Jason Wang

look i'll just state the obvious. jackson's 21st birthday was march 11th of this year. and he plays for the BREWers. he is probably just enjoying his first few legal IPAs. now that he realizes how terrible all alcohol tastes and returns to his steady diet of shirley temples and roy rogers he will become the prospect we have been waiting for.

it's okay brian i too am an ikf truther

Image courtesy of © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images A year ago, MLB introduced a new set of metrics to Statcast that all had something in common: they attempted to quantify the characteristics of every player’s swing. For the first time, even the most casual of baseball fans could look at anyone’s bat speed, fast-swing rate, squared-up rate, number of “blasts,” and swing length. Following the success of that information being made public, MLB turned up the complexity a notch by adding four more metrics that are even more complex: swing path, attack angle, ideal attack angle rate, and attack direction. This added complexity is cool and can be a neat way to impress your coworkers at the water cooler, but only if you really know what each metric means and how to interpret it. So, let’s walk through what’s being measured for each example. Swing Path One of the most notable differences between a golf and a baseball swing is the amount of tilt on the swing. In golf, swings are much steeper, for several reasons (like the fact that the ball is sitting still) which would give the swing greater tilt. In baseball, I’m sure you have great memories of a parent or coach telling you to “level out” your swing in hopes that you’d create a flatter bat path, with lower tilt. To measure this for big leaguers, MLB calculates the angle of the swing in the final 0.4 seconds prior to contact. The MLB average is right around 32°, but some players are more extreme than others, with average tilt ranging from roughly 23˜ to 46°. The Brewers must not have a lot of golfers on the club, because for the most part, their players are right around the league-average tilt on their swings. The flattest bat path goes to Jackson Chourio, who has an average swing path tilt of 26 degrees. While a good high-level glimpse of a player’s approach, it’s an incomplete measurement. First, swings vary immensely depending on where a given pitch is landing. Second, both ends of the swing path spectrum have their pros and cons. Flatter paths help with making contact, but limit the amount of power one can generate. Steeper paths are the opposite. So, like a fantasy football draft, it’s best to be somewhere in the middle. Attack Angle The attack angle measures the second part of the swing. While swing path takes into account the arc of the swing, attack angle only measures the vertical angle of the bat right when it hits the ball. This gives us an idea of where in a given hitter’s swing they typically make contact with the ball. Negative attack angles mean that the player is still swinging down when they hit the ball, whereas a positive attack angle means the player is already in the latter half of their swing. This can also be interpreted as a timing mechanism. If one is late, their attack angle will typically be lower. If one is early, their attack angle will typically be more steep. Joey Ortiz has an average attack angle of just 3°, quite a bit below the league average of 10°. Like swing path, using a single average number isn’t necessarily the best way to get an accurate look at what a player’s swing looks like, since it may vary widely pitch by pitch, but a very flat average attack angle could be a big reason why Ortiz is struggling to find any semblance of power this year, slugging just .252 over 175 plate appearances. In fact, @Jake McKibbin suggested as much in his recent piece diagnosing a root cause for Ortiz’s deflated offensive performance. Ideal Attack Angle Percentage With thousands of swings registered in their database, it didn’t take long for MLB to find that the most productive contact typically happens at attack angles between 5° and 20°. This should make sense, since that’s the angle at which most pitches hit the strike zone, allowing hitters to match the plane most closely with their barrels. As stated earlier, a single average metric isn’t necessarily a great way to determine how a player attacks pitches, since each individual example can vary wildly. However, a look at how often they’re attacking the ball at a theoretically optimal angle should give you a clearer idea of how well their swing is working. Of course, like launch angle, being in the ideal range can still be hamstrung by a lack of bat speed. Caleb Durbin finds the ideal attack angle roughly 67% of the time but his overall production is held back by bottom percentile exit velocity and bat speed. Attack Direction The simplest way to think of attack direction is as the horizontal version of attack angle. It measures the horizontal angle of the bat at the point of contact and, like attack angle, can be used to gauge timing. Earlier hitters will have greater angles to the pull side and later hitters will have the opposite. While it’s generally better to pull the ball because it provides one with access to more power, there are players who find success going the other way as well. Pitch height also creates variability in attack direction for swings, but that's mostly because higher velocity works best when it's at the top of the zone, while non-fastball pitches work best lower in the zone. Given that higher velocity makes catching up a little harder, it makes sense that one might see more pull-oriented swings against lower pitches and more opposite attack directions at the upper parts of the zone. Interestingly, Milwaukee’s own Brice Turang currently has the most opposite field-oriented swing in MLB, averaging a horizontal attack angle of 11° going the other way. This matches up with his current positive run value against almost all breaking and off-speed pitches, while he has struggled immensely against fastballs. Rhys Hoskins leads qualified hitters on the team with an attack direction of 6° to the pull side, which could be why he also leads the lineup with a .478 slugging percentage. It should be no surprise that he has crushed fastballs but has struggled more against pitches with movement, the sweeper in particular. Unlike more traditional metrics like strikeout rate and chase rate, there isn’t a clear “better” or “worse” place to be for these new metrics. It may be preferable to have a more pull-oriented attack direction or hit the ideal attack angle more frequently but it’s far less cut and dry than the simpler measurements. All of this helps break down the nitty gritty details of what a player looks like at the plate and come to a potential diagnosis of what could be the cause of their hot streak or cold stretch. The best part of all this is that if you're more of an "eye test" fan who believes numbers and high-tech equipment are sullying the national pastime, then you can always feel free to ignore all of this shiny new information. On the other hand, if you find this sort of stuff interesting, MLB seems intent on adding as much data as possible to bring fans closer to the game so there will likely be more information to come. Comprehending the more complex stuff is the hard part but once you get an idea of what it measures and how to interpret it, it can become an integral piece of your own analysis. Either way, whether you're checking swing speeds and attack angles or just happy to enjoy beers and brats at the ol' ballpark, you're a fan of the game. View full article

