StaTuesday: Rookies make mark on Brewers record book

It's no secret the Milwaukee Brewers went into rebuilding mode in 2016 and rookies played a big part during the season.

Overall, 18 players who still had rookie eligibility appeared in at least one game for Milwaukee this past season.

Among those, three really stood out: Keon Broxton, Zach Davies and Junior Guerra.

Broxton had a big season half and finished with 23 stolen bases and a .430 slugging percentage. He is just the seventh player in franchise history to record 20+ stolen bases as a rookie, and he did it in far less games than anyone else.

Player Year G SB
Pat Listach 1992 149 54
Scott Podsednik 2003 154 43
Alex Sanchez 2002 112 37
Nori Aoki 2012 151 30
Paul Molitor 1978 125 30
Keon Broxton 2016 75 23

Each of the five previous Milwaukee rookies who had 20 or more steals received Rookie of the Year votes. Listach won the award, Molitor and Podsednik finished second, Aoki was fifth and Sanchez 10th. Broxton won't win the award in 2016, but perhaps he might garner some votes.

Of course, Broxton just wasn't about stealing bases. He also had a .354 on-base percentage and .430 slugging percentage, the latter of which is one of the top marks among Brewers rookies who had at least 200 plate appearances in a season.

Player Year G PA SLG
Ryan Braun 2007 113 492 .634
Casey McGehee 2009 116 394 .499
Bill Schroeder 1984 61 226 .486
Prince Fielder 2006 157 648 .483
Scooter Gennett 2013 69 230 .479
Corey Hart 2006 87 256 .468
Darrell Porter 1973 117 416 .457
Scott Podsednik 2003 154 628 .443
Jeff Cirillo 1995 125 384 .442
Danny Walton 1970 117 454 .441
Nori Aoki 2012 151 588 .433
Matt Mieske 1994 84 286 .432
Greg Vaughn 1990 120 429 .432
Keon Broxton 2016 75 244 .430
Ronnie Belliard 1999 124 531 .429
Keith Ginter 2003 127 415 .427
B.J. Surhoff 1987 115 445 .423
Jose Valentin 1994 97 331 .421

On the mound, Davies and Guerra anchored the rotation. Guerra, picked up on waivers last October, was 9-3 with a 2.81 ERA in 20 starts while Davies, acquired from Baltimore last season for Gerardo Parra, went 11-7 with a 3.97 ERA in 28 starts.

As with Broxton, both pitchers had a taste of the big leagues previously but still qualified as rookies.

Pitcher Year Wins
Teddy Higuera 1985 15
Don August 1988 13
Bill Parsons 1971 13
Zach Davies 2016 11
Wily Peralta 2013 11
Ben Sheets 2001 11
Cal Eldred 1992 11
Chris Bosio 1987 11
Juan Nieves 1987 11
Manny Parra 2008 10
Steve Woodard 1998 10
Dan Plesac 1986 10
Moose Haas 1977 10
Jim Slaton 1971 10

Davies had the fourth-most wins for a Brewers rookies and is just one of 16 first-year pitchers to toss at least 150 innings.

Pitcher Year IP ERA
Junior Guerra 2016 121.2 2.81
Don August 1988 148.1 3.09
Bil Parsons 1971 244.2 3.20
Jerry Augustine 1976 171.2 3.30
Angel Miranda 1993 120 3.30
Chuck Crim 1987 130 3.67
Mike Fiers 2012 127.2 3.74
Jim Slaton 1971 147.2 3.78
Teddy Higuera 1985 212.1 3.90
Andy Replogle 1978 149.1 3.92
Zach Davies 2016 163.1 3.97
Kevin Kobel 1974 169.1 3.99

Guerra's 2.81 ERA was the best for any Milwaukee rookie with at least 120 innings pitched. He is the only one to have an ERA under 3.

Pitcher Year IP ERA
Junior Guerra 2016 121.2 2.81
Don August 1988 148.1 3.09
Bil Parsons 1971 244.2 3.20
Jerry Augustine 1976 171.2 3.30
Angel Miranda 1993 120 3.30
Chuck Crim 1987 130 3.67
Mike Fiers 2012 127.2 3.74
Jim Slaton 1971 147.2 3.78
Teddy Higuera 1985 212.1 3.90
Andy Replogle 1978 149.1 3.92
Zach Davies 2016 163.1 3.97
Kevin Kobel 1974 169.1 3.99

One thing Guerra and Davies had in common was striking out opposing hitters as both finished with 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings. Again, this ranks among the best for a Brewers rookie (min. 69 innings pitched).

Pitcher Year IP K/9
Mike Fiers 2012 127.2 9.52
Valerio De Los Santos 2000 73.2 8.55
Yovani Gallardo 2007 110.1 8.24
Chris Capuano 2004 88.1 8.15
Taylor Jungmann 2015 119.1 8.07
Manny Parra 2008 166 7.97
Chris Bosio 1987 170 7.94
Zach Davies 2016 163.1 7.44
Dan Plesac 1986 91 7.42
Junior Guerra 2016 121.2 7.40
Jimmy Nelson 2014 69.1 7.40
Steve Woodard 1998 165.2 7.33
Jose Capellan 2006 71.2 7.28
Bob McClure 1977 71.1 7.19
Rafael Roque 1999 84/1 7.04

Those listed above all had 12 or more starts except Roque (9), De Los Satntos (2) and Plesac, Capellan and McClure (0).

There's one more rookie to talk about as well. Orlando Arcia wasn't up long with the big club but he did manage to steal eight bases without being caught. Arcia is just one of 17 players in major-league history to have a steal rate of 100 percent with eight or more attempts in his rookie season.

Player Year Team SB
Quintin Berry 2012 Tigers 21
Craig Gentry 2011 Rangers 18
Lee Tinsley 1994 Red Sox 13
Matt Duffy 2015 Giants 12
Miguel Dilone 1977 Pirates 12
Christian Yelich 2013 Marlins 10
John Jaha 1992 Brewers 10
Jacob Ellsbury 2007 Red Sox 9
Darren Bragg 1995 Mariners 9
Orlando Arcia 2016 Brewers 8
Jackie Bradley 2014 Red Sox 8
Jose Morban 2003 Orioles 8
Willie Harris 2002 White Sox 8
Barry Larkin 1986 Reds 8
Stan Javier 1986 A's 8
Bob Meachem 1983 Yankees 8
Tommy Smith 1976 Indians 8

These players certainly made an impact in 2016 and with the rebuilding mode still on, it will be interesting to see which prospects -- and unknowns, like Broxton and Guerra -- make their mark in 2017.