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Brewers Debuts in History

Milwaukee has been MLB debut central in 2017, with Brandon Woodruff’s delayed debut making it five total on the season. Some have been more heralded than others (Brett Phillips’s debut almost felt like a national holiday), but none have been all that successful. Phillps struck out swinging twice before he slapped his first hit up the […]

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Keon Broxton: Exit Velocity King?

Last year, Keon Broxton’s average exit velocity was 91.7 mph, which was a top-20 mark in all of baseball.  By this measure, he was comparable to such luminaries as Yoenis Cespedes, Jose Bautista, and Khris Davis, and his breakout potential was well-covered in certain corners of the online baseball community.  The idea that he was […]

The Continued Costs of Miller Park

MLB Draft and OFP Surplus

The MLB Draft is a questionable institution at best, and an awful one in its worst aspects. From a labor standpoint, the Draft filters professional baseball talent through a non-competitive process, suppressing a player’s potential earning power from Day One. Even the (roughly) 300 players lucky enough to be written into one of the MLB’s […]

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Call-Ups Reveal the Idiocy of Service Time Rules

What an exciting week to be a Brewers fan! The results were mildly disappointing at best following a home split against a poor Giants team and a series loss in Arizona. But the games took a bit of a back seat to the call-ups of pitcher Josh Hader and outfielders Brett Phillips and Lewis Brinson. […]

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Update: Cashing Out OFP 2

Earlier this week, I examined the surplus added by Brewers GM David Stearns, which is undoubtedly one of the reasons the club is performing quite well. Stearns, in stark contrast to recently famous rebuilds in Chicago and his previous front office (Houston), is building competitive clubs at the MLB level by cashing in on short-term […]

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Eric Sogard: Oasis or Mirage?

Quickly, without Googling: through this past weekend’s action, among Major League players with at least 50 plate appearances, who tops the leaderboard for wRC+? Mike Trout? A good guess, if a predictable one, but he’s in second place. Eric Thames? You’re really, really close. As in, same team, same first name, close. I’m talking about […]

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Weekend Recap: Villar’s Approach

Welcome to the eighth edition of the Weekend Recap. The Brewers took Sunday’s game to prevent a sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers, thanks to a strong pitching performance from Zach Davies, who allowed less than two runs for only the second time this season. Even with the win yesterday, the weekend […]