the brewers are always one carlos santana away from making the postseason then getting bounced in the first round

yeah ski jumper falling sounds about right

:( I tried to add jokes to make it an easier read

Image courtesy of © Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images If you’re a pessimistic fan, this season is already an abject disaster. There’s a decent amount of truth in that dour outlook, too. Milwaukee is two games below .500, six games behind the division-leading Cubs, and struggling to play competitive baseball. If you’re an optimistic fan, you might believe things can’t really get any worse from here—and there’s also truth to that. One of the biggest factors that has hamstrung this team is their litany of pitching injuries. It was already a plague that dragged the team down last season, but somehow, they found a way to cruise to the playoffs undaunted. This year, it seems to be hurting double. The silver lining is that muscles, tendons, and ligaments do eventually heal, so the Brewers should be getting back at least some of their arms to help give the team a fighting chance for the remainder of the year. Here’s a closer look at where each of their injured pitchers currently stands, and when we can expect them to return. Brandon Woodruff (shoulder surgery) Woodruff has been out of the game for what feels like forever and is on the cusp of returning to the Brewers rotation. Even his rehab process has taken quite some time, starting his first rehab assignment on April 12 and bouncing between Triple-A Nashville and High-A Wisconsin. He was originally expected to return sometime this month, but in yet another stroke of bad luck, endured another injury. He has made some adjustments to his pitching style, and despite a slight dip in velocity, he has put up great numbers in the minor leagues. He has a 2.25 ERA over 20 innings with the Sounds and a 2.70 ERA over 9 ⅔ innings with the Timber Rattlers. Given the newest issues with his ankle, it seems like the organization isn’t exactly rushing him to get back, but both he and the team are looking forward to seeing him return to action. Nestor Cortes (left elbow flexor strain) Cortes was only able to make two starts before hitting the shelf with elbow discomfort that arose during a bullpen. Originally placed on the 15-day IL, he was transferred to the 60-day IL on April 21. Recovery for these injuries is often slow, and although he resumed playing catch a few weeks ago, he won’t be back for a while. This flexor strain is the same issue that kept him out of much of the Yankees’ 2024 postseason run, and it’s unclear whether this instance of the injury is a re-aggravation of that or if it’s a separate case altogether. Brewers fans have already seen two versions of Cortes, and if he doesn’t return until around the start of the second half, he’ll only get a few starts to correct his reputation and statline. Jose Quintana (left shoulder impingement) Quitana was off to a great start with the Brewers, posting a 2.65 ERA over 34 innings, but felt some shoulder pain after his outing against the Rays on May 9. The severity of the injury is still a matter of some debate, but the team seems to believe that it isn’t as serious as it might sound. A relatively short IL stint is expected, and he threw a bullpen on May 20, with another session scheduled for Friday. Aaron Civale (left hamstring strain) Civale made it just three innings before being sidelined by injury. He was placed on the 15-day IL on March 31, and hasn’t toed a big-league mound since. Luckily, he began a rehab assignment with the Sounds on May 8, and has pitched nine scoreless innings across two outings. He was scheduled to make his final start of the assignment on Wednesday, but was a last-minute scratch. No reason for the change was made public, but given how good he has looked, there is a possibility that he’s returning to the big-league squad sooner than expected. The Brewers have yet to announce a starter for Thursday night's series opener in Pittsburgh. Aaron Ashby (right oblique strain) Ashby still hasn’t gotten a chance to pitch in the regular season this year, after suffering an oblique strain in spring training and a setback the first time attempted to return. He began his rehab assignment on May 6 with the ACL Brewers and started a more robust assignment with the sounds on May 10. He has pitched to a 1.50 ERA with a 1.33 WHIP over 6 Triple-A innings. When he does finally return to the major-league roster, it has been said that he’ll be used primarily as a long reliever, an apt role for a pitcher with his qualities. DL Hall (left lat strain) Hall is another pitcher who has seemingly met roadblock after roadblock. Because of persistent injuries, he has only pitched a total of seven starts and 43 innings as a Brewer since joining the team prior to the 2024 season. He was placed on the 60-day IL on March 5 and began his first rehab assignment of the year on May 2. He has looked good thus far, conceding no earned runs in his 10 ⅔ innings. Like Ashby, he’s slated to be a long reliever when he returns to the team, which should be soon after he’s first eligible to be activated from the IL in late May. Robert Gasser (Tommy John recovery) After a strong freshman campaign that saw him pitch to a 2.57 ERA over five starts, Gasser quickly ran into elbow trouble that required going under the knife. Given the typical timeline of Tommy John surgery, he probably won’t be able to return until much later in the season, potentially around September, and he has plenty of rehab and ramping up in front of him before he does. Connor Thomas (left elbow arthritis) How cursed are the Brewers when it comes to injuries? Well, how often do you hear of a 26-year-old with arthritis? April 8 was the first time I heard of it, after it caused Thomas to be placed on the 15-day IL. He was transferred to the 60-day IL on May 18th. He has received injections for his elbow, but there’s no clear timeline for his return. View full article

