What’s next for the Brewers’ surprising rotation leader Chase Anderson? Can the Brewers be expected to draw lessons from Anderson into further roster moves? Throughout the summer, I found myself repeating an argument about the Brewers front office: if the Brewers front office implements scouting, mechanical, and coaching adjustments with a given player, they have […]
Category: Articles
Looking Back at Top 10
Now that the World Series has ended, the baseball offseason can officially begin. This time of year brings with it not only speculation about trades, free agents, and what a team might look like next year, but also plenty of talk about prospects. Indeed, Baseball Prospectus will begin to roll out their updated top prospects […]
Brett Phillips is the Answer in Center Field
Yesterday, my colleague Colin Anderle proposed a platoon in center field for the Milwaukee Brewers between Keon Broxton and Brett Phillips. In theory, a platoon between the right-handed Broxton and left-handed Phillips would be reasonable if the two were equal in terms of talent and potential. Phillips, who was more valuable than Broxton in a […]
Free Agency I: The Stage
As far as fan and analyst sentiment goes, the MLB free agency crop entering 2018 leaves much to be desired. Aside from a couple of big ticket players, the free agency list appears to be full of role players or players in the decline phase of their career. However, looking at the list through another […]
Rebuilding is a Scam
Late into the Game 7 broadcast preceding the Astros’ 2017 World Series victory, the FOX broadcast team devolved into an insulting-yet-fitting discussion of the devastating floods following Hurricane Harvey. The story goes that Houston Astros players kept photos of devastation in their lockers, so as to remind them of their relatively easy jobs; the story […]
Could The Answer In Center Field Actually Be Two?
The 2018 Brewers will come into Spring Training with far fewer question marks in the lineup than they have in recent years, but center field remains an area of uncertainty. Keon Broxton has been good for 2.4 WARP in 707 plate appearances of action over the past two seasons, but his high strikeout rate makes […]
Offseason 1: Securing Roles
Yesterday, the Brewers signed two contracts that will keep key players from 2017 with the organization. GM David Stearns signed RHP Chase Anderson to a guaranteed two-year contract, which also includes escalators and club options that could extent to a four-year deal north of $30 million. This deal gambles on the distance between the gains […]
On the World Series and Experiences of Fandom
On the World Series and the Experiences of Fandom Baseball fandom is a personal experience. People become fans for many different reasons, and their interest waxes and wanes over the course of their life for different reasons as well. For some people, fandom is driven by an intense loyalty to their city. Others are motivated […]
The Houston Adjustment
Outside my apartment is a deep and endless sea of orange. I live in Houston, where the Astros just dispatched the Yankees en route to their first American League pennant. While it’s hard not to get caught up in the city’s infectious enthusiasm, mostly I wonder when Milwaukee will experience a similar moment. I grew […]
Roster Surplus and Depth Questions
The 2018 Milwaukee Brewers are in quite a strange position, representing the bundle of contradictions that defined their uncanny 2017 campaign. On the one hand, the organization dropped a “rebuilding” narrative in 2015, meaning that industry writers, analysts, and fans alike did not expect the club to compete, let alone contend, for several years; on […]