GasserFace

Great analysis Matt! I was curious about the decision and this spells it out wonderfully. As fans we look at results almost exclusively. The manager can’t predict a fielding issue or soft contact hits. He has to make the moves that gives a better than 50 / 50 shot at success The front office has put together a roster designed for this type of management. Each of the bullpen arms is capable and expected to cover multiple innings, except for maybe Milner. Many fans dislike the roster construction and this type of management but I am just pleased that they have a long term direction and are sticking to it. There is always time to adjust later in the season if needed. Love the analysis on this site. Keep up the great work.

Jack, I love your thoughts and analysis but I think you are wrong here. Murphy is winning in a no win situation There have been key bullpen and SP injuries, inefficient/short starts from Hall, Miley and Ross. How would you have managed things differently? The 9th on Friday was a bit sketchy but I probably would’ve sent Megill back out there as well Thank goodness for Bryan Hudson. He has been the Brewers BP MVP so far Thankfully the low leverage innings have been mostly on the positive side so far. Viera is perfect for those innings The Brewers need more stability from the SP’s. It doesn’t matter who is managing the pen if they are going to average 4 IP per night

On Sunday the broadcast team mentioned that Rickie Weeks was the ‘offensive coordinator’. He is supposedly building simple plans for each pitcher. For example against Burnes anything starting over the outer third was an auto take. The offense was successful until CB started to adjust. I’m curious if anyone else heard that and how this might be different from previous seasons. Great article Tim!!

Great work Matt! Great work by the Brewers staff and Hudson. The new movement and release point data is so useful explaining old terms like ride, carry and extension. They clearly quantify what a hitter is seeing and how a pitcher is evolving. I love this data.

Interesting and bold picks, Matt. My bold prediction is ‘Billy Bob’ DL Hall will make 25+ starts 160+ IP and have a sub 3.75 ERA. and a player named Willy, Adames or Contreras, will be an All Star 😂

Here are my keys, in order of importance: 2 of the 3 young LHSP's, Hall, Gasser and Ashby, must be solid to good. My definition of solid is 20+ starts and 110+ IP @ sub 4.2 ERA. I have the players ranked in the order of probability of being solid. I honestly believe Hall could be good this year. Gasser will hover around the solid mark. Ashby is the absolute wild card, with this injury and command issues. Health for the middle of the order. Hoskins, Contreras, Yelich, Adames need to get 500+ PA's. You don't have to squint very hard to see a playoff caliber heart of the order between those 4 players. No one can predict health but if they hit the 500 PA threshold, this will be an above average offense, which is an improvement from 2023. 2 of the young guys have to grasp roles. Chourio, Frelick, Ortiz, Mitchell, Turang, Black, Dunn etc are the group I am currently interested in. Once again, I have them ranked in confidence level order. With the volume of talented players in this group, it would not be surprised if at least 3 are 2 WAR players. Colin Rea!!!! This guy gets the least amount of press and analysis because he is boring, but I think he was our 3rd best starter last year. I value IP more than others, so if you disagree I understand. Based on what I have seen, he has improved his heater and added another secondary pitch. He doesn't seem to be nibbling as much and just trusting his stuff. Possible 3+ WAR season in 2024.

I understand the metrics that have always tamped down the excitement around GM but every time I have seen him play, he produces. I truly believe that availability is his biggest hurdle. If he gets some good health luck this year, I believe he will be an average to fringe above average offensive player. The power/speed combo could be special.

I am truly excited and optimistic to see how Sal and the other young hitters adjust. Having the experience and patience to hunt ‘your’ pitch will be key. Sal could become our version of Whit Merrifeld down the road. Go Brewers!

This season appears to be set up as a competitive/tryout season. The front office thinks they have a competitive team but they aren’t certain who the real contributors are. They are basically trying out guys this year and will play the group that succeeds. Injuries, slumps and adjustments happen every year. It is way too early to trade any of these players. Shoot, Turang could have added 15 pounds of muscle this offseason and hits 5 homers this spring. We just don’t know what will happen so it is best to keep our options open while these guys are pre arb.

I like where the Brewers are going into ST. 2b and 3b are wide open for Turang Ortiz Black Dunn Miller etc. I would prefer Black to secure third and Ortiz at second. That feels like the best balance of defense and offensive ceiling. I’m especially excited to see what Dunn Black and Ortiz look like offensively