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Old 02-17-2020, 12:45 PM   #1058
BirdWatcher
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August 1st Denver Brewers team review

Having received the latest development update from the scouting staff, now might be a good time to review how things look for the Brewers heading into the last two months of the season.

We will mostly focus on the big league club in this post but we will also touch on some minor league prospects as well.

Starting Rotation:
This has been perhaps the area of greatest strength for the Brewers this season. The rotation has the best staff ERA in the MGL at 2.75. They are a large part of why the team is 1st in the MGL in FIP (3.10), and WAR (19.1), and 2nd in strikeouts (430).

The clear ace is Sadahige Kawasaki (8-5, 2.06) even though his won-less record is one of the worst on the team due to poor run support and bad luck.
Cheol-han Lee (11-1, 3.60) is the mirror image of Kawasaki. His incredible record belies his underlying decline in talent. The most recent scouting report indicates that he is rapidly losing velocity and is down to averaging 87-89 mph with only his not very fast sinker being more than an average offering. His stuff is down to 3 (on a 1-10 scale) but he retains elite movement (9) and very good control (8). As an extreme ground ball pitcher with a great infield defense behind him, it is likely that Lee can retain value for awhile in spite of his poor stuff. He is also a durable innings eater.
Steve Green (9-5, 2.48) remains a fine middle of the rotation starter. The most recent scouting report indicates that if anything his control is getting better with age (up to 7). His cutter is elite, he gets an extreme amount of ground ball outs, and things look very positive for him going forward.
Left-handed veteran Erik Sloan (9-6, 2.65) is a great control pitcher and another ground ball inducer. His best pitch is his screwball and while his stuff isn't what it once was he remains a solid mid-rotation arm.
Team captain and lefty Matt Helm (7-2, 2.99) has arguably been over-achieving for several seasons now. He has a great slider but only a slightly above average cutter and a very average change-up. His stuff is only a bit above average as is his movement and his control is quite average. He doesn't have great stamina and he is injury prone. And yet, he remains a valuable starter and a great leader.
So, who has the second most wins on the Brewers staff? Well, that would be Sekien Hamasaki (10-3, 2.98) who started the season in the bullpen. Hamasaki has been the biggest revelation on the Brewers pitching staff this season. He has good stuff trending towards great, fine movement, and above average control. His slider is top of the line (10) and he pairs it with a good cutter (7), and a fine change-up (6). (His fourth pitch is a sub-par curveball.) Hamasaki is a ground ball pitcher with good stamina. He is smart and controls the running game well, especially for a right-hander.

The Bullpen:
The Brewers bullpen is much better in 1976 than it was in '75. Then again, there was nowhere to go but up. Currently the 'pen is 4th in the MGL in ERA at 3.56. But that is largely due to poor performances by Ben Flynn and a few other young relievers who have been up and down between AAA Chester and Denver this season.
Jason Gottula (2-2, 11 sv, 1.73) has been probably the best of the staff. The left-hander has appeared in 31 games and been nearly flawless. He has great stuff (with an elite curveball), elite movement, and good control. He is a hard-throwing ground ball pitcher and the latest development report is very positive.
Tim Shore (1-3, 13 sv, 2.66) is the right-handed counterpart to Gottula as a high-leverage late-inning arm. Shore's ERA has been inflated by one very bad outing lately, but mostly he has been quite good. He also has elite movement. His two pitch repertoire includes a plus fastball and a plus slider. There is some indication that his control might be diminishing a bit, but he remains a gifted reliever.
Left-hander Eric Marino (2-2, 1 sv, 2.38) is having the best season of his young career. He has an elite slider (10) and a good sinker (7). He has plus stuff with room to get even better, good movement, but struggles a bit with poor control. He has the stamina to be a multi-innings reliever and is fantastic at holding runners.
Young (23) John Weaver (3-1, 1 sv, 2.47), who came up through the minors as a starter, has been mostly pitching out of the 'pen this season, and doing an admirable job. Weaver has good stuff and good movement but is somewhat control challenged. He has a plus change-up (8), an elite fastball (9), an average knuckle curve (5) and a mediocre curveball (4). He is a durable ground ball pitcher with a great work ethic (sparkplug) but his stamina is just above average and he may end up being more valuable in the swing-man role he currently holds.
Walter Hackler (2-0, 0 sv, 3.77) started the season in AAA but has been doing a solid job since being brought up to Denver. He has a great fastball with room for growth which gives him plus stuff that has the potential to become elite. His control is good, not great, and the long ball might be a problem. He's a smart power pitcher who induces ground balls and should prove valuable as a Brewer reliever.
If you listen to the scouts Ben Flynn (2-3, 4 sv, 6.03) should be one of the best relievers in the game. It hasn't worked out that way yet. His big league ERA over parts of the last five seasons is 5.07 and he has been over 7 several times this season. He has bounced back and forth between AAA and the WPK this season. There have been a few signs of him turning things around in his last few appearances so he's earned a bit more time. He profiles with good stuff, great movement, and good control. His fastball is plus (8) with potential to be plus plus. He has a good curve-ball with some room for growth still, but a horrible change-up. He's durable, a great leader, has great stamina and is wonderful at controlling the running game. Oh, and he's a great hitter with maybe the best raw HR power on the team. And with all of that talent, he can't seem to get the results he needs on the mound.

