Jason Wang

I also think the pitch timer had something to do with it. His pitch tempo was 21.1 seconds with bases empty and 24.7 with runners on in 2022. This year, it's 16.7 and 20.6 seconds, the fastest it has ever been in his career for 4-5 seconds. Baseball Savant considers tempo the time in between pitches where as pitch clock is obviously from the catcher return to pitch release but it still gives a general idea of how much he's had to accelerate things. It would explain his brutal start and return to normalcy in recent games.

didn't we all

Good callout! On the bright side, he's not chasing much (97th percentile Chase Rate) and he has an elite walk rate at 17.6% which makes for a super interesting player. Not sure how the market is for first basemen but he might be a nice consolation prize the Brewers could probably get for pretty cheap, like 2 or 3 Zaffiro's Pizzas.

The Milwaukee Brewers are on top of the NL Central for a few reasons. While the team has its weaknesses, there are a couple of positions where the Brewers have depth to spare--enough to trade away to bolster its comparatively feeble offense. Here are the top three areas that the Milwaukee front office might trim down before this year’s trade deadline to get some new bats. 3) Starting Pitching Before Wade Miley recently headed to the 15-day IL with elbow discomfort, the Brewers were operating on a six-man rotation. Furthermore, Brandon Woodruff and Aaron Ashby are expected to make their returns sooner rather than later, and Eric Lauer is still kicking around on the 40-man roster . Assuming that Milwaukee had everyone to work with, pretty much all of their starters would be useful as middle or end-of-the-rotation guys, at the very least. There are plenty of teams who are in desperate need of more solid pitching pieces and have some position players to spare. A good example would be the Cincinnati Reds, who currently have an ERA of 5.58 for their starting pitchers--28th in MLB. The Reds have the opposite problem: a surfeit of great players at positions where the Brewers need help, namely Spencer Steer at first base and Will Benson in the outfield. While it may be odd for the two top contenders in the NL Central to trade some of their most valuable players with each other, perhaps it can be a win-win scenario where all boats rise with the tide. An alternative option could be a trade for Ryan Noda, the first baseman for the Oakland Athletics. Oakland has a similar issue, posting an abysmal 6.29 team ERA for starters, while Noda has posted excellent stats in his rookie season, slashing .225/.374/.402. Furthermore, Oakland fans are well aware that the Athletics’ front office is more than willing to trade their best position players year after year for minor-league prospects or other cheap, long-term pieces. 2) Outfielders The Brewers have both great skill and optionality in the outfield, with players such as Christian Yelich, Joey Wiemer, Blake Perkins, and even Owen Miller performing well. Furthermore, the team’s top two prospects, Jackson Chourio and Sal Frelick, are standout outfielders at Double A and Triple A, respectively. Even fifth-ranked prospect Tyler Black has been known to dabble in the outfield at times. Perkins might fetch a good price, as his defense-focused playing style would add value for many teams lacking such a skillset (looking at you, Phillies), and his lack of offense can be upgraded to add a much-needed bat to the Brewers lineup. While there is depth in the farm system, none of the prospects are quite fully baked. Past the top five, most of the other prospects are in the lower levels of the minors (High-A and below) and Frelick, the lone man in Nashville, has been slashing just .229/.319/.300, signaling a need for more time before heading to The Show. 1) Relievers The Brewers have had a great bullpen all year--one of the best in baseball. A 3.90 ERA for all relievers is actually skewed by a few pitchers who have already been removed from the major-league roster for their poor performances, including Matt Bush and Javy Guerra. The five qualified relievers have ERA+ figures of 149 or better, with Elvis Peguero having the highest ERA at 2.92. Even with injuries and poor performances affecting the bullpen, there seems to be an unending supply of strong arms to fill in the gaps. While the front office is unlikely to surrender any core pieces, some of the newer faces might help teams who struggle with pitching in the later innings. One team that might need the help would be the Chicago White Sox. At 16 games below .500, their playoff hopes are slim to none and it’s clear their rebuild has not worked, so it might be time to try again. They also have a 4.71 reliever ERA, 26th in MLB. Some pieces that might add some incremental but much-appreciated value would be 1B Andrew Vaughn (.742 OPS, 103 OPS+) or OF Andrew Benintendei (.731 OPS, 103 OPS+). View full article

It's so hard to find objective defensive stats. Pretty much all of them, even simple fielding percentage, include subjectivity of whether things are errors or "above average outs." When writing about players, I try to ignore my internal biases and "eye tests" as it feels too opinionated to me, but you're right. OAA might not tell the whole story.

lol this reminds me of this gem:

Very true! Honestly just need more offense.

