brewers reliever Brad Boxberger to push the lead back to 8-6. In the bottom of the 7th, Mike Brosseau double home McCutchen to pull within a run, and then the big inning came for the Crew. Victor Caratini and Taylor started the 8th inning with ground outs. WIth two outs and no one on base, Christian Yelich drew a walk. Adames followed up with a single. Tellez singled to score Yelich and pull the Crew once again back within a run. This all brought McCutchen to the plate. It's entirely arguable that ball could have been caught, but it certainly was scorched. Rockies centerfielder Yonathan Daza got a bad read on it, broke in, and realized right away he was burned. With a better read, maybe he catches that ball and we have a completely different outcome, but that's baseball. It's possible he didn't realize how hard the ball was smoked right off the bat. Either way, it was a huge moment and the Brewers headed to the ninth with a two run lead for closer Josh Hader . Hader gave up a triple and a single, but struck out two and got the save. He's clearly still working through some issues, but had enough going today to get the job done. Suter gets yet another win in relief, and moves to 3-3 and Hader gets save 28. Game 4 -- Rockies 2, Brewers 0 Box Score The offense just shut it down Monday. But we can talk about newly signed Aaron Ashby pitching what was probably the best start of his MLB career to date. He went seven strong innings, struck out nine, gave up five hits and one walk, and just two runs. This is what the Brewers thought they were getting when they committed five years (and a few team option years) to him, and this is hopefully a glimpse of the future for Ashby if he can reign in his talent and become more consistent with location. Unfortunately for Ashby, Rockies starter Kyle Freeland was just as good and then some, completely shutting down the Brewers on four hits through seven innings. The Crew mounted a late rally, getting a pair of runners in the ninth, but Rockies closer Daniel Bard shut the door and the Brewers weren't able to complete the four game sweep. View full article

Benintendi has a career .352 OBP, so if he does regress, it's not likely to be much. He hasn't been good in CF, but he's been serviceable when he plays there. We're talking 50 - 60 games at this point, so the run diff between him and an average CF (Taylor) would be 3-4 runs maybe. Taylor's carrying a .275 OBP. Just not good enough to be playing every day for this team that's struggling to score runs. Benintendi fits the profile perfectly (Like JFS says above) of what the offense needs..... literally just a guy to not make outs. Get on base, move the order to the next guy, and move runners around.

We've played McCutchen in CF in a pinch, and Benintendi's a good defensive LF. Let's not pretend that Benintendi's defense won't be passable for 60-ish games to get that .400-ish OBP in the lineup. We've been playing Jon Davis and his .250 slg percentage out there for the last 3 weeks after having Cain and his .450 OPS out there for the majority of the first 2 months. Benintendi would have to be a near butcher in CF to not make the upgrade to the offense worth the risk at this point.