what about julio teheran for that one month he was really good before he got really bad

opening an umbrella indoors

Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-Imagn Images I’m a pretty optimistic guy. Every year, I place three small and separate wagers on Anthony Rendon, Kris Bryant, and José Abreu to win MVP awards. Of course, these bets must be placed with a somewhat shady, unofficial bookmaker, because no gambling platform worth their salt would allow someone to risk money on events with such astronomical odds. I persist in my dogged faith that one of those bets will eventually pay off. Despite my tendency to look on the bright side of life and remain in good spirits about most things, though, even I can say that the Milwaukee Brewers are probably not going to do much of anything this year. This has never been a perfect team, and the budget has rarely come close to eclipsing the league average, but David Stearns's and Matt Arnold’s uncanny abilities to build a winning roster out of a box of scraps has pushed the team to consistent success over the past several years. In 2025, that luck seems to have run out. It was another year of doing barely anything in the offseason, and outside of the Devin Williams trade, the most notable move on the Brewers’ list of transactions may have been Jared Koenig changing his number back to 47. What has been the result of this inaction? The Brewers’ lineup has combined for a .652 OPS, 28th in MLB and better than just the Pirates and White Sox—two teams you hardly want in your peer group. Only three players have more than 100 plate appearances and an wRC+ better than average, while the players who are struggling are doing so with gusto. William Contreras is putting up numbers far worse than his past two years with the team, playing through an injury. Jackson Chourio was making so many mistakes in his approach that he was bumped down in the lineup. In stark contrast with the scorching start he got off to last year, it seems that Christian Yelich’s back problems have returned as a significant impediment to his abilities. But perhaps no one has been as disappointing as Joey Ortiz, who has hit a brick wall after being moved back to his native role of shortstop. Willy Adames left big shoes to fill, but Ortiz initially seemed primed for the task. He had been a top prospect in a stacked Baltimore system, and while imperfect, his first year in Milwaukee was good, culminating in a 104 wRC+ and 3.1 fWAR. In 2025, his wRC+ sits at just 29, and he has been worse than replacement-level overall. Fellow Brewer Fanatic writer Jack Stern did a deeper dive on what might be going wrong (and how the team might address it) in this recent piece. It’s tricky to even skew the stats in a way that would give the lineup any sort of credit. Outside of leading the league in stolen bases, the offensive numbers are pretty lackluster across the board. Here is where they rank in several major hitting statistics compared to the other 29 MLB teams. BA .229 (25th) OBP .306 (22nd) SLG .346 28th R 193 (16th) H 347 (23rd) 2B 59 (25th) HR 37 (26th) SO 379 (16th) OPS vs. LHP .611 (25th) OPS vs. RHP .672 (25th) These problems are now more apparent than ever, with the Crew scoring in just one of their last five games. In fact, they’ve scored more than five runs in just 12 of their 46 contests thus far this season. Not only are they currently trying their best to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Twins, they’re trying to avoid being totally shut out for the entire weekend. Sometimes, a team can compensate for a lack of offense with stellar pitching and defense. The Seattle Mariners had a bottom-bucket offense last year, but their top-tier pitching and good defense carried them to being just a few wins short of a Wild Card spot. Unfortunately, the Brewers can’t really lean on that, either. While these two characteristics have been a strength of the roster in recent years, their combined ERA of 4.19 is 21st in MLB and they rank 16th in total Defensive Runs Saved, with 6. While the Cubs have maintained the strong pace they set to start the season and the Cardinals recently went on a nine-game winning streak, the Brewers have fallen further and further down the NL Central, slipping to fourth. They’re now as many games ahead of the Pirates as they are behind the Cubs. Baseball Reference gives the Crew just a 21.9% chance to crack the playoffs, and FanGraphs is even more bearish, with a 9.7% chance. If there has ever been a time to sound the alarm, it’s now. At this rate, Milwaukee will almost certainly head into the deadline as sellers. This isn’t a situation where a new bullpen arm and platoon bat can be the difference between success and failure; it really looks like the whole situation is just beyond repair. The team still has more than 100 games to prove me wrong, but so far, they haven’t demonstrated the ability to do so. View full article