In the game of baseball, no team is perfect. There are so many moving pieces and dimensions that even the best teams can improve in almost all areas. With the Brewers currently holding a narrow lead in the NL Central and August 1 quickly approaching, let’s count down the things the Brewers should have on their shopping list to secure their trip to the postseason. Image courtesy of © David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports 3) Strikeout Pitchers If you just take a look at some high-level statistics, you might say that the Brewers have a pretty good pitching staff across the board. They currently have a team ERA of 4.00, 12th in MLB, and a WHIP of 1.25, good for eighth. If you want to get even more granular and look at the individual players that make this possible, you’ll notice bullpen staples such as Devin Williams, Joel Payamps, Hoby Milner, and Elvis Peguero posting incredibly strong ERA+ figures, followed by starters Wade Miley and Corbin Burnes. In fact, of the 11 active qualified pitchers, nine of them have ERA+ figures above 100, meaning that they are performing better than average when adjusting for park factors. However, of those same 11, only four pitchers have above-average strikeout rates, meaning that for the most part, the pitching staff is heavily relying on soft contact. Matthew Trueblood pointed out this lack of swing-and-miss back in mid-April. The Brewers have been one of the best defensive teams in baseball this year, posting a team Defensive Runs Saved figure of 34, third in MLB behind just the Blue Jays and Rangers. Blake Perkins and William Contreras, in particular, have been exceptional, leading the team with eight and seven DRS, respectively. This is great, but if the Brewers are able to get a few more strikeout-based pitchers to take some of the pressure off of the lineup. Particularly in the starting rotation, Milwaukee should look to acquire some strikeout backup to compensate for Corbin Burnes’s slight dip in performance this season--although come back later this week for more insight on that topic. 2) Contact Hitters In this new age of baseball, batting average can sometimes be an overlooked statistic. After Moneyball, there are many who think on-base-percentage is an upgrade to batting average, but one key thing to remember is that a hit is a ball in play. A walk can only score a run if the bases are loaded, but a single can score a particularly speedy runner all the way from first. Of the team’s eight qualified hitters, only three players (Christian Yelich, Owen Miller, and Contreras) are batting above .230. The inability to put balls in play is one of the reasons that the Brewers are currently ranked 14th in the NL and 25th in MLB in runs scored. With a pitiful team batting average of .232, getting a few contact-focused bats could pay dividends throughout the rest of the season. 1) Power Bats Consistent singles are great, but contact hitting is a gift that not all players possess. Thankfully, one can easily offset a lower batting average by getting doubles and home runs. The whole purpose of stats like OPS and xwOBA are to properly value hitters that may bat around .240-.260 but hit 30+ home runs per season. A good example of this is Willy Adames, who is currently batting a somewhat dismal .212, but with a decent walk rate and a slugging average of .411, his OPS of .706 is much more palatable. Unfortunately for Milwaukee, Adames is one of just three qualified position players on the team with slugging figures above the league average. None of the Brewers are going to be hitting a Barry Bonds-esque home run stride any time soon, with Adames currently leading the team with 16, but if the team is able to bolster their hitting with a few more big hitters, it could generate more runs and improve upon the team’s greatest weakness this season, the offense. View full article

