Young Brewers Tracker: Phillips hits homer off scoreboard
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 20th edition of the Young Brewers Tracker.
IN THE MAJORS
Orlando Arcia (age 22)
Last week: 5 games, 18 PA, 2 R, 5 RBI, 2 HR, 0 SB, 0 BB, 6 K, .222 BA, .222 OBP, .556 SLG, .778 OPS, 100 sOPS+, .200 BAbip
Season (MLB): 27 games, 104 PA, .189 BA, .260 OBP, .305 SLG, .565 OPS, 3 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 13 R, 10 RBI, 3 SB, 9 BB, 23 K, .229 BAbip, 50 OPS+, -0.3 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 hit his first major-league home run on Aug. 26 off Pittsburgh's Jared Hughes then hit No. 2 three days later against St. Louis' Matthew Bowman.
Zach Davies (age 23)
Last week: 1 game (1 start), 0-0, 6 1/3 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 9 K, .269 OBA, .259 OBP, .500 SLG, 1.105 WHIP
Season: 24 games (24 starts), 10-6, 4.07 ERA, 139 1/3 IP, 1.256 WHIP, 9.1 H/9, 1.2 HR/9, 2.2 BB/9, 7.6 K/9, .262 OBA, .309 OBP, .422 SLG, 104 ERA+, 3.96 FIP, 1.5 WAR
Notable: Davies had a rough August, for the most part. In six starts he posted a 5.56 ERA and 1.500 WHIP. Opponents batted 306/336/496 against him during the month. On the plus side, he struck out 8.5 batters per nine innings.
Jonathan Villar (age 25)
Last week: 6 games, 24 PA, 4 R, 2 RBI, 3 2b, 1 HR, 0 SB, 1 BB, 7 K, .304 BA, .333 OBP, .565 SLG, .899 OPS, 137 sOPS+, .400 BAbip
Season: 128 games, 564 PA, .297 BA, .377 OBP, .441 SLG, .818 OPS, 34 2B, 2 3B, 11 HR, 73 R, 47 RBI, 50 SB, 64 BB, 146 K, 118 OPS+, .399 BAbip, 3.1 WAR.
Notable: In August, Villar batted 302/382/466, all high marks in a month since May. He also stole 12 bases, although he hasn't swiped a bag since he stole two on Aug. 22.
DOWN ON THE FARM
Phil Bickford (age 21/Single-A)
Last week: 1 games (1 start), 0-1, 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 2 K
Season (Brewers only): 5 games (4 starts), 1-1, 3.92 ERA, 20 2/3 IP, 22 H, 0 HR, 13 BB, 24 K, .272 OBA, 1.69 WHIP.
Notable: A long rain delay in Bickford's Aug. 29 start vs. Clearwater meant only a two-inning stint.
Lewis Brinson (age 22/Triple-A)
Last week: 5 games, 19 AB, 9 H, 4 2B, 2 HR, 5 R, 5 RBI, 0 SB, 2 BB, 5 K, .474 BA.
Season (Brewers only): 19 games, 73 AB, .425 BA, .429 OBP, .699 SLG, 1.127 OPS, 8 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 11 R, 20 RBI, 4 SB, 2 BB, 14 K.
Notable: Brinson's first month in the Brewers organization ended much how the rest of August went -- with a bang. He had three multiple-hit games including a 4 for 5 game with two doubles on Aug. 31. Brinson hit a pair of solo homers on Aug. 25 at Oklahoma City.
Notable: In 26 games in August, Clark batted 242/348/293. He also drove in 11 runs and stole four bases but was caught six times.
Isan Diaz (age 20/Single-A)
Last week: 5 games, 12 AB, 2 H, 1 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 0 SB, 5 BB, 3 K, .167 BA.
Season: 131 games, 487 AB, .271 BA, .366 OBP, .483 SLG, .849 OPS, 33 2B, 5 3B, 20 HR, 68 R, 74 RBI, 11 SB, 71 BB, 140 K.
Notable: In 28 August games, Diaz hit 280/432/538 with five home runs, 19 runs and 11 RBI.
Lucas Erceg (age 21/Single-A)
Last week: 6 games, 21 AB, 7 H, 2 2B, 2 HR, 3 R, 7 RBI, 0 SB, 3 BB, 6 K, .333 BA.
