Jonathan Lucroy Deserves To Be An ASG Starter

When we (all-star voters) think of upper-echelon catchers in the National League we tend to think of the Molinas, Martins, Poseys, Ruiz(es) or what have you. Lost in the shuffle is one of, if not THE, most underrated players in all of baseball: Jonathan Lucroy. It's weird when you think Lucroy, a guy who not only does everything, but does it above average, might not be in the All-Star Game.

Lucroy has started off what looks to be a career-year. He is striking out less than he ever has and walking more. Lucroy hasn't hit the most homeruns but he has his the most doubles (9 more than Molina who is second). And is on pace to set the Brewers single season record for two-baggers. Not to mention leading all catchers not only in the NL but in all of baseball in average, on-base percentage, and OPS. Yet somehow in the first released ASG votes Lucroy is 4th in the NL behind Molina, Posey and Gattis. You know Molina and Posey will get their votes just for their names but Evan Gattis? Evan Gattis? This must be some kind of joke. Guy bats .248 and his only upside is that when he does hit it it's probably a homerun. Here's a look at all the stats:

Fansided

If those players were voted on by just numbers and not names I can say with confidence that Lucroy would not be 4th on that list. I hope that the voters don't squander the chance to see the best catcher in the National League start the All-Start Game. Hopefully it leads to Lucroy getting some of the attention he deserves, although he'll probably tell you he doesn't need it.

Brewers - Orioles Series Recap

Game 1: (Orioles 7-Brewers 6)The Orioles got to the usually sure-handed Milwaukee bullpen in the late innings to steal the game in the 10th. After forcing K-Rod's second blown save they strung together hits in the 10th off Rob Wooten to take a lead they wouldn't give back. The day was headlined by Khris Davis going 4-4 with a homerun, Lyle Overbay also added his own dinger. Kyle Lohse pitched decent (6.2 innings 4er) in one of his few non-quality starts this season. The headline of this day was the Brewers inability to capitalize in key spots, they were 3-15 with RISP and left 9 men on base: not the way a winning team plays.

Game 2: (Brewers 7-Orioles 6) This time the Brewers got their 7-6 victory after surrendering an early five run lead thanks to the longball. Gomez, Reynolds and Davis all went yard to jump out to a quick 5-0 lead. The Orioles then scored six unanswered before Lucroy tied it in the 9th on a chopper to third base. The highlight of the night of course was Yovani Gallardo's pinch hit walkoff double in the 10th inning as the Brewers were out of position players. Garza pitched well, (6.2 innings, 3er) of course the stats somewhat lie because of a big unearned (Segura error) 3-run homer in the 7th that gave the Orioles the lead. Garza had a good start for the second straight time out he just needed some defense behind him. The bullpen returned back to form with 3.1 solid innings of work.

Game 3: (Brewers 8-Orioles 3) The Brewers got a lead in the first on a Carlos Gomez single and never let it go. Fresh off his walkoff, Yovani Gallardo pitched his 8th quality start in 10 outings. After Gallardo went 6.2 innings and giving up 3 runs, Will 'slider of death' Smith slammed the door in the 7th punching out Chris Davis then struck out the side in the 8th. The wheels fell off for the Orioles after the Brewers opened the bottom half of the 8th with four hits to extend the lead to 8-3. (Gomez double, Reynolds single, Weeks PH single, Davis 3-run homer). They were led offensively by the greater Khris Davis who added two hits and 3rbis tonight.

Recap: The Brewers win their second straight series behind offensive outbursts. They have recorded 8 games in a row with ten or more hits. Khris Davis has been on an absolute terror: he has a 7 game hitting streak in which he has recorded 12 hits including 4hr and 7rbis. Another huge move has been Gomez batting in the 4th spot in the order. In that spot he has batted .500 (12-24) with a homer and 7rbis of his own. Gomez also stole second in the 8th and became only the second player in the majors with 10hr and 10 stolen bases this season. Will Smith also remained lights out stranding two more inherited runners tonight and has done so with 14 of the 17 he has been given this season. Opponents are batting .200 against him and his ERA has dropped to .36 a third of the way through the season. Smith is making a strong case at his first all-star appearance.