In a close game that saw brilliant pitching from both sides, the Corbin Burnes and the bullpen staff came out on top, as Victor Caratini powered the Brewers to a win. Image courtesy of © Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK Box Score Starting Pitcher: Corbin Burnes - 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 13 K, 102 pitches, 64 strikes (62.7%) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Corbin Burnes (.374), Devin Williams (.223), Joel Payamps (.152) Bottom 3 WPA: Andruw Monasterio (-.181), Christian Yelich (-.121), Brice Turang (-.110) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Corbin Cooks Up A Masterpiece In one of his most impressive starts of the season, Corbin Burnes struck out 13 batters, a season-high total, through his six-inning start, giving up just two hits on the way. Everything seemed to be working for him, painting the edges of the zone like Leonardo da Vinci. He also posted an impressive 21 swings and misses. The one frightening portion of his start was in the fifth inning. After striking out TJ Friedl, he appeared to stumble and came off the mound, almost collapsing. While the cause wasn’t clear at the time, it was later reported that it was due to a combination of heat and dehydration. With a high of 92 degrees and amid a Herculean effort, it makes sense. If the Brewers want to stake their claim to the NL Central division and make a strong run at the postseason, we will need this version of Burnes throughout the second half. He’s currently at a 3.73 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Bullpen Boys Back Up Burnes The relievers didn’t let their starter down, as they kept one of the better-hitting teams in baseball guessing at the plate in the final three innings. Elvis Peguero, Joel Payamps, and Devin Williams went a perfect three innings, striking out five of their nine assigned batters. Williams recorded his 21st save of the season, putting him fourth in the National League. Slow Game Ends With A Caratini Swing While the Brewers performed slightly better at the plate (6 H, 3 BB) than the Reds (2 H, 2 BB), the game was scoreless for the first six innings. Nonetheless, the seventh inning started off with a bang, kicked off by a Willy Adames leadoff double. After a single and stolen base by Owen Miller, there were two runners in scoring position and zero outs. Victor Caratini’s single to center field sent Adames home and gave the Brewers a small but very meaningful 1-0 lead. A Jesse Winker walk following two strikeouts loaded the bases and gave Milwaukee the potential to tack on some insurance, but a Joey Wiemer popout put an end to those plans. What’s Next? The Brewers have two more games against the Reds before continuing their road trip. The Milwaukee schedule is brutal over this next stretch, with the next few series being against the Phillies, Braves, Reds, and Braves again. Any and all momentum is needed, and the team cannot afford to continue slumping at the plate if they hope to keep their strong position in the standings. Freddy Peralta will face lefty Andrew Abbott in the second game of the series. Both the Reds and the Brewers are tied with an identical 50-42 record at the top of the NL Central. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Williams 14 0 0 0 0 14 Peguero 13 0 0 0 0 13 Payamps 12 0 0 0 0 12 Milner 0 0 0 0 0 0 B Wilson 0 0 0 0 0 0 Uribe 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mejia 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tweet Highlight View full article

Brice Turang has 0 OAA and is in the 43rd percentile for this statistic. He has 2 OAA as a second baseman but -2 OAA as a shortstop. That's primarily what I was going off of. That being said, if we want to evaluate Turange purely as a second baseman, than his 2 OAA and 7 DRS is fine but someone like Dubon (just using him as an easy comparison since we've mentioned him already) has 3 OAA and 8 DRS. Defensive metrics are a little less straightforward than offensive metrics since much of it is subjective, but I made that comment based on a quick glance at those two statistics. Let me know your thoughts! Always happy to learn more about the game.

what happened in volleyball are u okay I think priority one should be second base. I'm sure he's a very nice guy but Brice Turang is a 59 OPS+ hitter that plays slightly below average defense. How he's above replacement level I have no idea but adding a contact hitter at second base would be immense. This is an extremely random target but Mauricio Dubon from the Houston Astros is actually someone that comes to mind since Altuve is (almost) back from the IL and they've been splitting time at 2B all season. Dubon doesn't have great power but he's batting .279. His walk rate is garbage but I'd take a .279/.303/.397 over Turang's .207/.265/.315.

1) Unfortunately we'll likely see appearances from both characters. He hasn't been remarkably consistent and will flash Cy Young Corbin one game then get shelled the next. 2) Good question. Winker has been bad (.577 OPS, 63 OPS+) and is supposed to be a platoon guy against righties but isn't great at that job either. I'd be surprised if he gets a ton more ABs this year. 3) Probably none. Unlike Yelich, no one else is performing that far below their career expectations. Rowdy should at least be above-replacement but I don't think anyone will be catching up. 4) I was going to say that we need guys that can hit lefties, but after checking the number it looks like we just need guys that can hit in general. The team is posting a .680 OPS against LHP and a .694 against RHP so the team is just not an offensive powerhouse.

