brewerfan82

So is Naylor! Go get these guys, drop them into the heart of the lineup, play the matchups, and LET'S GO!!! 🥳🏆

Brewers voodoo is real!

Chalk it up to a slow start! Since May 18th (over two months now): Team Offense 115 wRC+ (3rd in MLB behind SEA and CHC, each with 116) .267 AVG (3rd in MLB, 1st in NL) .340 OBP (2nd in MLB, 1st in NL) 274 R (2nd in MLB, 1st in NL) 55 SB (2nd in MLB, 1st in NL) Team Pitching 3.20 ERA (1st in MLB, 1st in NL) 1.17 WHIP (3rd in MLB, 3rd in NL) 79 ERA- (1st in MLB, 1st in NL) 3.64 xFIP (4th in MLB, 3rd in NL)

To take this sentiment one step further, this is nearly his best season as far as going deep into games goes. Career as a SP:

I'm curious on this as well. Maybe power rankings just aren't what you're looking for as the idea of them is that they do take into consideration opinions beyond team records and statistics, such as injuries, breakout prospects, team momentum, players they expect to play better the rest of the season, etc. I'm sure there is some big market bias that comes along with that, but is that being demonstrated currently with the rankings you've seen? Is there a big market team with a worse record ranked higher than the Brewers? And if not, who do you think we should be ranked ahead of and why? All that said, if you want more statistically driven rankings, there are some fun options over at FanGraphs Playoff Odds page: https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds/fg/mlb Their default "FanGraphs" projection mode I think is based on ZiPS projections, but you can switch to have projections based on other projection modes like Season-to-Date stats as well. That said, the reason power rankings can be fun is if a writer believes the Brewers just brought up their own "Paul Skenes" with Jacob Misiorowski, you might see them jump up in the their power rankings to reflect that, whereas stat-based rankings aren't going to jump on that band wagon as quickly.

I thought your feed was ahead of mine and was waiting for the three run homer from Naylor, lol

I started poking around at this using FanGraph's Transaction Tracker (https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/transaction-tracker?transactiontype=trade&season=2023) and think I found a decent comp: Ryan Weathers (MIA - SP) Acquired from Padres for 1B Garrett Cooper and RP Sean Reynolds 23 years old at time of trade (vs. 24 for Priester) Drafted 7th overall in the 2018 Amateur Draft (vs. 18th pick overall in 2019 draft) Major League stats at time of trade: 143 IP (vs. 99.2 for Priester), 5.73 ERA (vs. 6.23), 1.49 WHIP (vs. 1.55), 70 ERA+ (vs. 71), 5.53 FIP (vs. 5.72), 10.2 H/9 (vs. 10.3), 1.8 HR/9 (vs. 1.7), 3.2 BB/9 (vs. 3.7), 6.5 SO/9 (vs. 6.2), -1.0 WAR (vs. -1.0) So Priester's a little older, was picked a little later in the draft, and has performed a little worse, but it's in the realm of similar ;) Since his trade, Ryan Weathers had a rough 13 inning start with Miami (7.62 ERA), but really took a step forward last year putting up a 3.63 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 126 ERA+, 4.11 FIP, and 2.1 WAR in 86.2 IP . --- Edited: To take this one step further and compare their minor league careers... Overall Minors: Weathers (age 18-24): 337.2 IP, 4.69 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 4.67 xFIP, 8.34 K/9, 3.31 BB/9, 1.33 HR/9 Priester (age 18-24): 408.2 IP, 3.61 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 3.89 xFIP, 9.43 K/9, 3.28 BB/9, 0.59 HR/9

It is.

The camera angle for the A's broadcast is absolutely brutal with some combination of the umpire, shortstop, and baserunner all blocking the strike zone at different times.

He started 16 games last year (albeit only averaging 4.1 IP) with pretty good results:

Even if you don't think he's a highly regarded prospect, it's hard to argue that he hasn't statistically been one of the best pitchers in the minors for two years. That said, two years isn't a long time. So yes, it is possible for him to both not be in those top 25 lists, while at the same time have performed as one of the best pitchers in the minors for two years. I don't know if the Brewers made a mistake or not with him yet, but there are reasons why he's not ranked higher and the Brewers didn't protect him (short sustained success and limited room in a stacked, competitive Brewers' system) and also reasons the White Sox took him with the first pick in the Rule 5 Draft (he literally has been one of the best pitchers in the minors for two years now and their team is in a position to absorb him at the major league level). Any additional arguing about him "being one of the best pitchers in the minors" feels more like semantics at this point ("has been statistically" vs. "is").

Add Joey to that list!

By the looks of those OPS's, I think our top five are ready for the season to start 👀

Wow, nice deal for the Padres

I think at this point we go with what we have and make a move later if needed. The only other free agent I think could be helpful/stabilizing is Whit Merrifield, but I'm not even sure he's better than our internal options anyways.

