OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Harry Lyerly and the Denver Brewers of the WPK

BirdWatcher · 07-24-2019, 06:21 PM

We have arrived at September 1st in the 1973 WPK season and the Brewers currently sit in 3rd place in the MGL, 4 1/2 games out of 1st.

They are currently thought to have just a bit under a 6% chance to win the MGL and have the toughest schedule of the 3 teams in legitimate contention (Brooklyn and L.A. being the others, of course.)

The Brewers have received some great individual performances this year. Cheol-han Lee has a good chance to win his 4th Pitcher of the Year award (his 2nd as a Brewer.) Pat Rondeau, at the age of 30 getting his first opportunity to be something more than a 4th outfielder, looks like he will hold on to win the batting title. And if he doesn't the two batters behind him currently are both Brewers (Bobby Erbakan and Andrew Kennedy) so likely a Brewer wins this no matter what. Jonathan Koch is having a breakout season, leads the team in HR's and plays great defense at second base. The outfield features four players who are likely to finish over .300 with good to great WAR values- Rondeau, Kennedy, Ryan Rodgers, and youngster Josh Schaeffer- and perhaps the most talented outfielder on the team, Joe McPhillips, is showing signs of a strong finish.

The starting pitching has not been quite up to previous Brewer standards but it isn't horrible by any means. In addition to Lee, Harry Lyerly is having a pretty typical solid season. Last year's MGL Pitcher of the Year, Erik Sloan, has regressed a bit this year, but is still a solid #3 and at times looks like a near ace. After that things get a bit more problematic. Steve Green has been largely very disappointing, and there are now some concerns about his motivation and work ethic. Matt Helm, the team captain, has had moments of brilliance and at other times has looked horrible. Justin Peacock and Eric Johnson, who have alternated between Denver and AAA Chester, have had their moments and still have potential for the future, but they can't be counted on for consistent performance at this time.

The bullpen has been very good even though the two pitchers who started the season with the biggest reputations- Jose de los Santos and Liann-wei Hua- haven't really been very good. Jaden Francis and Jordan Stephens have been mostly excellent, though, and Sam Pruiett has probably pitched better than his basic stats would indicate. Justin Bismark has likely been a bit lucky so far and seems to be regressing a bit. But for most of the season the Brewers bullpen has had the best ERA in the MGL.

The Brewers offense is, we all know, under-powered (in terms of home runs, anyway.) But with the return of Joe McPhillips, the continued surprising power of Koch, some flashes of power potential from Schaeffer, a bit of a return to form by third baseman Mike Foster, etc., the Brewers have risen of late from last in the league to 8th in this category.
The defense continues to display great range. But they make too many errors, particularly Chad Brown at short and Foster at third.
Base running, which had been a great strength for the team earlier in the season, has declined a bit and they are closer to the middle of the pack now. The more players like McPhillips and Schaeffer play, and continue to get on base, combined with Rondeau and Erbakan just continuing to do what they have been all season, this metric should improve. (Chad Brown getting on base more consistently would sure help in this regard too.)

The reality is that the Brewers starting pitching likely just can't match up, in depth at least, with that of Brooklyn or L.A. And L.A., in particular, certainly has a lineup with more power.
There is still hope among the Brewer faithful for a late-season run that sees the team return to the top of the MGL. But realistically, it might be another season of close but no cigar.

07-24-2019, 06:21 PM	#374
BirdWatcher Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 4,262	A few words about the Denver Brewers as we head into the stretch run We have arrived at September 1st in the 1973 WPK season and the Brewers currently sit in 3rd place in the MGL, 4 1/2 games out of 1st. They are currently thought to have just a bit under a 6% chance to win the MGL and have the toughest schedule of the 3 teams in legitimate contention (Brooklyn and L.A. being the others, of course.) The Brewers have received some great individual performances this year. Cheol-han Lee has a good chance to win his 4th Pitcher of the Year award (his 2nd as a Brewer.) Pat Rondeau, at the age of 30 getting his first opportunity to be something more than a 4th outfielder, looks like he will hold on to win the batting title. And if he doesn't the two batters behind him currently are both Brewers (Bobby Erbakan and Andrew Kennedy) so likely a Brewer wins this no matter what. Jonathan Koch is having a breakout season, leads the team in HR's and plays great defense at second base. The outfield features four players who are likely to finish over .300 with good to great WAR values- Rondeau, Kennedy, Ryan Rodgers, and youngster Josh Schaeffer- and perhaps the most talented outfielder on the team, Joe McPhillips, is showing signs of a strong finish. The starting pitching has not been quite up to previous Brewer standards but it isn't horrible by any means. In addition to Lee, Harry Lyerly is having a pretty typical solid season. Last year's MGL Pitcher of the Year, Erik Sloan, has regressed a bit this year, but is still a solid #3 and at times looks like a near ace. After that things get a bit more problematic. Steve Green has been largely very disappointing, and there are now some concerns about his motivation and work ethic. Matt Helm, the team captain, has had moments of brilliance and at other times has looked horrible. Justin Peacock and Eric Johnson, who have alternated between Denver and AAA Chester, have had their moments and still have potential for the future, but they can't be counted on for consistent performance at this time. The bullpen has been very good even though the two pitchers who started the season with the biggest reputations- Jose de los Santos and Liann-wei Hua- haven't really been very good. Jaden Francis and Jordan Stephens have been mostly excellent, though, and Sam Pruiett has probably pitched better than his basic stats would indicate. Justin Bismark has likely been a bit lucky so far and seems to be regressing a bit. But for most of the season the Brewers bullpen has had the best ERA in the MGL. The Brewers offense is, we all know, under-powered (in terms of home runs, anyway.) But with the return of Joe McPhillips, the continued surprising power of Koch, some flashes of power potential from Schaeffer, a bit of a return to form by third baseman Mike Foster, etc., the Brewers have risen of late from last in the league to 8th in this category. The defense continues to display great range. But they make too many errors, particularly Chad Brown at short and Foster at third. Base running, which had been a great strength for the team earlier in the season, has declined a bit and they are closer to the middle of the pack now. The more players like McPhillips and Schaeffer play, and continue to get on base, combined with Rondeau and Erbakan just continuing to do what they have been all season, this metric should improve. (Chad Brown getting on base more consistently would sure help in this regard too.) The reality is that the Brewers starting pitching likely just can't match up, in depth at least, with that of Brooklyn or L.A. And L.A., in particular, certainly has a lineup with more power. There is still hope among the Brewer faithful for a late-season run that sees the team return to the top of the MGL. But realistically, it might be another season of close but no cigar.