The All-Star Break was great fun, but it's time to get back to business. With all teams now focused on putting themselves in position for the postseason, here are three things to keep an eye on for the back half of the schedule. Image courtesy of © Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports Standoff In The NL Central Ever since Cincinnati called up Elly De La Cruz and brought Joey Votto back from the IL, they've gone on a tear, having an incredible month of June that included a 12-game win streak. Powered by their young nucleus that includes standouts like Matt McLain, TJ Friedl, and Spencer Steer, they posted a team OPS of .791, 4th in MLB, last month. On the other hand, the Brewers continued their summer slump, posting a .655 OPS, 27th in MLB. This clear disparity in offense allowed the Reds to close a large divisional deficit and overtake Milwaukee by one game in the NL Central. Based on FanGraphs' playoff projections, the Brewers still have a 54.4% chance to clinch the division, whereas the Reds have a just a 29.9% chance, but those numbers could change quickly with a winning or losing streak by either team. Interestingly enough, Baseball Reference gives the Brewers, Reds, and Cubs somewhat even chances of clinching the division at 36.6%, 34.5%, and 27.7% respectively. FanGraphs is a little more pessimistic, giving the Cubs just a 5.6% chance to take the top spot. If you choose to go off of Pythagorean wins and losses, all three teams are still quite even. Milwaukee Brewers Cincinnati Reds Chicago Cubs Wins 44 45 47 Losses 47 46 42 So who knows what will happen? The Brewers can't hit, the Reds can't pitch, and the Cubs keep getting unlucky in close games. Shuffling The Starting Rotation Fans have been awaiting Brandon Woodruff's return from the IL, and he's been making progress, staying in Milwaukee during the All-Star break to continue his rehabilitation and gradually ramp up his throwing sessions. The problem is, the Brewers already have six starters in their rotation, so who's getting the boot to make room for Woodruff? We can pretty safely eliminate Corbin Burnes, and the Brewers front office has reaffirmed their unwillingness to trade him, so we'll likely continue to see him take the mound. Wade Miley is having one of the best seasons of his long career, posting a 3.06 ERA and 1.15 WHIP while also being the only lefty starter on the team. Julio Teheran has been solid at eating innings and is still a cromulent starter, posting a 3.64 ERA skewed by conceding 13 runs in his past two starts. Adrian Houser recently returned from his own IL stint and has been solid. Freddy Peralta and Colin Rea have been slightly below average, both posting ERA+ values of 90. If the Brewers decide to simply remove someone from the roster, I imagine it will be Rea. However, given that he's already done so a few times this season, Houser could also be moved to the bullpen, ceding his spot in the starting rotation to Woodruff. Milwaukee could also choose to shift some of their excess pitching pieces in exchange for prospects or players to bolster their somewhat lean infield. Potential Rowdy Resurgence Rowdy Tellez is not having a great year. Currently posting a .672 OPS (83 OPS+) and a -0.4 rWAR, Tellez has been unable to fulfill his role as an RBI contributor. While he had 89 last season, second only to Willy Adames's 98, Tellez currently has just 36, on pace for just 64 total RBI this season. He's struggling in so many areas, making infrequent hard contact (38.5%, 37th percentile), striking out more than league average (24.0%, 36th percentile), and whiffing on breaking balls (31.3%) and off-speed pitches (31.8%) alike. With Darin Ruf on the 60-day IL and Owen Miller having to cover every position in the sport of baseball, Tellez's responsibilities at first base are pretty much his and his alone when he returns from the IL. With this season being the final year of his contract, it's even more crucial that he perform at the highest level before heading into arbitration eligibility in 2024 and free agency in 2025. What storylines are you watching most closely as the Brewers head to Cincinnati to open the second half of the campaign? Let us know what you think. View full article

