By , Dave Heller
Published April 21, 2016
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 initial edition of the Young Brewers Tracker. (Note: In future editions we'll track season statistics as well as the previous week, but for our first foray we'll just give season-to-date stats.)
IN THE MAJORS
Zach Davies (age 23)
Season: 1 game (1 start), 0-1, 19.29 ERA, 2 1/3 IP, 4.714 WHIP, 30.9 H/9, 0.0 HR/9, 11.6 BB/9, 0.0 K/9, .571 OBA, .611 OBP, .643 SLG, 25 ERA+, 6.90 FIP, -0.3 WAR
Notable: Davies finished last season with two scoreless starts but was roughed up in his 2016 debut by the Pirates.
Ramon Flores (age 23)
Season: 12 games, 33 PA, .167 BA, .242 OBP, .167 SLG, .409 OPS, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 0 SB, 3 BB, 9 K, .238 BAbip, 14 OPS+, 0.0 WAR.
Notable: Was 2 for 3 with a run and RBI on April 20 vs. Minnesota, his first hits since April 13 (0 for 13).
Yadiel Rivera (age 23)
Season: 8 games, 22 PA, .238 BA, .273 OBP, .381 SLG, .654 OPS, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 3 R, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 7 K, 75 OPS+, .375 BAbip, -0.1 WAR.
Season: Rivera has started four games and is 1 for 14 in those contests.
Domingo Santana (age 23)
Season: 15 games, 63 PA, .259 BA, .365 OBP, .444 SLG, .810 OPS, 4 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 7 R, 8 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 9 K, 118 OPS+, .316 BAbip, -0.3 WAR.
Notable: Through Wednesday, was batting 156/260/313 vs. righties and 409/500/636 vs. lefties.
Jonathan Villar (age 24)
Season: 13 games, 52 PA, .279 BA, .404 OBP, .395 SLG, .799 OPS, 2 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 5 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB, 8 BB, 15 K, 118 OPS+, .407 BAbip, 0.4 WAR.
Notable: Last week batted .304.
DOWN ON THE FARM
Orlando Arcia (age 21/Triple-A)
Season: 12 games, 22 AB, .289 BA, .320 OBP, .400 SLG, .720 OPS, 0 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 R, 8 RBI, 0 SB, 3 BB, 6 K
Notable: Arcia's first Triple-A homer came Wednesday and was a no-doubter.
Keon Broxton (age 25/Triple-A)
Season: 3 games, 9 AB, .222 BA, .300 OBP, .333 SLG, .633 OPS, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB, 1 BB, 0 K
Notable: Sent to Colorado Springs after going 0 for 16 with 11 strikeouts in six games with the Brewers.
Clint Coulter (age 22/Single-A)
Season: 13 games, 46 AB, .196 BA, .302 OBP, .217 SLG, .519 OPS, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 6 R, 2 RBI, 0 SB, 6 BB, 15 K.
Notable: Had a four-hit game on April 17.
Isan Diaz (age 19/Single-A)
Season: 14 games, 47 AB, .255 BA, .375 OBP, .489 SLG, .864 OPS, 5 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 7 R, 7 RBI, 1 SB, 9 BB, 12 K.
Notable: Had a four-hit game with three doubles, three runs and three RBI on April 13.
Josh Hader (age 22/Double-A)
Season: 3 games (3 starts), 0-0, 0.69 ERA, 13 IP, 0.92 WHIP, 6 H, 0 HR, 6 BB, 19 K, .136 OBA.
Notable: Has not surrendered a hit to a lefty.
Adrian Houser (age 23/Double-A)
Season: 2 games (2 starts), 0-0, 5.73 ERA, 11 IP, 1.18 WHIP, 9 H, 0 HR, 4 BB, 8 K, .225 OBA.
Notable: Pitched five no-hit innings in his last start at Mobile on April 16.
Jorge Lopez (age 23/Triple-A)
Season: 2 games (2 starts), 0-0, 6.48 ERA, 8 1/3 IP, 2.04 WHIP, 11 H, 1 HR, 6 BB, 8 K, .333 OBA
Notable: Faced Memphis in both of his two starts thus far.
Jacob Nottingham (age 21/Double-A)
Season: 11 games, 37 AB, .135 BA, .220 OBP, .324 SLG, .544 OPS, 1 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 6 R, 5 RBI, 0 SB, 3 BB, 9 K.
Notable: Three of his five hits are for extra bases.
Brett Phillips (Age 21/Double-A)
Season: 12 games, 43 AB, .326 BA, .408 OBP, .512 SLG, .920 OPS, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 R, 8 RBI, 1 SB, 6 BB, 16 K.
Notable: Has had five games with multiple strikeouts.
Michael Reed (age 23/Triple-A)
Season: 10 games, 37 AB, .268 BA, .377 OBP, .382 SLG, .758 OPS, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 6 R, 4 RBI, 5 SB, 5 BB, 8 K.
Notable: Played one game in center field last week. Should be noted that Milwaukee currently has three center fielders on its roster and all bat left-handed (Reed bats righty).
Others: Reliever Damien Magnifico has three saves and hasn't allowed a run in 5 1/3 innings for Triple-A Colorado Springs. . . . Left fielder Victor Roache (2012 No. 1 pick) is batting 333/389/606 at Double-A Biloxi. He had back-to-back three-hit games April 19-20. . . . Former Rule 5 pick Wei-Chung Wang has a 2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and .179 OBA in two starts for Biloxi. . . . Shortstop Angel Ortega (6th round, 2012) is the only player for Single-A Brevard County batting over .250 (340/379/358). . . . Bubba Derby (6th round, 2015) has allowed 2 runs in 12 2/3 innings with 16 Ks at Brevard County. . . . Third baseman Tucker Neuhaus is batting 370/393/519 for Single-A Wisconsin, but is on the 7-day DL.
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
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