The Brewers close out the first half of the season with a four game set at the Giants. After dropping a series to the Pirates and splitting a pair with the Twins, the Crew look to head into the break on a high note and hang on to first place in the National League central division. Game 1 -- Brewers 3, Giants 2 (10) https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN202207140.shtml Corbin Burnes took the hill for the Brewers and threw 7 1/3 innings, throwing a season high 115 pitches, and topping 100 pitches for the sixth time in the last seven games. Burnes wasn't super sharp tonight, walking three, but minimized the damage, allowing only four hits and two runs in the third inning. One of the runs was unearned, resulting from an earlier Victor Caratini passed ball. Run support was at a minimum for Burnes again tonight, as the Brewers offense struggled to scratch across runs. The Brewers loaded the bases in the fourth with one out, but managed just one run on an Andrew McCutchen sacrifice fly. WIth the Giants holding on to a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning, Willy Adames roped an RBI single to knot the game at two. With two men on and only one out, again the Brewers could muster no further offense the rest of the inning. The game stayed 2-2 until the tenth inning, when Jonathan Davis came up with Christian Yelich stationed at third base and tapped a slow roller down the third base line that died on the grass and drove in Yelich. In the bottom of the frame, Devin Williams protected the lead with a three up three down inning and leaving the Giants ghost runner stranded at third. Trevor Gott struck out two batters in the ninth to pick up the win and get to 2-2, and Williams gets the save, his sixth on the year. Game 2 -- Giants 8, Brewers 5 https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN202207150.shtml Brandon Woodruff started and really worked to get through 5 2/3 innings tonight. Woodruff threw 112 pitches in less than six innings, and at times it looked like four innings was all manager Craig Counsell was going to be able to tease out of his starter. This was the first start since Woodruff has come back from the IL that he's really showed command issues, but he battled through and gave the team almost six innings of two run baseball. The Brewers trailed by two until the fifth, when a defensive blunder by LaMonte Wade Jr with two outs extended the inning. Two batters later, a bases clearing double by Andrew McCutchen gave the Brewers their first lead of the game. A bases loaded walk to Luis Urias ended the scoring and the Brewers were up 5-2. The Brewers entered the ninth inning up by that same score and closer Josh Hader coming in. Seven batters, three home runs, and six runs later, the Giants were walking off an 8-5 win, and the Brewers and their fans are left wondering what's going on with the all star closer who was all but unhittable for the first 2 1/2 months of the season. Hader's E.R.A. has risen to an unsightly 4.50, and he's surrendering home runs at an alarming rate. The Brewers and Hader will have to figure it out, and hopefully soon, as the team's dwindling playoff odds definitely hinge to a degree on their massively successful closer. Hader's loss drops him to 0-4. Game 3 -- Giants 2, Brewers 1 https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN202207160.shtml The Balk Game. That's what this game is going to be known as from now on. If the Brewers turn things around and win the division walking away, this one probably just recedes into nothing, and gets forgotten. If the Brewers lose the division by a game, it could be one of those "that was a pivotal turning point" games that gets talked about (along with the walk off grand slam from the day before) for at least a few years to come. Brewers starter Eric Lauer and Giants hurler Alex Cobb treated fans to a magnificent pitchers duel for seven-plus innings, with Lauer giving up two hits and one run on a solo homerun, and Cobb surrendering just one run on a double and a sacrifice fly. Lauer went seven innings, and Cobb went 7 1/3, and then the game was turned over to the respective bullpens. The Brewers had an opportunity in the eighth inning to do more but with Jonathan Davis on second base and one out, the inning ended with a strikeout-throw out double play as Davis was caught stealing third base by plenty. In the bottom of the eighth, Brewers skipper Craig Counsell turned to Brent Suter to hold down the Giants, due to the majority of the Giants bench bats being left handed. With two outs and two on, Counsell handed the ball to Jandel Gustave, who hit Evan Longoria to load the bases. WIth Mike Yastremski up, the home plate umpire called a balk as Gustave appeared to step off to get a new sign, and give the Giants the lead run in what had been a 1-1 game. Decide for yourself. The Brewers got a runner to second base with nobody out in the ninth, but couldn't bring him around, and lose 2-1. Brent Suter gets saddled with the unfortunate loss and is 1-3 on the season. Game 4 -- Giants 9, Brewers 5 https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401355608 The final score presented here is one of those "it wasn't that close" scores. The Giants got a run off of opener Aaron Ashby in the first, a run off of him in the second, and then knocked around Jason Alexander for seven runs in five innings, building up a 9-1 lead. The Brewers opened the scoring today with a Willy Adames homerun in the first, his 19th, but that was, unfortunately, not a portent of things to come, as the Giants scored nine unanswered runs before the Brewers tallied two in the seventh and two in the eighth. The slumping Rowdy Tellez was able to sock his 18th homerun late in the game, and the Brewers have to hope that can be a jump start for his offense after the break. Tellez has put up just a .429 OPS the last two weeks, and for the last month is hitting just .157, with most of his .705 OPS coming from the streak of ten straight extra base hits he strung together recently. Connor Sadzeck made his season debut for the Crew, throwing two scoreless innings at the tail end of the game. Sadzeck pitched well for the Nashville squad this season, and appears in the majors for the first time since 2019. Aaron Ashby takes the loss for his one inning of work, and his record drops to 2-7. The Brewers head into the All Star Break at 50-43, holding on to a slim 1/2 game margin on the St. Louis Cardinals in the central division. View full article