Young Brewers Tracker: Ortiz picks up first win for Double-A Biloxi
The Milwaukee Brewers are reshaping their franchise with an injection of youth and prospects.
Every Thursday for the rest of the season, FOX Sports Wisconsin will take a closer look at some specific young players -- as well as noting others who might be stepping up -- measuring, highlighting and evaluating their progress. Please note the glossary of advanced stats at the bottom of the story.
This is the 18th edition of the Young Brewers Tracker.
IN THE MAJORS
Orlando Arcia (age 22)
Last week: 6 games, 27 PA, 2 H, 4 R, 2 RBI, 0 2B, 1 3B, 2 SB, 3 BB, 7 K, .083 BA, .185 OBP, .167 SLG, .352 OPS, 26 sOPS+, .118 BAbip
Season (MLB): 14 games, 62 PA, .161 BA, .242 OBP, .214 SLG, .456 OPS, 1 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 9 R, 4 RBI, 2 SB, 6 BB, 11 K, .200 BAbip, 23 OPS+, -0.6 WAR.
Season (Triple-A): 100 games, 404 AB, .267 BA, .320 OBP, .403 SLG, .723 OPS, 19 2B, 6 3B, 8 HR, 59 R, 53 RBI, 15 SB, 29 BB, 77 K.
Notable: Arcia looks the part on defense, but after posting a six-game hitting streak during his second week in the majors he struggled last week, reaching base just four times.
Zach Davies (age 23)
Last week: 1 games (1 start), 0-1, 5 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 4 K, .348 OBA, .375 OBP, .435 SLG, 1.800 WHIP
Season: 21 games (21 starts), 9-5, 3.80 ERA, 123 IP, 1.211 WHIP, 8.7 H/9, 1 HR/9, 2.2 BB/9, 7 K/9, .255 OBA, .304 OBP, .401 SLG, 112 ERA+, 3.95 FIP, 1.7 WAR
Notable: Davies made it through just five innings for the second time in his last three starts, and has now allowed eight hits in back-to-back games.
Jonathan Villar (age 25)
Last week: 6 games, 26 PA, 5 H, 1 R, 0 RBI, 0 2B, 0 HR, 1 SB, 2 BB, 10 K, .208 BA, .269 OBP, .208 SLG, 478 OPS, -20 sOPS+, .357 BAbip
Season: 114 games, 502 PA, .297 BA, .381 OBP, .432 SLG, .813 OPS, 28 2B, 2 3B, 9 HR, 63 R, 41 RBI, 46 SB, 60 BB, 131 K, 116 OPS+, .403 BAbip, 2.9 WAR.
Notable: Villar racked up three hits in an 11-3 win over the Atlanta Braves last Thursday, but had just two hits in the Brewers' next five games.
DOWN ON THE FARM
Phil Bickford (age 21/Single-A)
Last week: 1 game, 5 IP, 1 R, 0 HR, 1 BB, 10 K
Season (Brewers only): 2 games (2 start), 0-0, 2.79 ERA, 9 2/3 IP, 8 H, 0 HR, 3 BB, 15 K, 1.138 WHIP.
Notable: Bickford allowed just one hit in his second appearance in the Brewers' organization, racking up 10 strikeouts in just five innings pitched.
Lewis Brinson (age 22/Triple-A)
Last week: 3 games, 10 AB, 3 H, 0 2B, 0 R, 2 RBI, 0 SB, 0 BB, 1 K, .300 BA.
Season (Brewers only): 12 games, 46 AB, .391 BA, .375 OBP, .543 SLG, 918 OPS, 4 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 5 R, 11 RBI, 4 SB, 0 BB, 6 K
Notable: Brinson had three hits in a game against Albuquerque on Friday, but drove in just one run.
Notable: Clark closed out the week with four hits in three games, registering his first extra-base hit since Aug. 8 in a game against Kane County.
Isan Diaz (age 20/Single-A)
Last week: 7 games, 25 AB, 5 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 5 R, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 9 BB, 9 K, .200 BA
Season: 119 games, 450 AB, .276 BA, .366 OBP, .489 SLG, .855 OPS, 32 2B, 5 3B, 18 HR, 61 R, 69 RBI, 11 SB, 63 BB, 126 K
Notable: Diaz saw his 14-game hitting streak come to an end on Sunday. He got back on the board with a double on Wednesday.