The Catchers:
It's no secret that the Denver catchers have over-achieved at the plate the past few seasons. And predictably they have reverted to the mean somewhat this season. But it remains a very good duo.
Zacarias Martell (.293/.382/.388) has been hot of late at the plate and his numbers are pretty consistent and might reflect his actual ability as a hitter. His defense is good and he has a fine CERA of 3.08 but he is prone to passed balls and isn't great in controlling the running game (35.2% CS.)
Kirk Patnode (.254/.311/.297) has offensive numbers much more in line with what would be expected, but he's a marvelous back-stop, a durable player, and a good leader. His CERA of 2.54 speaks to his receiving abilities and he has a fine 46.7% caught stealing rate. He is the ideal back-up to Martell.

The Infield:
First baseman Brett Taranto (.355/.397/.505) has vastly exceeded his pre-season expectations. He is almost surely the Brewers MVP this season. Not only does he lead all of the WPK in OPS and batting average, but he is an excellent defender, only a tick below the multi-Gold Glove award level of Bobby Erbakan, if that. The recent scouting report indicates that his contact skills are better than thought with potential for elite levels. Then again, one could just watch him play this season and realize that.
Second baseman Bobby Erbakan (.304/.358/.397) just needs to stay healthy. And the indications are that, as he approaches his 30's, that might not be so easy. Defensively, in this his first year starting at second, he is nearly without peer (10). And while his raw foot speed isn't quite what it once was (7) he remains a great base-stealer and base-runner. He is a plus contact hitter with fine gap power and somewhat above average HR power. He's a superstar but his fragility might lead to steep declines soon.
Third baseman Rodrigo "RodRod" Rodriguez (.286/.309/.354) has seen offensive decline from his ROY of the year campaign in 1975. But he remains a very fine contact hitter with plus gap power and average HR power. He'll rarely strike out, but he'll also rarely walk. He has good speed, can steal bases, and has above average range at third and a great arm. He will fumble routine plays, routinely. But his 14 errors this season certainly puts him on a better pace than last year when he ended up with 32 defensive miscues. RodRod is considered fragile and with one of the Brewers best position player prospects Jose Figueroa having an excellent season in A-ball, RodRod's reign at third may not be long lived.
Shortstop:
When he has been healthy this year, Rich White (.326/.379/.484) is possibly the best shortstop in the game. He has given the Brewers Gold Glove level defense while also hitting much more than anticipated. He has a great eye at the plate and average pop and is a fine base runner with good speed, which has allowed him to beat out a good deal of infield hits, inflating his batting average. If we can keep White and Erbakan healthy, we have perhaps the best up the middle defense in the game.
Utility:
The primary utility infielder on the team is Joe Willemse (.284/.322/.335), and with the injuries to Erbakan and White he has received plenty of playing time. Willemse is a great and versatile defender, best at second base but also quite good at third (with a fine arm) and capable at short. He's smart and a decent little contact hitter with good foot speed (though not a great base stealer.) He would be sub-par as a starter but as a utility man he is gold.