No one is perfect, and despite all of their dazzling qualities, even the best athletes in the world are flawed--especially those who play baseball in Milwaukee. It’s been far from a perfect season, and pretty much everyone on the team has seen ups and downs, so let’s see some of their numbers that have been lagging behind the rest of the league. Image courtesy of © Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports Christian Yelich - Run Value Against the Sweeper 2023 Sweeper RV: -2 2022 Sweeper RV: -1 The sweeper is not a new pitch, although it is a new classification. Until this season, the pitch shape of sliders could have high vertical or horizontal break. In an effort to clarify between the two since they are very different pitches, the “sweeper” title is used to refer to horizontally moving sliders. Yelich has always been league-average or worse at hitting this pitch, but one particularly interesting statistic I found is that he has not recorded a single hit on a sweeper all season. He’s seen 75 of them total and has a single walk, giving him an impressive wOBA of .064 against the pitch. William Contreras - Run Value Against the Changeup 2023 Changeup RV: -3 2023 Changeup RV: 2 Contreras has greatly improved at hitting the four-seam fastball and the slider since last year, but performance against off-speed pitches has suffered. He’s been able to record a few hits, posting a .176 BA and .176 SLG, but he whiffs 40.6 percent of the time. Similarly, he has a -3 run value against the sinker but at least he’s putting those pitches into play. He whiffs just 22.4% of the time against the sinker. Owen Miller - Max Exit Velocity 2023 Max EV: 107.5 (30th percentile) 2022 Max EV: 109.1 mph (50th percentile) Owen Miller is great at many things--defense, avoiding strikeouts, and defense. However, hitting baseballs with extreme prejudice is not one of his skills. Because of his relatively low exit velocity, many of his other power stats, including xSLG (22nd percentile), Barrel % (10th percentile), and Hard Hit % (14th percentile), are dragged down. While this season has brought into question whether one needs power to be an effective hitter (ahem, Luis Arraez), Miller isn’t making enough contact to compensate for his lack of pop, posting a perfectly league-average 100 OPS+. Willy Adames - Average Exit Velocity 2023 Average EV: 86.7 mph (12th percentile) 2023 Average EV: 88.9 mph (48th percentile) Adames has a more interesting batted-ball profile, having a max exit velocity of 109.8 mph, good enough to place him in the 69th percentile. [Ed. note: Nice.] However, it seems that his profile is hurt by his inability to make good contact consistently. Statcast puts batted balls into six different categories, three good and three bad. Some 61.2 percent of Adames’s batted balls are in the soft contact categories, helping to partially explain why his good max exit velocity figure is being offset in the average figure. Brian Anderson - Run Value Against the Four-Seam Fastball 2023 4SFB RV: -6 2022 4SFB RV: 2 Brian Anderson has been striking out a lot this season, partially because he’s been getting destroyed by the most popular pitch in baseball. He’s seen the pitch 417 times and still hasn’t found a way to catch up to it this season. He’s striking out 33.0% of the time and whiffing 33.7% of the time, not the greatest recipe for success. On the bright side, when he does hit it, he hits it hard, notching a 48.3% hard-hit rate on batted balls. Joey Wiemer - Whiff % 2023 Whiff %: 34.1% (8th percentile) Joey Wiemer swings for the fences. Unfortunately, Joey Wiemer also swings and misses a lot. He’s pretty much whiffing on every pitch, but is getting crushed by the curveball, where he has a 42.9 % strikeout rate and a 44.2 % whiff rate. Furthermore, and similarly to Yelich, he also has not recorded a hit on any of the 66 sweepers he’s seen this season, and also does not have a walk, giving him a grand total wOBA of .000 against the pitch. He also whiffs 36.1% of the time. Rowdy Tellez - Sprint Speed 2023 Sprint Speed: 23.3 ft/second (2nd percentile) 2022 Sprint Speed: 23.8 ft/second (1st percentile) This seems almost unfair, but after an offhanded locker-room comment earlier this season where Tellez stated that he could beat Luke Voit in a race, I haven’t stopped thinking about Rowdy’s wheels. They’re not great. Like Daniel Vogelbach, I imagine he wasn’t too concerned about the bigger bases or pickoff attempt limits heading into this season. Brice Turang - xwOBA 2023 xwOBA: .266 (2nd percentile) xwOBA is a refinement of wOBA, which is itself a refinement of OBP and OPS. wOBA essentially suggests that weighting walks and hits by total bases is inaccurate, as a single is worth slightly more than a walk (can advance runners) and a double isn’t really worth two singles, etc. xwOBA is just wOBA, but uses metrics like exit velocity and launch angle to determine whether a batted ball would’ve been a hit and is meant to be independent of individual defensive plays. TL;DR, a 2nd percentile xwOBA essentially means that Brice Turang is not a great hitter. With a .580 OPS (59 OPS+), it’s clear he isn’t quite ready to compete at a big-league level with the bat. Fortunately for him and unfortunately for Brewers fans, Miller is pretty much stuck at first base given the current injured list, and Milwaukee doesn’t have any players screaming to take his spot at second base. View full article