Image courtesy of © Ken Blaze-Imagn Images After a particularly depressing series against the Yankees, I wrote a satirical piece about Jake Bauers that slightly embellished his accomplishments as a player, as a way of coping with the trauma of being outscored 36-14 in three games. Through a more objective lens, one can point out that Bauers is not exactly what comes to mind when thinking of who can step up to get the Brewers out of their current slump. He has been below replacement in every year of his big-league career, except for his rookie campaign (when he amassed just 0.5 rWAR). It’s hard to be much better than that, when you’re a first baseman with a career 83 OPS+ and average defensive abilities. But this year feels different, and not just because he still has a perfect 0.00 ERA over his four appearances out of the bullpen. Across an admittedly small sample of just 62 plate appearances, he’s slashing .288/.373/.508, for an OPS+ of 145—the highest mark of any player on the team. He kept the exceptional walk rate from last year, but is combining it with a Barrel rate of nearly 20% and a chase rate of just 23.4%. In other words, he’s making good swing decisions and has great quality of contact. That would be the assumption you'd make if you went to his Baseball Savant page and refused to scroll down or click anything. If you take a peek under the hood, you'll find that there's quite a bit to fix. Throughout his career, Bauers has had an issue with swinging and missing. Last year, he whiffed almost 30% of the time, which was a big contributor to his crippling 34.1% strikeout rate. This year, it’s even worse, with a 36.4% whiff and 37.1% strikeout rate. One might ask how a player can have an elite chase rate and still have bottom decile strikeout and whiff rates. The reason is clear: they don't swing at strikes nearly enough. So far, Bauers is swinging just 42.1% of the time, his lowest rate since 2019. Even worse, his zone swing rate of 58.9% is also the lowest it has been in his career. Essentially, he’s very passive at the plate, even when he’s given the chance to do some real damage. His meatball swing rate (a very scientific metric, I know) is just 72.7%, meaning that he’s keeping the bat on his shoulder for over one in four grooved pitches, right down the middle. As for the whiff aspect, it may be a result of reduced confidence in certain parts of the strike zone. It’s definitely not a symptom of swinging at bad pitches. Let’s do some digging as to what his swing/take profile looks like. As we can see, he’s confidently taking swings at pitches inside and in the middle of the zone. The outside is where the timidity really comes in; he’s swinging at fewer than half the pitches he gets in those areas. If we take a look at what happens when he does swing, we see a similar distribution of blue and red. Okay, so let’s assume he threw caution to the wind and let his hands go just a little bit. What would happen? Well, assuming the thesis of this entire article isn’t predicated solely on an anomalous set of 62 plate appearances, we’d probably see a lot of good contact. As mentioned earlier, his barrel rate is nearly 20%, and when we break that down by swings and parts of the strike zone, we see that when he does decide to go for a pitch, he’s usually hitting it pretty well. Given this information, it seems like Bauers is only operating at partial strength, even with an .881 OPS. If he were to take a few more risks and trust in his own ability to differentiate between balls and strikes, we could finally see a breakout after six years in the majors. Aside from his lack of enthusiasm for taking hacks, another problem Bauers is facing is accessibility to playing time. Fellow first baseman Rhys Hoskins has been having a good year himself, posting a 123 OPS+ over a much more robust 149 plate appearances. However, it seems that the Brewers are making a concerted effort to get Bauers into the lineup more often; he has been making far more appearances in the outfield than he did last year. In fact, he has played more innings in the outfield (67 ⅓ innings) than he has first base (56) thus far. This team needs power, anywhere they can get it. Bauers is looking like a possible source, so they're giving him a chance to prove it. It has been a disappointing season for Milwaukee, to say the least. The postseason odds are trending in wrong direction and it’s tempting to throw in the towel now and just wait for 2026 to roll around. However, the Brewers are just four games behind in the Central, and there’s still plenty of baseball to be played. Could Jake Bauers play an ultimately pivotal role in bringing the Crew back to the postseason? Maybe, but he’ll have to take a swing or two first. View full article

Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-Imagn Images In 2024, Freddy Peralta was suddenly thrust into the top of the rotation after years of pitching behind Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff. It was a catastrophe-ridden year for Brewers' starters, and while the organization had become renowned for its ability to develop pitching, Peralta hardly felt like a true “ace.” He resembled one in 2021 when he posted a 2.81 ERA over 144 ⅓ innings, but since then, he has managed just a 3.73 ERA over 79 starts, a respectable second or third arm but hardly the man you’d want to lead an elite staff. One of the main obstacles preventing him from reaching the upper echelon of pitching has been his lack of an effective secondary pitch. He has always had a great fastball, but his breaking balls and offspeed pitches haven’t been able to meet the standard. This was especially apparent last year when his slider had a cumulative run value of -3. This figure is a little odd considering he had an opposing average of just .203 and a whiff rate of 41.0%, but it was far more often a ball than a strike. It’s such an interesting example that I used it as an example when unpacking the run value statistic and what it really means. Shameless self-promotion aside, after three seasons of failing to recover what made his slider great in 2021, he seems to have left it behind in 2025 in favor of the curveball. The curveball has always been a part of his toolkit, but it was never a prevalent offering. Last year, he threw it just 7.1% of the time. Despite being an uncommon occurrence, it was typically very effective when thrown: % of pitches BA SLG Whiff % 2021 10.8 .125 .188 27.9 2022 16.2 .125 .175 38.9 2023 12.4 .214 .381 33.5 2024 7.1 .182 .341 37.2 Okay, so he’s throwing the curveball more often. Is that why he’s off to a 2.18 ERA over his first eight starts with a WHIP of 1.04 and top-quartile figures for nearly all of his Stacast metrics? Sort of. As a result of elevating Uncle Charlie to the number one breaking ball offering in his arsenal, he likely spent some time in the offseason messing with it because its profile is noticeably different. Since debuting, his curveball has averaged somewhere in the mid-70s. Now, it’s averaging 80.5 mph. The average RPM on the pitch is 2,427, which is more than 200 more than where it was sitting last year, and the result is a few more inches of induced drop on the pitch, a crucial characteristic for missing bats or, at the very least, inducing ground balls. The improved command helps a ton as well. Curveballs at the bottom of the strike zone, combined with high fastballs, are better than clean sheets and a cold pillow. And like your local Motel 6, Freddy Peralta possesses both this year. But what do all these tables and charts really mean? I sure don’t know. I was raised as an iPad kid. So, like true iPad kids, let’s look at the video to see this dynamic duo in action. In a dominant three-pitch at-bat against JJ Bleday, Peralta starts things off with a fastball on the outside edge. Next, he attacks that same spot with a curveball that just dives below Bleday’s bat for strike two. To finish things off, he throws a changeup to the outside corner to make JJ Bleday look more like Jay Jay the Jet Plane. A more effective secondary pitch improves one’s primary pitch, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing. No longer able to sit on his fastball as easily, the opposing batting average and slugging on his four-seam fastball have both decreased significantly. His changeup is worth a deep dive on its own as that’s actually the most valuable pitch by RV/100 in his arsenal, but if there’s one takeaway you get from this whole article, it’s that the Brewers are seemingly back to having prime Peralta. It’s in part thanks to his fancy new curveball. View full article

