With the signing of reliever Jared Hughes announced, the Brewers have presumably set their opening day 2017 roster and completed their 2016-2017 offseason. Compared to David Stearns’s splash 2015-2016 offseason, this iteration featured many underwhelming moves, a general lack of creativity (of the brand that brought the 2016 MLB roster Junior Guerra, Jonathan Villar, and […]
Author: Nicholas Zettel
The Macro Gennett
Yesterday, the Brewers waived second baseman-turned-potential utilityman Scooter Gennett, and division rival Cincinnati took a flyer on the lefty batting veteran. Gennett will be known for the short term as a flawed starting second baseman whose lack of positional flexibility got the best of him on a roster that is gearing up to be as […]
Redesigning Compensation
Beyond the commonly assumed battle between labor and ownership, there are several intraparty issues that drive the broken compensation system in MLB. Specifically, the current MLB demonstrates two unacceptable realities in terms of compensation: (1) MLB players are undperpaid by at least $1 billion; (2) Minor League Players face criminal poverty wages. Related Reading: OFP […]
Revisiting the Sabathia Trade
Throughout the offseason, I have worked toward developing a Benefit-Cost Analysis tool that monetizes MLB production and Overall Future Potential (OFP) in order to judge trades and assess franchise surplus value. Consistently testing this tool with Brewers rebuilding or counterbuilding moves, as well as problematizing the tool by assessing 2017 trades (such as the Brian […]
Winning Jobs: Spring Training Stuff!
The Brewers have an almost absurd level of organization depth and MLB roster flexibility at the moment, which leaves many questions about the shape of the roster for the 2017 season. At this point it should almost be a given that the August 1, 2017 roster will not be the roster that breaks camp, in […]
Closing Windows
It’s a common refrain now: the Brewers are finished with their rebuild. In terms of shedding MLB contracts for minor league assets, Milwaukee’s front office is basically done wheelin’ and dealin’. As everyone knows, veteran superstar Ryan Braun is the last remaining true trade chip, and the left fielder appears to be in the organization’s […]
Cashing Out OFP
In 2016, MLB owners spent approximately $4 billion on approximately 1065 WARP produced by both batters and pitchers. While the common market assumption prices one additional win above replacement at $7 million on the free market, the vast majority of MLB contracts are not signed on the free market, which drives the cost of WARP […]
On Tunnels and CSAA
At the end of January, BaseballProspectus introduced several new metrics to dive deeper into pitching analysis. Called Strikes Above Average is one potentially useful metric for judging a pitcher’s command since it assesses the called strikes that a pitcher creates (controlled for the umpire, catcher, and other factors). Pitch tunnels is another potentially useful metric, […]
Austerity and Collusion
The Milwaukee Brewers rebuilding and analytics campaign fits perfectly with a new narrative of revenue reorganization within the MLB. Mirroring a broader era of austerity in the United States of America, MLB owners are redistributing revenue upwards, to the detriment of both MLB and minor league payrolls, as well as draft and international spending bonuses. […]
101 Trends
Yesterday, Baseball Prospectus published the 2017 Top 101 prospects, which was a list that substantiated fan sentiment that Milwaukee has effectively rebuilt the farm system. Notably, the laudable Brewers prospects evenly represent regimes, with President Doug Melvin claiming three of the Brewers’ Top 101, and current GM David Stearns claiming four. Taken in concert with […]