Strange but true: Khris Davis had 3 homers and 5rbis in the series while the O's Chris Davis didn't even record a hit in the series. I think the nickname Khrush Davis will stay in Milwaukee. The Brewers open up a weekend series vs the Cubs Friday. They carry the division lead a third of the way through the season.

Pitchers Who Rake: Yovani Gallardo

Morry Gash/AP

Yovani Gallardo walks-off the Brewers in the 10th inning with a 2-out gap shot to score Mark Reynolds from first. The next day's starter hitting a walkoff: I have literally seen it all now. In a game where the Brewers (Segura) managed to throw away (literally) a 5 run lead the Brewers stole it back in extras. Carlos Gomez got the offense started with a 3-run homerun (11) in the first inning followed by solo shots from Reynolds (12) and Davis (8) in the second and fourth innings. Matt Garza was strong through 6 innings before the wheels fell off in the 7th giving up a three-run pinch hit homer to Steve Pearce. He should have been out of the inning before the Segura error, but Roenicke left him in too long regardless. After Manny Machado robbed Mark Reynolds of a go-ahead double in the 8th, Lucroy's 9th inning infield chopper tied the game. The bullpen was able to shut down the Orioles for 3.1 innings after Smith relieved Garza in the 7th with the help of Tyler Thornburg and Francisco Rodriguez. How bold of Buck Showalter to walk Mark Reynolds to get to the former Silver Slugger Yovani Gallardo. Side Notes:

Khris Davis homered for the fourth time in his last ten games tonight. He is batting .308 with those four homeruns and eight rbis in those games. He has also shown better patience at the plate drawing three walks the last ten contests. He might be finally settling in at the major league level.

Carlos Gomez registered his eleventh homerun and 29th rbis of the season on that first inning homerun. He continues to hit well in the re-designed lineup that has him batting 4th. I'll be interested too see where he moves when Ramirez comes back as Segura has flourished in the leadoff role.

I'm not positive but Yovani Gallardo could be the first next-day starter to ever have a walkoff hit. He takes the mound in the rubber match tomorrow looking for his third victory of the season. Gallardo missed his last start because of his sprained ankle but it looked good as he rounded first and reached second in the 10th. Strange but true: According to Elias Sports the last major league pitcher with a walkoff hit in extra innings was also a Brewer: Glendon Rusch did it in 2003 vs the Astros in the 14th inning.

Jimmy Nelson Makes 2014 Debut

I've been busy lately but Jimmy Nelson's strong start in his 2014 debut was not lost on me. Called up from AAA-Nashville to make one start in place of the injured Yovani Gallardo, Nelson lived up to expectations. He has been absolutely dominating in the minors this year going 5-1 with a 1.71 ERA. The way Nelson handled himself in his start did more than justify him being the Brewers top minor league prospect. He was given more run support than Matt Garza has seemingly gotten all season as the Brewers laid out a 7-run and 14-hit onslaught of former, sometimes abysmal Brewers starting pitcher Randy Wolf. That was plenty more than Nelson needed as he gave up just one run and rung up six Marlins in 5.2 innings. Nelson seemingly jumped Mike Fiers as the rotation replacement if one was needed but it's hard to say how the Brewers will approach the situation. More than likely he won't be back to the majors until he has a spot in the rotation, not to be a bullpen hand like former starter Tyler Thornburg. Seeing the Brewers get healthy young arms to be productive in the majors is exciting to watch and gives a lot to look forward to.

In Defense of Matt Garza

I for one am thankful that Matt Garza missed his chance to sign with the Angels when he didn't answer their phone call because he was on vacation with his wife in the offseason. Although he has been without a doubt the weak spot in the Brewers rotation this season, let's not get ahead of ourselves writing off the hard-nosed Garza. Since the Brewers made a splash in free agency and actually signed a bonafide pitcher, Matt Garza has the most losses in the rotation and the highest ERA and to be honest there's no close second. The Brewers rotation has been phenomenal this season so it's easy to point fingers at Matt Garza when you look at him relative to the other pitchers. Let's not forget Garza is exactly the kind of guy you want on your locker room and don't want to face on the field. The kind of competitor who wants to "kick [his opponents] teeth in" (to use his words) and the kind of fun-loving guy who pranks teammates and coaches during interviews. Plus he hates the Cubs so that's always a plus too.

