In the previous installment of this series, a reader comment provided an excellent point about judging prospects: monetizing prospect value appears to inflate their potential value, compared to MLB players. That this should not be surprising does not diminish the salience of the point — analysts have much, much more information available about MLB players. Moreover, […]
Author: Nicholas Zettel
Assessing Roster Moves III: Ideal 40-Man
Thus far in the offseason, Brewers GM David Stearns has made moves with 40-man roster implications involving 18 players: Selecting contracts of OF Lewis Brinson, OF/1B Ryan Cordell, LHP Josh Hader, OF Brett Phillips, and RHP Taylor Williams. Losing RHP Miguel Diaz in the Rule 5 draft. Waiver claims of RHP Steven Geltz, RHP Blake Parker, […]
Hunting for Great Splitters 1
When the Brewers recently claimed RHP Blake Parker and RHP Steve Geltz off waivers, and signed RHP Luke Barker to a minor league deal within the span of a week, one similarity that bridged the moves was the presence of a splitter in each arsenal. Granted, Barker’s split was listed last on his self-produced scouting […]
BPMilwaukee Podcast 7
Enjoy the latest BPMilwaukee podcast from Vineet Barot, featuring Ryan Connor. The podcast is two parts, here and here. The podcast is also available via iTunes.
Assessing Roster Moves II: Trending Sideways
It was difficult to discern a roster building plan during the Brewers’ two week stretch of Rule 5 roster protection and waiver-and-designate, but that sense has disappeared completely this week. First, GM David Stearns effectively closed his waiver spree by signing Korean Baseball Organization superstar Eric Thames, adding a well-priced value play to the MLB […]
Assessing Roster Moves I: To Protect and Tender
Marginal theory is central to economic valuation because it provides tools for analyzing the cost and benefit of one additional unit added (or subtracted) from a current situation. In one economic game, the competitive market, marginal theory can be used to help find an equilibrium between supply and demand; in another economic game, such as […]
Quick Glance: Blake Parker
When you think of the great Brewers right-handed bullpen successes of recent vintage, chances are a fastball/curveball ideal comes to mind. Milwaukee’s most recent reclamation project, Jeremy Jeffress, revitalized his career on the strengths of a blazing fastball and impeccable curve combination. But, there is reason to believe that Rob Scahill might fit this mold, […]
Grading Trades: McCann Test
I recently presented a detailed trade analysis series in which I hypothesized that using harsh depreciation of player value (10 percent depreciation per season) would help to frame trade value for a player. I used the model to grade many of the Brewers’ 2015-2016 trades, and assess current MLB and minor league assets. The model […]
Championship Droughts
With the Chicago Cubs simultaneously erasing their 71 season pennant drought and 108 season championship drought, Milwaukee Brewers fans awoke to a new world: their beloved nine now share the longest NL championship drought, along with the San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals / Montreal Expos franchise. Of course, there are varying levels of success […]
Gentrifying the Curse
I often call Chicago the combustion engine of capitalism. The city has served as a cesspool and trying ground for the material backbone of American market society from its settlement, perfectly orchestrating commodities trading, transportation and industry, machine party politics, and Ward Boss nepotism, while efficiently churning out hardcore discrimination through mortgage insurance redlining and lending […]