Lucas Erceg (age 21/Single-A)
Last week: 7 games, 31 AB, 8 H, 0 2B, 1 HR, 1 R, 6 RBI, 0 SB, 2 BB, 6 K, .258 BA
Season (with Wisconsin): 26 games, 106 AB, .292 BA, .333 OBP, .472 SLG, .805 OPS, 6 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 7 R, 18 RBI, 1 SB, 7 BB, 23 K
Notable: Erceg had a pair of two-hit games last week and hit a 3-run homer in a game against Beloit last Thursday.
Josh Hader (age 22/Triple-A)
Last week: 1 game (1 start), 0-1, 6 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 6 K
Season (Double-A): 11 games (11 starts), 2-1, 0.95 ERA, 57 IP, 1.00 WHIP, 38 H, 1 HR, 19 BB, 73 K, .194 OBA
Season (Triple-A): 11 games (11 starts), 0-5, 5.30 ERA, 56 IP, 1.464 WHIP, 54 H, 3 HR, 28 BB, 69 K
Notable: The Brewers could be calling up a starting pitcher for Friday's game against the Seattle Mariners, and Hader is likely next in line after dominating in Double-A earlier this season.
Gilbert Lara (age 18/Rookie)
Last week: 5 games, 18 AB, 5 H, 0 HR, 0 R, 3 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 4 K, .278 BA
Season: 44 games, 170 AB, .241 BA, .294 OBP, .312 SLG, .606 OPS, 6 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 20 R, 18 RBI, 2 SB, 12 BB, 44 K
Notable: Lara has 12 hits in his last 10 games, and hit a double in a game against Grand Junction on Monday.
Jacob Nottingham (age 21/Double-A)
Last week: 6 games, 24 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 4 R, 3 RBI, 2 SB, 1 BB, 9 K, .375 BA.
Season: 99 games, 370 AB, .241 BA, .303 OBP, .349 SLG, .652 OPS, 13 2B, 0 3B, 9 HR, 43 R, 32 RBI, 7 SB, 26 BB, 121 K
Notable: Nottingham caught fire in a series against the Jackson Generals, registering two three-hit games. He hit two doubles and a single last Thursday, before hitting a home run and two singles on Monday.
Luis Ortiz (age 20/Double-A)
Last week: 2 games (2 starts), 1-0, 5 2/3 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 5 K
Season (with Brewers): 3 games (3 start), 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 12 1/3 IP, 1.135 WHIP, 9 H, 0 HR, 5 BB, 8 K
Notable: Ortiz has hasn't allowed an earned run since joining the Brewers' organization, and picked up his first win for Biloxi on Wednesday.
Brett Phillips (Age 22/Double-A)
Last week: 5 games, 20 AB, 5 H, 0 HR, 1 R, 0 RBI, 1 SB, 3 BB, 5 K, .250 BA
Season: 107 games, 388 AB, .224 BA, .320 OBP, .387 SLG, .706 OPS, 14 2B, 5 3B, 13 HR, 51 R, 50 RBI, 11 SB, 53 BB, 139 K
Notable: Phillips had two multi-hit games last week, but has just one home run in his last 20 games.
Corey Ray (age 21/Single-A)
Notable: Ray, Milwaukee's first-round draft pick this season, homered in back-to-back games for the first time in the Brewers' organization. He also had two multi-hit games in one of his best weeks as a pro.
Andrew Susac (age 26/Triple-A)
Last week: 1 game, 4 AB, 0 H, 0 R, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 0 BB, 2 K, .000 BA
Season (Brewers only): 8 games, 30 AB, .067 BA, .097 OBP, .067 SLG, .163 OPS, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 H, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 12 K
Notable: Susac was placed on the 7-day disabled list on Saturday with a strained oblique.
A glossary of some of the advanced statistics used:
OPS: On base percentage + slugging percentage
OPS+: OPS compared to league average of 100, adjusted to the player's ballpark
sOPS+: OPS for the split (in our case the last 7 days) compared to the league's split OPS (100 being average).
BAbip: Batting average on balls in play.
WHIP: Walks plus hits divided by innings pitched.
ERA+: ERA compared to league average of 100, adjusted to the player's ballpark
FIP: Fielding Independent Pitching. Measures a pitcher's effectiveness at presenting home runs, walks and hit by pitches while causing strikeouts. The MLB average FIP is the same as the MLB average ERA.
WAR: Wins Above Replacement value. Represents the number of wins the player added to the team above what a replacement player would add (we are using WAR from baseball-reference.com).
Statistics courtesy baseball-reference.com and milb.com