william contreras clocking in for work in August

Regardless of whether the velo comes back, it's cool to see the org diversifying away from the dominant fastball.

Image courtesy of © Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images It has been quite some time since we’ve seen Brandon Woodruff toe the slab in the majors. His last outing for the big-league squad was on Sept. 23, 2023, when he pitched five innings against the Marlins to cap an astounding (although already injury-shortened) season. Just two weeks before that, he had thrown a complete game shutout. Unfortunately, just hours before he would have been named as part of the rotation for the Brewers' Wild Card Series showdown with the Diamondbacks, he instead held a press conference to announce that he would need surgery on a torn shoulder capsule. It's sidelined him ever since. Last month, after a recovery process that lasted over a year, Woodruff began a 30-day rehab assignment with Triple-A Nashville. He's made a stop in Appleton to mix things up and sell a few tickets for the cozied-up High-A affiliate, but by and large, he's been with the Sounds ever since. Aside from being a particularly emotional return to the game for Woodruff, that also gave us a glimpse into how his pitching has been affected by persistent injuries and a long layoff. On the surface, it seems like he’s back to business, posting a 2.79 ERA over his two starts with Wisconsin and a 2.63 ERA over three starts with Nashville. However, a closer look tells us that things are far more different than these numbers may lead you to believe. First and foremost, his velocity has decreased significantly. Here is a table of his average velocities across all levels of competitions over the past four seasons he has pitched: Four-Seam Fastball Sinker Changeup Slider Curve Cutter 2021 96.6 96.3 86.6 86.5 83.9 N/A 2022 96.4 95.9 86.2 88.0 84.1 N/A 2023 95.9 95.0 85.8 87.0 83.0 N/A 2025 92.6 92.8 83.5 81.0 79.4 89.5 Data courtesy of Brooks Baseball Not only is his average velocity down, he isn't able to top out at nearly the same levels as he used to. While he could occasionally touch 99 mph in years past, he has yet to eclipse 96 mph a single time while rehabbing. This dip could be due to several factors, such as needing time to ramp back up to full effort or the adverse long-term effects of two serious shoulder injuries in one year. When asked about whether there were concerns about him getting back to where he was, Pat Murphy had this to say: Based on Murphy’s comments, it seems like he could get back to where he was, but the team isn’t betting the house on it. (This is a noteworthy departure from the tone Murphy struck in March, when he said he expected Woodruff's fastball to come back to its full previous strength.) It also explains some of the other changes to his arsenal. After all, if Woodruff was expected to return to his hard-throwing youth, why fix what isn’t broken? So far, the two biggest changes have been adding a cutter and changing the shape of his slider to a sweeper. Let’s start with the slider. First off, although it’s classified as a slider, we can pretty much tell it’s more of a sweeper based on its intrinsic characteristics. The dip in velocity is the first hint, but a closer look at the movement profile gives us the smoking gun. Vertical Movement (inches) Horizontal Movement (inches) 2021 -2.8 2.2 2022 1.0 2.19 2023 1.3 1.8 2025 1.0 7.1 Woodruff’s slider didn’t move all that much to begin with, but a big jump in glove-side break makes it clear that he is working with a different pitch type altogether. Other arms on the Brewers have successfully converted their sliders to sweepers with great results—most notably, this year, Grant Anderson. As for the cutter, it’s probably just another tool in his belt to get outs. As the dominance of each individual pitch decreases, he’ll instead have to rely on sheer variety to keep batters on their heels. Furthermore, his cutter has a similar movement profile to his old slider, with a little more ride. When asked about the importance of his new pitches, Murphy remarked that Woodruff has been liking the sweeper. The new pitches are gradually increasing his confidence that he’ll be ready to face big-league bats soon. For some, it may be equally disappointing and concerning to see slower velocities come out of Woodruff's hand. However, when one considers all the work that he has done to adapt his skillset to his current physical abilities, it’s possible he’ll be just as dominant as he was before—albeit in a slightly different form. His fastball and changeup grade out worse than before, but the sweeper and cutter look like very valuable additions. With his most recent start with the Sounds possibly being the final one, it won’t be long before we get to see what this new version of Woodruff can do against the highest level of competition. View full article

