When the Brewers picked Jeremy Jeffress in the first round of the 2006 draft, they imagined him as their starter of the future. A few up-and-down seasons and failed drug tests later, they lost that vision and moved Jeffress to the bullpen, where he did well enough in the 2010 season to earn a brief promotion […]
Author: Ryan Romano
The Fall of Gerardo Parra’s Baserunning
As the Brewers move deeper into July, they will start to move some of their expendable pieces, in the hopes that they can gain something useful for the years to come. My colleague Derek Harvey profiled one such piece, Gerardo Parra, and concluded that Parra would return more in a trade now than he did when the Brewers […]
Michael Blazek’s Balanced, Killer Arsenal
Like his relief compatriots Francisco Rodriguez and Will Smith (each of whom BP Milwaukee has covered previously), Michael Blazek has shined this season with a sub-two ERA and peripherals to match. Unlike the other two, though, Blazek hadn’t accomplished much prior to 2015, and because of that, he perhaps hasn’t received much time in the spotlight. […]
Jonathan Lucroy & Losing Power
For the first month of 2015, somewhat obscured by the other awfulness that surrounded him, Jonathan Lucroy struggled at the plate. In 51 chances, he mustered a sickly .133/.216/.178 line — a massive dropoff from the elite offense he showed in previous years. After somehow breaking his toe on a foul tip, he headed to […]
Carlos Gomez Is Pressing
Amid the many facets of Milwaukee’s disappointing season, Carlos Gomez has seemingly fallen from his lofty perch as one of baseball’s best outfielders. After topping 5.0 WARP in each of the past two seasons, he has currently compiled 1.1 WARP for 2015, while PECOTA only projects him to finish the year with a 2.7 WARP. That remains […]
Will Smith and The Slider of Death
As our benevolent overlord J.P. Breen wrote yesterday, the Brewers’ bullpen has been (or has deserved to be) one of the few bright spots in this altogether miserable 2015. Perhaps no reliever on the staff has pitched better than Will Smith, the owner of a sparkling 1.35 ERA and even shinier peripherals in his 26.2 innings of […]
Kyle Lohse and The Limits of DIPS
Most sabermetric analysis of pitchers revolves around three central statistics: strikeouts, walks, and fly balls (in relation to home runs). Hurlers who compile a healthy amount of the former while avoiding the latter two will see that reflected in their xFIP — considered by many the best statistic to evaluate a pitcher. This doesn’t fully illustrate […]