Outfield:
Left fielder Andrew Kennedy (.353/.389/.426) is a pure contact hitter. He is tied (with Lazaro Lowndes) for the 5th best career batting average (.321) in WPK history. He's a good teammate, an average (at best) fielder, and an iron man. He is on pace for a 2.4 WAR this season. Which speaks to his limitations, given his great bat. He'll turn 30 this off-season and eventually we will surely need a replacement for him in left. But for now, he provides value.
Center fielder Joe McPhillips (.295/.369/.409) is one of the true superstar five-tool players in the WPK. It is probably a testament to how good he is that this season could be considered disappointing and he is still on pace for 5.8 WAR. He's a supremely gifted defender with a cannon arm (10). He's fast and knows what he's doing on the base paths. He has no flaws as a hitter. He's as hard-working as they come (sparkplug). And so far this season he has remained healthy (knocks on wood.)
Right fielder Josh Schaeffer (.289/.455/.366) is the most over-achieving lazy player I recall seeing. He has a reputation for sloth but I can't say I've seen it. The man can play right field with the best of them and has a great arm. He has good speed and is an excellent base stealer. He is currently the best in the business when it comes to getting on base. And if recent scouting reports can be trusted, his over-the-fence power is if anything on the rise (7). He will strike out a bit and his gap power is pretty average. But all in all, Schaeffer's a gem (and on pace for 5.1 WAR.)
Other outfielders: Brad Tesh (.224/.274/.309) is a celebrated veteran who might end up in the Hall of Fame. But since joining the Brewers, he just hasn't hit. He's a bit better defensively in left field than Kennedy so he's getting some starts. But if he doesn't start hitting soon he might not be around for the post-season, should the Brewers make it.
Izzy Veliz (.222/.300/.278) is a 25-year old hard-working gifted defender who was recently demoted to AAA Chester because he simply couldn't provide evidence he could hit big league pitching.
In his place the club promoted 23-year old Jon Williams. Rumor has it that Williams is a favorite in the front office, but the scouting staff is increasingly unimpressed with his big league potential. He profiles as an excellent defensive right fielder with an even stronger arm than Schaeffer. He has great speed (10) and savvy on the bases. And he might still develop slightly above power to go with his decent eye and strong ability to avoid striking out. And he's a good guy- a likable teammate. But his hit tool is average at best. Still, in his first game with the Brewers he collected 2 hits including a 3-run HR, so a good first impression at least.


The Top Prospects:
Starting pitcher Jim Atwell remains the top Brewer prospect and is having a fine season (3-2, 3.30, 1.13 WHIP) at AA Nashville. He's durable, hits triple digits, induces ground balls at great rates, has a curve ball that looks to be developing to elite levels, has excellent stamina, and good makeup. Hey, pitching prospects, well, you know. Still, this kid looks like the future ace.
And then we have Bryant Cox (7-6, 3.77) a level below him at Bainbridge. The latest development report indicates his control potential is greater than previously thought. He has three pitches that are already big league ready, two of which have potential to be elite. He's an extreme ground ball pitcher with already above average movement. His stamina isn't great (6) but he has clear potential to turn into at least a mid-rotation arm.
What to do with first baseman Mike Lovett? After a bit of slow start at AAA Chester he is starting to tear up the league (.323/.439/.595), has hit 21 HR's, walks more than he strikes out (65 BB, 52 K), and has the potential to win both batting titles and HR crowns. But he's a poor fielder and slow. And there is no DH in the WPK. Most importantly, how does he unseat a man who is having an MVP-type season in Taranto?
And finally, the future (probably) Denver third baseman, Jose Figueroa. Figueroa (.324/.354/.446) is having his best minor league season yet playing at single A Bainbridge this season. At 21 years old he still has room for growth but our scouting staff is high on his future. He should be an elite contact hitter with good gap power, average HR power, a great ability to avoid striking out, though not one prone to drawing many walks. He profiles as a well-above average defensive third baseman. He's slow but not disastrous on the bases. And his makeup, led by great humility, is very encouraging. He should be a starter and likely an All-Star.
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The Denver Brewers of the W.P. Kinsella League--
The fun starts here(1965-1971: https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...d.php?t=289570
And continues here (1972-1976): https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...d.php?t=300500
On we go (1977- 1979): https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...d.php?t=314601
For ongoing and more random updates on the WPK:https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...d.php?t=325147, https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...d.php?t=330717

Last edited by BirdWatcher; 02-17-2020 at 01:03 PM.
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