A big move would have been exciting, but I think this team is in a solid starting position as-is. Waiting out the offseason to add Quintana, Canha, and Margot for depth and Spring Training insurance—all for under $7M—helps round out the roster nicely. We could still grab Iglesias on a discount, or I wouldn’t mind adding another utility player who can cover 3B if needed (I’ve mentioned Merrifield on a Canha/Margot-type deal). But with a good position battle already brewing between Durbin, Dunn, Capra, and Monasterio, we have solid internal options. Plus, by holding onto our prospects now, we’ll have more flexibility for moves later in the season if needed.

I'm going with Nyjer Morgan.

With all the talk the past couple days about McMahon, there are a couple free agents still out there that can be had without having to trade away anyone. The obvious one is Jose Iglesias, but I wouldn't be opposed to taking a flyer on Whit Merrifield for a year at the right price as well. He has pretty even splits while putting in 54 games at 2B, 25 games in LF, and 13 games at 3B last year, so he would add some flexibility and ability to mix and match. 2022-24 vs. RHP: 2022-24 vs. LHP: Iglesias (35) and Merrifield (36) have a few more years on them than McMahon (30), but they're likely available on one year deals for less than McMahon (especially Merrifield) as well, which may be preferable while we see which of our younger players develop. Overall, I think I'd see what happens with Iglesias before making a deal for McMahon, and then if there's not a deal that makes sense with him, throw a similar offer out to Merrifield as we did with Canha/Margot in case none of the guys currently on the roster are able to secure a spot.

There's a way to disagree without the tone and condescension you include in your posts.

McMahon is tough guy to evaluate from a trade perspective. Despite the fact that he consistently hits 20-24 HRs each year and gets on base at a decent enough .325 clip, he also grades out as having slightly below average overall offensive production with wRC+ hovering in the mid-to-low 90s each season (no thanks to his K% that sits up close to 30%). On the flip side, he's a great defensive 3B, making him worth 2-3 WAR each season overall. Over the past 4 seasons, he's second in defensive runs saved, and 4th in UZR/150 among third basemen: From a contract standpoint, he's owed $12M this year, and then $16M each of '26 and '27. Poking around the trades on the BTV site, it looks like they have him valued at -$20.3M over the course of that contract. Hoskins, who has been mentioned as a possible swap, is valued at -$12.4M. So even with him, the Rockies might need to kick in some money (which as we saw in the Arenado trade, they may not shy away from). But even then, I don't want to add McMahon to the lineup at the cost of creating a hole at first and losing what I hope to be a rebound season of Hoskins. Although, I guess at that point you could go with a Canha/Black platoon at first. It looks like Mike Boeve is valued around $7M, so unless the Rockies are sending $9M per year to offset McMahon's contract, that doesn't seem likely as well (although at that point from a Brewers' perspective, I might take McMahon for threes years at $3M, $7M, and $7M in exchange for Boeve). So while I'd love to insert him into the lineup, and it's salivating thinking of a McMahon/Ortiz/Turang defensive infield, it may be tricky figuring out a trade that makes sense. That said, let's see if MA can work some magic!

Glad to see Canha back in the mix again. Love that he can help in the OF and at 1B. Even with his dipped production last season, he had better lefty AND righty wRC+ splits than Frelick, Perkins, Margot, Bauers, and Black (and nearly Hoskins), including a hefty 124 wRC+ against lefties and a not too shabby 94 wRC+ against righties: 2024 vs. RHP: 2024 vs. LHP: That said, the outfield/bench is crowded, especially once Perkins comes back, so it'll be interesting to see if they can find him a spot. May take an injury, or preferably, a trade to fit him in somewhere.

Off topic - Can we add a 🤦‍♂️ reaction for posts?

Definitely a gamble. That said, most projection systems have him coming back with a WAR between 2.5 and 3.0 (compared to his 3.3, 2.1, 4.7, 3.6 WARs from 2019-23), if he does that it looks great. Depending on the mutual option for next year, it essentially becomes either a 1 yr, $17.5M deal or a 2 yr, $28.5M deal. FA pitchers that are projected for WARs between 2.5 and 3.0: Yusei Kikuchi (proj. 3.0 WAR, 34 years old) - 3 yrs, $63M Nathan Eovaldi (proj. 2.9 WAR, 35 years old) - 3 yrs, $75M Jack Flaherty (proj. 2.5 WAR, 29 years old) - 2 yrs, $35M So he has a nicer contract than any of those options. And here are the players that got similar contracts to what we're giving him: Max Scherzer (proj. 2.0 WAR, 40 years old) - 1 yr, $15.5M Charlie Morton (proj. 1.4 WAR, 41 years old) - 1 yr, $15M Justin Verlander (proj. 1.4 WAR, 42 years old) - 1 yr, $15M Matthew Boyd (proj. 1.7 WAR, 34 years old) - 2 yrs, $29M Shane Bieber (proj. 1.6 WAR, 30 years old) - 2 yrs, $26M I probably take my chances with Woodruff over any of them, noting we don't even know that any of these guys would come to Milwaukee for the contracts they ended up getting.

From the above link: So may not be here long, but he's at minimum good depth in case of a Spring Training injury or trade (assuming he doesn't flat beat someone out for a roster spot).

I am not assuming it one way or another, that was the point of what I said.