Heading into the 2017 season, few Brewers fans were worried about second base. Jonathan Villar had spent the previous summer making good on his potential, authoring a 4.7 WARP season along the way. Scooter Gennett and Yadiel Rivera provided a decent insurance policy: one could be relied on for some decent at bats, while the […]
Tag: Jonathan Villar
Weekend Recap: Villar, Jeffress
The Brewers took three of four games from the Washington Nationals this weekend, pulling to within half a game of the second wild card spot. The pitching had another strong weekend, holding the Washington offense, which is 3rd in MLB with a .276 TAv to eight runs across the four games. Unfortunately, with the Cubs […]
Walker Helps Slay Dragons
The Brewers season took an odd turn around the All-Star break. The big talk leading up to the trade deadline was all about adding a starter, or at least some bullpen help (which they did in Anthony Swarzak). But a funny thing happened as it so often does in baseball, and the offense that had […]
Revisiting Villar and Braun
A week ago, the sky was falling. The Brewers had lost their fourth straight game in a six-game losing streak, dropping to third in the NL Central. Fans asked if this was the stretch where the Cubs would pull away from Milwaukee, and I wrote an article dreaming about a Brewers team with the 2016 […]
The Fall of Jonathan Villar
Entering the season, I saw this Brewers team as full of uncertainty. The starting rotation was full of crapshoots; the starting lineup full of talented but unproven players. On my first look at the roster, I thought the closest to a sure thing the Brewers had was second baseman Jonathan Villar. At just 25 years […]
Dreaming on Braun and Villar
If I handed the current NL Central standings to you on Opening Day, what explanation would you give me? There are a couple of routes you could take, but they would all probably include 2016’s star Brewers; Ryan Braun and Jonathan Villar. The duo placed one and two last year in VORP and BWARP among […]
Weekend Recap 14: Webb, Villar
Coming out of the All-Star break, the Brewers were poised for a sweep against the dreadful Phillies after big wins on Friday and Saturday, but the bullpen blew the lead on Sunday and the offense couldn’t cover for their mistakes. Phillies Brewers Friday July 14 6 9 Saturday July 15 2 3 Sunday July 16 […]
Trade Deadline Blues
With the trade deadline approaching, and one blockbuster already completed by the division rival Cubs, Brewers fans and analysts are vigorously debating prospective moves for the franchise. Milwaukee is in a great spot to make moves: the club sits atop the division with a 5.5 game lead, is in the midst of a ten game […]
Brewers Baserunning and Sprint Speed
Last season, the Brewers led all of baseball in stolen bases by a considerable amount. They were not, however, a particularly good baserunning team, at least according to BP’s BRR statistic, which calculates overall value contributed by baserunning rather than just being limited to stolen base percentage. In 2016, according to BRR, the Brewers were […]
Naming Contending Brewers Stars
The Brewers have spent 36 days in first place this 2017 season, which is perhaps one of the biggest surprises of the MLB campaign. Even those analysts and fans that felt the rebuild and develop campaign was on the right track hardly thought the Brewers would be competitive in the vast majority of cases. Many […]