Season (with Wisconsin): 39 games, 154 AB, .299 BA, .347 OBP, .526 SLG, .873 OPS, 8 2B, 3 3B, 7 HR, 15 R, 29 RBI, 1 SB, 12 BB, 36 K.
Notable: Ended the month on a six-game hit streak and with hits in 15 of last 16 games. In August, batted 279/333/541 with seven home runs and 23 RBI in 28 games.
Josh Hader (age 22/Triple-A)
Last week: 1 game (1 start), 0-1, 4 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 2 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): 13 games (13 starts), 1-6, 5.18 ERA, 66 IP, 1.39 WHIP, 60 H, 4 HR, 32 BB, 83 K, .245 OBA.
Notable: Made five starts in August, posting a 3.95 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. Opponents batted .212 off of him in the month (compared to .264 and .270 in his first two months at Triple-A) and he struck out 34 batters in 27 1/3 innings.
Gilbert Lara (age 18/Rookie)
Last week: 6 games, 25 AB, 7 H, 3 2B, 6 R, 5 RBI, 0 SB, 0 BB, 8 K, .280 BA.
Season: 54 games, 207 AB, .237 BA, .284 OBP, .309 SLG, .594 OPS, 9 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 26 R, 23 RBI, 2 SB, 12 BB, 55 K.
Notable: In 22 August games, Lara hit 296/322/383 -- all highs for any month he played this season.
Jacob Nottingham (age 21/Double-A)
Last week: 5 games, 19 AB, 4 H, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB, 1 BB, 7 K, .211 BA.
Season: 108 games, 404 AB, .233 BA, .296 OBP, .339 SLG, .635 OPS, 13 2B, 0 3B, 10 HR, 45 R, 34 RBI, 9 SB, 29 BB, 134 K.
Notable: Batted 234/298/390 with three homers in 24 August games. In July, Nottingham batted just 174/216/196 with no homers.
Luis Ortiz (age 20/Double-A)
Last week: 1 game (1 start), 0-1, 4 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Season (with Brewers): 5 games (5 starts), 2-1, 0.42 ERA, 21 1/3 IP, 20 H, 0 HR, 9 BB, 13 K, .244 OBA, 1.36 WHIP.
Notable: Ortiz's scoreless streak with Biloxi came to an end in his Aug. 27 start. He has allowed three runs total -- just one earned -- with the Shuckers.
Brett Phillips (Age 22/Double-A)
Last week: 7 games, 18 AB, 6 H, 2 HR, 5 R, 6 RBI, 1 SB, 6 BB, 5 K, .333 BA.
Season: 120 games, 426 AB, .230 BA, .333 OBP, .399 SLG, .732 OPS, 14 2B, 5 3B, 16 HR, 59 R, 61 RBI, 12 SB, 65 BB, 151 K.
Notable: In 27 games in August, Phillips batted 258/370/393 with four home runs, including one that he hit off the scoreboard (see first video below).
Corey Ray (age 21/Single-A)
Notable: In August, Ray batted 250/328/491 in 29 games with five home runs.
Others: Colorado Springs OF Eric Young Jr. was traded to the Yankees for cash. Young batted 263/338/339 with 23 steals in 116 games. . . . Colorado Springs SP Hiram Burgos allowed only one run in 13 IP. . . . Brevard County RHP Marcos Diplan had 11 K in 9 IP while allowing just 1 R on 5 H and 1 BB. . . . Wisconsin 3B Jake Gatewood (1st round compensatory, 2014) hit .389/450/500 last week. . . . Wisconsin RHP Conor Harber (16th round, 2015) had a 1.80 ERA and 1.200 WHIP with 9 K in 10 IP. . . . Helena 1B Ronnie Gideon (23rd round, 2016) hit two more homers giving him 16. He leads the Pioneer League in HR and SLG% (.655). . . . Helena 3B Weston Wilson (17th round, 2016) batted .480 last week with an .800 slugging percentage. Wilson is hitting 330/402/531 on the season.
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
Dave Heller is the author of the upcoming book Ken Williams: A Slugger in Ruth's Shadow as well as Facing Ted Williams Players From the Golden Age of Baseball Recall the Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived and As Good As It Got: The 1944 St. Louis Browns
