Entering the 2018-2019 offseason, there remains a contentious debate among many Brewers fans about the need for the Brewers to improve starting pitching. Who can blame these fans? They just spent three weeks watching national analysts bludgeon the Brewers roster construction, bemoaning at nearly every chance that an ace would be preferable to whatever the […]
Tag: Brandon Woodruff
Playoff Weapon: Brandon Woodruff
Prior to the end of the regular season, my colleague at BP Milwaukee, Sean Roberts, posited that Brandon Woodruff could be a “secret weapon” for the Milwaukee Brewers during the playoffs. I don’t think he meant it in quite such a literal sense, however. Woodruff was a main protagonist of “The Wade Miley Gambit,” relieving […]
Is the Playoff ‘Pen Sustainable?
On Sunday, with the Division Series on the line, Craig Counsell turned once again to Jeremy Jeffress in the ninth inning, this time with a six-run lead. While Jeffress has been a lights-out closer throughout September and dominant all season long, it would have been his fourth inning pitched in as many days, after throwing […]
The Brewers Playoff Secret Weapon
The Brewers aren’t winning the division, but if they were to find themselves in a playoff series or one-game Wild Card, there’s an unheralded weapon in their bullpen that, so far, has really flown under the radar. Josh Hader’s historic success and Jeremy Jeffress’ Comeback-Player-of-the-Year-worthy, All-Star season are certainly worthy of a lot of attention. […]
What is Player Development?
Brewers GM David Stearns had a wild non-waiver trade deadline to close July, and the GM once again proved that he was not afraid to deal potentially quality talent as the August waiver trade deadline was closing. As the waiver trade deadline closed, Stearns parted with college catching development project KJ Harrison (who might also […]
Trouble
The Brewers pitching staff is in shambles. Between role regression among key pitchers, injuries to a group of key early-season pitchers as well as crucial trade deadline acquisitions, and an essential end to the rotating “shuttle team” to Triple-A Colorado Springs, the Brewers have lost their ability to prevent runs. Based on Baseball Reference Three […]
Searching for Brandon Woodruff
Brandon Woodruff has had an interesting 2018. He started the season in the majors and hopes were high, but he has been shuttled back and forth between Milwaukee and Triple-A Colorado Springs. His surface-level numbers look poor—4.80 ERA in 30 innings—but Deserved Run Average (DRA) thinks he has been much better than that; Woodruff’s 3.73 […]
Recycle the Rebuild: The Great Non-Move
Last year, I criticized Brewers GM David Stearns for his lack of midseason moves to address a starting pitching rotation that became greatly diminished down the stretch. The criticism was a part of a general frustration that the club had not done enough to reach the playoffs. After executing a very swift rebuilding effort (that […]
Weekend Recap: Braun and Woodruff
The Brewers bounced back from their first real adversity of the season by taking two of three games from the Philadelphia Phillies over the weekend. They emerged from their mini-slump with an offensive explosion, scoring twelve runs on both Friday and Saturday. Those twelve runs equaled their combined total from the Chicago and Cleveland series. […]
Speculating on on Rookie Arms
The release of Baseball Prospectus PECOTA projections is exciting for many reasons, not the least of which is finding the player comparisons that helped inform the projection system. Since PECOTA (and its redesigns) is based in part on finding comparable players in order to assess “true ability” and design aging curves suitable to each prospect […]