If you compare his numbers to his career they are a little on the low side. Garza has allowed more walks and has had less punchouts per nine innings than the last few years. One of the contributions to the strikeout slump might be the loss of velocity on his fastball. Garza's fastball is almost down an entire mile per hour as last year. He has also had a tough time getting out of the first inning as over a third of his earned runs on the season have come in that inning. If you take away all of Garza's first innings his ERA drops over one run to 3.80. If you just look at the bare numbers they do not tell the whole story. A 4.83 ERA and 2-4 record barely scrape the surface of Garza's body of work. Garza has tossed five quality starts and has as many losses in those games and he does wins. As seen today getting shutout against the Cubs Garza hasn't been the beneficiary of a whole lot of run support. Beyond all that, an interesting stat is that Garza has the second-lowest FIP (3.74) in the starting rotation. FIP is "fielding independent pitching" which calculates ERA based on average fielding and average timing. Based on this you could almost make the case that Garza has been pitching the second best on average.

The Brewers have managed to win Garza's three no-decisions so they are actually 5-4 in his starts on the season. He has battled through some tough outings and shaky defense behind him at times and has labored in times Roenicke needed him to. He is the kind of guy who can be an absolute buzzsaw to any lineup and the Brewers have managed the best record in the majors with him out of form, so when he puts it all together look out.

Pitching Goes Deep Into The Farm System

The Brewer's pitching at the major league level has been nothing short of a revelation this year. It's not like the production is coming straight out of left field because they have some big names in the rotation but if you had watched them pitch last year you'd think they were in rebuilding mode. Early in the season the Brewers have the third best team ERA, which is six spots up from last years body of work. It's even more amazing if you take out Wei-Chung Wang's 7 innings and 10 earned runs the ERA drops below three which is unbelievable. The pitching success extends down to the minor leagues as well. The Nashville Sounds (AAA) have the second lowest team ERA in the Pacific Coast league and are currently leading their division. The Brewers have a plethora of young arms in the system and at the major league level that are very versatile.

Tyler Thornburg: Much was made about the Lincecum-like delivery of Tyler Thornburg when he first came up for the Brewers in 2013. Thornburg started seven games last year but also worked in the bullpen and had a respectable 2.03 ERA. This year the 25 year old has blossomed into a bonafide big league reliever often bridging the gap between the starters and the back end of the bullpen.

Will Smith: Smith was acquired in the trade with the Royals for Norichika Aoki and it couldn't have worked out better for the Brewers. Smith is only 24 years old yet he pitches like a seasoned vet. Teams have only scratched across one earned run this season on Smith and he has yielded only a .183 batting average against him. That average drops to .074 against lefties in large part because of his devastating slider. Smith was originally a starting pitcher with the stuff of a closer so the sky is the limit for the young southpaw.

Mike Fiers: Mike Fiers has done a great job at the major league level the past two years but he has been in AAA this season so far. Any other team he probably makes the starting rotation but thats arguably the Brewers strongest part of the team. Fiers has been dealing to say the least. In seven starts Fiers has six wins, posting a 1.59 ERA and is averaging 12.7k/9innings and leading the league in punchouts. If the Brewers need another arm or someone to make a spot start Fiers is more than capable.

Jimmy Nelson: Nelson was the Brewers top prospect coming into the season and it is easy to see why. Posting quality starts more often than not (couldn't find the exact number I think 6) with a 4-1 record and 1.76 ERA in 8 starts. He has a sub-one WHIP and scouts say the hard throwing righty will be ready whenever the Brewers make the call.

Brewers Steal Game, Series

In arguably the most roller-coaster series of the season, Khris Davis played hero yet again. On Tuesday the Brewers won somewhat easily behind a solid day by Jonathan Lucroy. Wednesday was a different story with the Bucs finally getting to the Brewers bullpen notching K-Rod for three runs in the top of the 9th to break the 1-1 tie. Today however, the Brewers returned the favor. Once Wandy Rodriguez left in the 6th the Brewers could only muster one hit with six punchouts before the 9th inning and I'll admit even I didn't give them much hope. It was still a 1-run game thanks to an extraordinary play by Mark Reynolds in the 8th to start a 5-4-3 double play and help Tyler Thornburg get out of trouble. After loading the bases the cardiac kid Khris Davis stepped to the plate and once again played hero. On a 2-2 pitch he singled on a broken bat that scored Braun and Lucroy to win the game and take the series. In a series where not much went right for the Brewers, where they were missing two of the biggest bats in the lineup Ramirez and Gomez, they just needed a little luck and that's exactly what they got.