Image courtesy of Thiéres Rabelo Honorable Mentions William Contreras 90 AB, .278/.394/.400, 25 H, 2 2B, 3 HR, 18 RBI, 4 SB Contreras has gotten off to a slow start—especially compared to the torrid pace he set in the first month of last year—but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been productive. His .794 OPS in April was the fourth-highest of any Brewer, and despite lagging slightly behind his understudy Eric Haase, he had six times as many at-bats. The biggest thing that seems to be missing is his power, as his quality of contact numbers have decreased across the board and his cumulative slugging for the season is just .339. Still, his strikeout and walk rate are perfectly matched at 15.7%, and he has been outstanding defensively. With more time to settle in and improve his approach against offspeed pitches and sweepers, he should still be one of the better-hitting catchers in MLB. Statistical Nugget: Despite seeing just 27 curveballs so far, he has already accumulated a Statcast run value of 5, given his .500 average, 2.000 slugging percentage, and 0% whiff rate against the pitch. Christian Yelich 96 AB, .240/.345/.427, 23 H, 3 2B, 5 HR, 22 RBI, 5 SB In 2024, Christian Yelich was seemingly back to his MVP ways—before going down with yet another back injury, one that required surgery. He isn’t quite as impressive this year, but he has done just enough to still be one of the better bats in the lineup. His 22 RBIs were tied for the most on the team in April, and he wasn’t too shabby on the basepaths, either. His launch angles are down once again, and he’s having trouble making contact as frequently as he probably would like, but he’s still hitting the ball hard and walking at a 12.8% clip. He’s absolutely crushing offspeed pitches, but is getting beaten by all sorts of fastballs. That could be a sign that the lingering effects of his injury are still holding him back. Statistical Nugget: Against offspeed pitches, Yelich is averaging .417 and slugging .917. Rhys Hoskins 76 AB, .303/.413/.447, 23 H, 2 2B, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 1 SB A year further removed from the campaign he lost to injury, Hoskins is putting up numbers comparable to what he did with the Phillies. His OPS of .860 was the best mark of any Brewers hitter in April, and he also led the lineup in on-base percentage. His 15.3% walk rate in 2025 so far is close to his single-season best of 16.5%, achieved in 2019. One of the biggest steps forward for Hoskins has been cutting his chase rate by about 6 percentage points year-over-year, which has also helped him reduce his strikeout rate by about 8 percentage points. He’s back to crushing fastballs, but has struggled against breaking pitches other than the slider. Statistical Nugget: Despite averaging just .185 against four-seam fastballs this season, he’s slugging .630. Hitter of the Month - Jackson Chourio 114 AB, .281/.297/.535, 32 H, 9 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 22 RBI, 2 SB Chourio is having quite an interesting sophomore year. Like his rookie season, he has had his ups and downs at the plate, but he has managed to lock in a little quicker this time around. He also seems absolutely allergic to drawing free passes, walking at a bottom-percentile 1.3% clip. Instead, he just swings. In fact, his swing/take profile and general approach at the plate are deserving of their own article, something our very own Jake McKibbin did a few weeks ago. As a quick summary, Chourio is still very good and has proven that he is capable of driving the ball out of the park—but a 43.2% chase rate is simply not conducive to long-term success. We expected him to take some time to become accustomed to big-league pitching, and many anticipated a few years of average or below-average offensive production before he really came into his own. He proved to be ahead of an already accelerated development schedule when he posted a .914 OPS in the second half of 2024, so who knows? Maybe he’ll continue to tweak his swing decisions and reach new heights once again in 2025. Statistical Nugget: Chourio has an .869 OPS when swinging at the first pitch and a .612 OPS when taking the first pitch. View full article