The Brewers made 10 more picks on the third day of the draft, acquiring nine pitchers and a shortstop. With most of their high school picks having already committed to great college baseball programs, expect some or most of these players to show up again in future draft classes. Image courtesy of © Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK Bishop Letson (RHP) - Picked 332nd Overall A pitcher out of Floyd Central High School in Indiana and a current commit to Purdue University, he comes with a lanky, 6 '4 170-pound frame. Reported to have a fastball in the low 90s to go along with a slider and a developing changeup, Letson is one of many long-term projects selected in this portion of the draft. Here's portion of MLB.com’s scouting report, where he was ranked 179th overall. Bjorn Johnson (LHP) - Picked 362nd Overall Johnson is a lefty from Lincoln High School in Washington who is currently committed to play at Auburn. With a 6‘3", 200-pound frame, he's already big and physical, but could still fill out and add some velocity. His repertoire includes a sinker in the low 90s, a changeup, and a curveball. Brett Wichrowski (RHP) - Picked 392nd Overall Wichroski is a 20-year-old from Bryan University who made seven starts and seven relief appearances in his most recent season, posting a 4.50 ERA and 1.48 WHIP over 50 innings. Hayden Robinson (EHP) - Picked 422nd Overall A recent graduate from Berwick High School in Louisiana, Robinson has committed to Nicholls State University. He is six feet tall and weighs 180 pounds, but could get bigger and stronger as he matures, whether that be in pro ball or college. Josh Adamczewski (SS) - Picked 452nd Overall Adamczewski recently graduated from Lake Central High School in Indiana (a hotbed for the Brewers this year). He's six feet tall and 190 pounds. The final position player taken by the Brewers, he’s shown to be an adroit lefty hitter. He committed to Ball State University last year. Josh Timmerman (RHP) - Picked 482nd Overall Timmerman is a 6’4", 195-pound righty from Ohio State University where he recently completed his first season. He posted an 8.75 ERA and 1.732 WHIP over 23 2/3 innings pitched. He performed much better in the Cape Cod League this summer, posting a 2.00 ERA and 0.83 WHIP over 18 innings pitched. The Brewers might have spotted something there to make them believe that Timmerman has turned a corner, and that they can unlock even more with him. Jacob Gholston (RHP) - Picked 512th Overall With an imposing (if slender) 6‘6", 200-pound frame, Gholston is from Flower Mound High School in Texas. Currently committed to the University of Oklahoma, it is already reported that he has decided to attend the university and forgo signing with the Brewers organization. It's possible the Brewers took him as a fallback option, should some combination of dominoes fall and leave them with an unexpected surplus of bonus pool money left to spend. That's unlikely to actually happen, but teams often hedge this way near the end of the draft. Here's some of MLB.com’s scouting report, where he was ranked 181st overall. Dylan Watts (RHP) - Picked 542nd Overall Dylan Watts is a 6’2", 180-pound pitcher from Tacoma Community College in Washington. In his freshman season, he had a mind-blowing 0.23 ERA over 38 1/3 innings pitched in two starts and 12 relief appearances. Isaac Morton (RHP) - Picked 572nd Overall Morton is a 6‘2", 189-pound prep righty from Spring Lake Park High School in Minnesota. He is currently committed to Texas A&M and possesses a strong fastball with a developing changeup and cutter. Justin Chambers (LHP) - Picked 602nd Overall Chambers is a 6’2", 212-pound lefty from Basha High School in Arizona. He recently committed to Washington State University. View full article