Other notes: Yovani Gallardo went 6.1 innings giving up three runs and punching out six for his 7th quality start of the season. Gallardo was pretty much lights out besides two mistakes to Tony and Gaby Sanchez both of which found souvenir city. The bullpen returned to form with 2.2 innings and no runs. Rickie Weeks had three more hits including his first longball of the season which raises his average to .365. Khris Davis is Mr. Clutch batting .370 (10 for 27) in late & close situations where it matters most. Gomez will only miss the first game of the Cubs series before being able to return. Martin Maldonado hit his second homer in 27 at-bats on the season. He is boasting great numbers in a small sample size posting .333/.455/.630 splits. His success could force Roenicke's hand to explore either him or Lucroy at first base more. Maldonado has shown he is able to work well with any pitcher. The Brewers head to Chicago to start a three game set with the Cubs over the weekend. FWIW: The Brewers magic number is 117, it's never to early.

Brewers-Pirates Storylines

Carlos Gomez is yet to hear from the MLB about his appeal so he will get to start at least the first night of the series. I think this is what most of us wanted to see at least with Gerrit Cole on the mound against the crew for the first time since the Mother's Day brawl. Should be interesting from the first pitch with Gomez batting leadoff against Cole. Hopefully the Brewers get out to a solid lead so we can play bean ball and stir the pot a little. The Brewers send out Marco Estrada who went six strong with one earned in his only start against the Pirates this season. 

Ryan Braun was reinstated off the DL today and is back in the lineup batting third finally stabilizing that spot. He has had success this season batting .400 (12 for 30) with three of his homers against the Bucs. Hopefully he can hit the ground running since he took Aramis Ramirez's spot as he went to the DL with his hamstring strain. Ramirez's move was retroactive to the 11th however. Another roster move the Brewers made was sending down Caleb Gindl and recalling utilityman Elian Herrera from AAA. Herrera has been red hot batting .577 (15 for 26) in the past week. The switch hitting Herrera will be needed as the Pirates are throwing leftys Wednesday and Thursday.

Other notes: Gomez took a pitch on his left foream/hand in the final game of the Yankees series so we'll see how it holds up tonight. Lucroy gets his chance to bat cleanup with Ramirez out of the lineup. Logan Schafer will get another start taking Khris Davis' spot in the lineup as he has been cold of late at home. Schafer comes off a big game in which he notched a clutch double in the rubber match of the series against the Yankees. Lastly Scooter Gennett gets back in the lineup replacing the hot-hitting Rickie Weeks. Weeks looks likely to get the last two starts in the series however against Francisco Liriano and Wandy Rodriguez, both of whom have struggled this season.

"Right Now It's Fun To Be A Brewer"

The Brewers are clicking on all cylinders again after walking off this afternoon to take the series from the Yanks. Matt Garza toughed out five solid innings after having a rough first inning in which the Yankees scored three of their five runs. Rickie Weeks looks like he hopped in a time machine back to when he was an All-Star in 2011 and was the key to the last two Brewers wins. In my last post I said Weeks was gonna have a big day Saturday off CC Sabathia but I didn't see his day today coming. Roenicke gave Weeks the nod again and he went 3-5 with a couple runs knocked in and a huge double in the 9th to set up the walkoff single by Reynolds. The Brewers continue to prove they are the real deal overcoming K-Rod's first blown save of the season in which he gave up a game tying homer to Teixera in the 9th. A series win is always sweeter when it comes against teams like the Yankees, and the Brewers are now 5-1 against them and the Red Sox this season. I was at the game Friday but I wish I had been there for either of the wins so I didn't have to listen to Yankee "fans" embarrass themselves by being sore winners. A team that spends that kind of money should win against a team like the Brewers who have over a hundred million dollars less of a team salary, but I guess that's what makes baseball great. Anytime they can steal wins without Braun or Ramirez in the lineup says volumes about the team too. Braun expects to return Tuesday and Roenicke said after the game Ramirez might be able to avoid the DL. The best team in the majors pads their 5.5 game lead over the Cardinals in the central, and will be back in action Tuesday against the Pirates. Mark Reynolds said it best after the game: "Right now it's fun to be a Brewer."