Honorable Mentions Grant Anderson 14 ⅓ IP, 1.88 ERA, 12 H, 3 ER, 7 BB, 15 K Anderson is one of the bullpen arms to keep an eye on this year. After a tough first two years in the big leagues, Milwaukee’s pitching development crew seems to have figured out how to unlock the best version of him. Some of this may simply be the result of new scenery but there is quite a bit of evidence to suggest that the Brewers have made very real improvements. One of the major changes has been to change the shape of his breaking ball from a slider into a sweeper which has quickly become his best pitch. Opposing hitters have averaged just .115 with an ISO of .000 against it and the benefits have carried through to the rest of his arsenal, particularly his fastball. It may not be realistic to expect all of his Statcast metrics to go up so drastically but he’s looking very good so far. Statistical Nugget: Anderson’s OPS after getting to an 0-1 count is a perfect .000 over seven plate appearances. Freddy Peralta 34 ⅓ IP, 2.36 ERA, 24 H, 9 ER, 13 BB, 33 K Peralta should be a constant reminder that spring training numbers shouldn’t be overanalyzed. After a very concerning final outing before Opening Day, the team’s ace has locked it in and returned to peak form. Fans have come to know Peralta as a pitcher who has his ups and downs and the larger question is whether he’ll be able to sustain his great numbers. The biggest adjustment he has made has been to seemingly retire his slider. Last year, it was his worst pitch by run value (-3) but he threw it 21.6% of the time. This year, he has thrown it just 7.9% of the time, increasing the frequency of his four-seam fastball and changeup while using his curveball as his primary breaking ball. The results have been good so far, especially with his secondary pitches. Opposing hitters are whiffing 44.6% of the time against his changeup and 56.8% of the time against the curveball. Statistical Nugget: Opposing hitters have a .295 OPS against Peralta with runners in scoring position. Chad Patrick 24 ⅔ IP, 1.82 ERA, 21 H, 5 ER, 10 BB, 21 K Like Tobias Myers before him, Patrick has the potential of exceeding his rookie expectations with strong numbers as a starter. Originally slated to begin the season in Triple-A Nashville, he was elevated to the rotation after a slew of injuries to his big league coworkers. Since getting called up to the show, he has performed like he has been here before. Patrick is a cutter-first pitcher but is quite different from fellow cutter hurler and former Brewer Corbin Burnes. While Burnes is able to sit in the high-90s, Patrick’s cutter averages just 87.4 mph. He has been able to make it work so far but his lack of swing-and-miss might come to bite him later down the line. The biggest concern is that he has given up quite a bit of loud contact and opposing hitters are pulling his pitches in the air 27.5% of the time. Funnily enough, his barrel rate is still just 5.5%. Alas, one’s rookie year is often rife with lessons and adjustments. The Brewers have dealt with lower power arms before and Patrick’s average fastball velocity of 93.0 mph is only slightly below average so there’s a good chance he’ll still end up making the most out of what he has. Statistical Nugget: Opposing hitters have an .860 OPS against Patrick with the bases empty but a .467 OPS with men on. Pitcher of the Month - Jose Quintana 23 ⅔ IP, 1.14 ERA, 19 H, 3 ER, 8 BB, 15 K It can’t be understated how many times the Brewers have dug up an undervalued starting pitcher from a trade or free agency to turn them into a top-tier arm. Jose Quintana is the latest example of this practice. After signing in the latter half of spring training and being left off of the roster to get caught up in his preparation, he has quickly become one of the most valuable players on the roster. A master of deception, Quintana’s raw stuff doesn’t exactly jump off of the page, especially as a 36-year old, but he has created some frustrating at-bats for his opponents, especially with his curveball which opposing batters are yet to record a hit against. With the sinker as his primary weapon, his whiff and strikeout rates have been in the bottom quartile of qualified pitchers for the past few years but his quality of contact figures have been excellent. He isn’t getting as many ground balls as he has in years past but a more subtle ability to keep exit velocities within a reasonable amount keeps most of his batted balls in the park. Who knows if he’ll keep up this torrid pace (he won’t but one dream) and what his role will look like once major names like Brandon Woodruff finally return from the IL. Until we find out, let’s just enjoy what he’s been able to do for the team. Statistical Nugget: Opposing hitters have a .935 OPS against Quintana when swinging at the first pitch and a .478 OPS when taking the first pitch. View full article