The All-Star Break is a perfect time to look back and reflect on how the Brewers have been doing thus far. Players can have hot and cold streaks, but a sample size of 91 games should be enough to fairly evaluate where they stand. Let’s take a look at some of my favorite facts and figures for each of Milwaukee’s qualified position players. Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports Christian Yelich - Outs Above Average 2023 OAA: 3 (85th percentile) 2022 OAA: -5 (12th percentile) Christian Yelich isn’t quite a defensive mastermind. He won his only Gold Glove with the Marlins back in 2014, and has made himself known for his abilities at the plate, not in the outfield. That being said, he’s made significant improvements this year, jumping from bottom to top quartile in terms of outs above average. He’s still got a ways to go defensively, posting -1 defensive run saved and a -0.4 dWAR, but it’s trending in the right direction. Yelich is showing signs of the bounce-back season we’ve all been waiting for, and it’s not just as a hitter, but as a complete baseball player. William Contreras - Catcher Framing Runs 2023 CFR: 5 (68th percentile) 2022 CFR: -3 (20th percentile) When Contreras was acquired this offseason, he was valued more for his bat than his glove. Fortunately, the Brewers' catching lab quickly got to work, and we saw him develop (similar to his predecessor, Omar Narvaez) into a more well-rounded catcher. There are still some weak parts of the zone where his framing is below league-average, but he’s made strides in his ability to frame low pitches, particularly. In the same vein, Contreras currently boasts 6 blocks above average, a marked improvement over last year’s figure of -1. Owen Miller - Outs Above Average 2023 OAA: 6 (95th percentile) 2022 OAA: 6 (91st percentile) Owen Miller has been remarkably consistent over his brief three-year tenure in the major leagues. An extremely versatile player who has taken the field as pretty much every position, Miller’s biggest contribution to the team has been his offense. While he’s just as strong as he was last year, his defense at second base is much better than what Milwaukee had last year in Kolten Wong. In 246 innings thus far, he’s posted five outs above average at second base, compared with Wong’s -10 outs above average in 2022. While he’s currently signed to a short-term deal, he’s proven to be a valuable member of the major-league roster thus far. Willy Adames - Base on Balls % 2023 BB%: 9.7% (65th percentile) 2022 BB%: 7.9% (47th percentile) Adames isn’t having the greatest offensive season in 2023, posting a .710 OPS (93 OPS+), and while he’s regressed in terms of batting average and power, his ability to draw walks has compensated for the dip. In 2022, he struggled with balls on the lower inside part of the zone, but he’s become elite at drawing walks on all four corners of the zone in 2023. While he is hitting the ball with less power and consistency than last year, at least he’s still getting on base. Brian Anderson - Arm Strength 2023 Max Throw Velocity: 101.9 mph (99th percentile) 2022 Max Throw Velocity: 97.7 mph (99th percentile) Splitting time between the outfield and the hot corner, Brian Anderson has his work cut out before being considered elite in most traditional categories. However, he undoubtedly has one of the strongest throwing arms in the game. Ranked fifth of all position players for average throw velocity and sixth in maximum velocity, there’s an alternate reality where he’s a flame-throwing closer instead of a league-average hitter. Joey Wiemer - Max Exit Velocity 2023 Max EV: 111.9 mph (78th percentile) America’s rookie hits the ball extremely hard and has a great hairdo. What more is there to say? Wiemer’s power bat doesn’t find the ball that often, but when it does, it usually leaves the stadium. Rowdy Tellez - Whiff % 2023 Whiff %: 20.9% (73rd percentile) 2022 Whiff %: 23.8% (55th percentile) For someone with one of the best max exit velocities in the sport (114.8 mph, 95th percentile), one might expect Tellez to have a chaotic swing, but he’s better than most at swinging effectively. While he’s not great against breaking balls (but who is?), his 9.9% whiff rate on fastballs is much better than last year’s figure of 17.7%. Interestingly enough, while he whiffs on the sinker just 6.2% of the time (the lowest of all pitches against him), it is also his worst pitch, posting a -6 run value for this season. Brice Turang - Sprint Speed 2023 Sprint Speed: 29.5 feet/second (96th percentile) Turang is speedier than most, making it from home to first base in just 4.18 seconds, just 0.04 seconds slower than speed demon and divisional rival Elly De La Cruz. While his speed hasn’t quite been utilized for stealing bases, snagging just nine bags thus far, his natural ability may be enough to be a baserunning threat in the future. View full article

im having so much fun mlb should do the draft twice a year just so we can have more coverage