Bandwagon Getting Lighter

The Brewers have managed to scuffle a bit after starting a league best 20-7 by losing six out of their last eight. People seem to be jumping ship already saying they aren't for real as if good teams never have a cold spell. Lets recap the last week or so:

Ryan Braun was placed on the DL retroactive to April 27. Since that time the Brewers have dropped series to the Reds and D-backs with the likes of Jonathan Lucroy and Scooter Gennett sharing time in the three hole. Scooter Gennett a three hitter? Come on these aren't grapefruit league split-squad games. And I'm not saying it's Roenicke's bad managing it's just that there's nobody to put there. Lucroy is batting .211 in his last ten games (8-38) with no homers and Gennett has only mustered eight XBH for a slugging percentage that is sub .400 on the season. It doesn't help either that Aramis Ramirez cannot hit the broad side of a barn right now. Not that anybody expected him to maintain the start he had but Ramirez is only 5 for his last 56 (.089) and hasn't had a multi hit game since April 16. There is no team in the league that would be remotely successful with the middle of their order killing rallies like it's their job, yet the Brewers maintain a four game lead in the central.

I however have no intention of writing the Brewers off. Ryan Braun said today that he is on schedule to return on Tuesday like originally planned. Gomez will most likely be serving a suspension during the three game set with the Yankees this weekend but he's been playing like he could use a break too. Look for the Brewers to put together a solid series against the Bronx bombers and put their name back to the forefront. The Brewers enjoy losing to sub par pitchers and destroying aces so I wouldn't be surprised if they snapped Tanaka's 40+ game winning streak of games he has started. On Saturday the right-handed stacked lineup will face the struggling C.C Sabathia; I'm thinking Weeks gets the start and has a big day. I'd put money down that the Crew takes the series against the Yanks and goes on a run against the Pirates and Cubs in the upcoming week with Braun returning to MVP form to get back on track.

Free-Swinging Crew Stays Best In MLB

As I watched Carlos Gomez step into the box last night down by one in the first inning I found myself almost expecting a homerun. Boslinger preceded to cork a get-me-over fastball right down the middle and Gomez unloaded on it. As soon as I saw Gomez connect with that ball I sat up and said "that's gone" like it was beyond the shadow of a doubt. Boslinger was out there thinking that a leadoff hitter is going to take a few pitches and work the count, but what he forgot is that Gomez is not a prototypical leadoff hitter and the Brewers are not a prototypical major league team.

The Brewers have defied all conventional baseball wisdom to run out to the best start in baseball. If you just looked at the stats where the Brewers are 6th worst in on-base percentage (.304) and have the 5th fewest walks (83) you'd think they are a losing club. Their mindset is that it doesn't matter what count it is, they're just looking for good pitches to hit. I remember a quote Prince Fielder had one season in Milwaukee when he was slumping where he said that you don't hit homeruns, they are thrown to you. This seems to be the mantra of this years team because when they see a pitch they like you can bet they are hacking.

In today's game the bullpens are tougher on average than starting pitching, so the strategy of running up pitch counts to chase starters may be becoming outdated. Averaging 2.52 walks per game this season would rank second worst in team history if the season ended today. Khris Davis and Jean Segura having three walks in 236 plate appearances doesn't help that stat much, but they're both having good seasons regardless. Big hits outweigh walks in the win column which we saw with Davis in St. Louis and Segura last night.

The pitching remains a huge aspect as to why this formula is working for the crew. They are still yet to be defeated when scoring more than four runs (18-0). As long as the lineup puts runs on the board we could really care less how they get on base. Carlos Gomez is batting a mind-boggling .520 when he swings at first pitches and has three homers. When it comes to sortable batting stats the Brewers could care less. The only stat that matters is the number in the W column, and right now it's a league best 22.

Peralta Shines, Brewers Stop Skid

Wily Peralta had a career night tonight in the Brewers 2-0 victory over the Reds. Not only did he record his fifth quality start of the season, he also drove in the Brewers only two runs on a fifth inning opposite field double. Peralta was able to repeatedly escape trouble and strand Reds' baserunners mainly with the help of seven timely punchouts and only three scattered hits. Three of those k's came against Jay Bruce who has well established himself as a Brewers killer with 24 career homeruns against the crew. The eight shutout innings drop Peralta's season ERA to 2.04.

Jonathan Lucroy was also able to re-establish himself at the plate with three hits in four at-bats, saying after the game it was with the help of a few mechanical adjustments he has made. Lucroy was one of the few bright spots in the lineup Friday.

Francisco Rodriguez remained perfect on the year with a three up three down ninth inning to lock up his 14th save of the year. Yet to give up a run on the year K-Rod has been a revelation in his 13th professional season.

The Brewers look to hang some runs on the current starter's ERA leader in the MLB in the third game of the series Saturday. Yovani Gallardo will be throwing for the crew and has yet to lose this season (2-0).

Peralta Looks To Stop Crews First 3-Game Skid

After dropping the last game of the Cardinals series and letting yesterday's game against the Reds slip away the crew is facing their first three game losing streak of the season. The Brewers looked to have a beat on Homer Bailey tagging a few pitches early last night but only ended up being able to put three runs on the board. After blowing the game last night Jim Henderson has been placed on the DL with shoulder inflammation and OF Caleb Gindl was recalled from Nashville, who will get the start in right. Wily Peralta might be just what the doctor ordered to stop this skid as he has been great all year. Peralta is 3-1 with a 2.56 ERA and each of his last four starts have been a quality start. He seeks what would be his first career win at Great American Ballpark and the bullpen has been rested for the most part so look for all hands on deck tonight for the crew. The Cardinals have already dropped their opener with the Cubs today so the Brewers look to tack onto their 5.5 game division lead. 

April 2014: What We Learned

The Brewers enter May with the best record in baseball and as only the fourth team ever to win 20 games in April. Sure nobody could have said they were a lock as the best team in the league but if you follow the Brewers you know they think they're right where they're meant to be. The first month told us a lot about the team nobody was counting on.

Davis and Gennett are Big League Ball Players

Khris Davis was a bright enough prospect that the Brewers moved Braun to right field to make room for him and that has paid dividends early in the season. Davis has not put up mind-boggling numbers to start the season but he has been solid in left. He has been one of the most timely Brewers scoring the third most runs on the team (16) including both winning runs in the first two games of the Cardinals series. He has also shown power turning around a few big league fastballs and depositing them into the outfield bleachers. Scooter Gennett has also stood out this season as he has been a solid replacement for Weeks at second base since coming up last year. He has been counted on in a number of roles and all he does is produce for the crew. He has put up an above .300 average and even stepped into the third spot in the order while Braun, Segura and Ramirez were down with injuries.

This Isn't The Brewers 2013 Pitching Staff

After going against everything the Brewers stand for, they made a splash in the offseason signing Matt Garza to solidify the rotation. Most teams would be satisfied with three solid starters but the Brewers have five. Peralta and Estrada have stepped into the bottom two spots and flourished, posting 2.56 and 2.87 ERAs respectively. The bullpen has also made a complete 180 degree turn from a year ago jumping up to fourth in bullpen ERA even with the struggles of 22 year old southpaw Wei-Chung Wang. This means his bullpen mates have been lights out.

Carlos Gomez Is Unstoppable

Carlos Gomez has been an absolute force at the top of the Brewers lineup. He was named Brewers player of the month after putting up .293/.352/.569 splits with 7 homers and 15 rbis. If he wants to bat flip after a homerun, he will. Hell if he wants to bat flip on a triple off the wall then fight the whole Pirates team he will. If he gets on first base he'll steal second even though you know he's going. Putting up those offensive numbers combined with flawless defense makes him a no doubt all-star and potential MVP candidate.

This early season has been promising to say the least for the Brewers. Once unable to shake a stick at the Cardinals they somehow won two out of three games with their B-team. There is definitely something special with this team and there is no reason they can't continue their success the rest of the season.