Young Brewers Tracker: Villar accomplishes rare hitting, stealing feat

By foxsports
Published

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 21st edition of the Young Brewers Tracker.

IN THE MAJORS

Orlando Arcia (age 22)

Last week: 6 games, 24 PA, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 2b, 1 3b, 0 SB, 5 BB, 3 K, .368 BA, .500 OBP, .579 SLG, 1.079 OPS, 186 sOPS+, .438 BAbip

Season (MLB): 33 games, 128 PA, .219 BA, .305 OBP, .351 SLG, .656 OPS, 5 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 14 R, 12 RBI, 3 SB, 14 BB, 26 K, .267 BAbip, 74 OPS+, 0.2 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: In the last two weeks, Arcia is batting 297/381/588 with two doubles, a triple and two home runs.

 

Zach Davies (age 23)

Last week: 1 game (1 start), 0-1, 6 2/3 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, .240 OBA, .321 OBP, .280 SLG, 1.200 WHIP

Season: 25 games (25 starts), 10-7, 4.01 ERA, 146 IP, 1.253 WHIP, 9.1 H/9, 1.1 HR/9, 2.2 BB/9, 7.4 K/9, .261 OBA, .309 OBP, .416 SLG, 106 ERA+, 3.95 FIP, 1.9 WAR

Notable: Davies has made 17 starts this year at home and eight on the road. Perhaps a good thing. At Miller Park he has a 3.67 ERA, 1.146 WHIP and 8.0 K/9 while away from home he has a 4.81 ERA, 1.512 WHIP and 5.9 K/9.

 

Jonathan Villar (age 25)

Last week: 5 games, 18 PA, 5 R, 7 RBI, 1 3b, 4 HR, 2 SB, 1 BB, 5 K, .353 BA, .389 OBP, 1.176 SLG, 1.565 OPS, 291 sOPS+, .250 BAbip

Season: 133 games, 582 PA, .299 BA, .377 OBP, .466 SLG, .843 OPS, 34 2B, 3 3B, 15 HR, 78 R, 54 RBI, 52 SB, 65 BB, 151 K, 123 OPS+, .396 BAbip, 3.7 WAR.

Notable: Villar is just one 15 players to have 30+ doubles, 15+ homers and 50+ steals in a season (overall it has been done 23 times). He's the first to do it since Jose Reyes in 2008.

 

DOWN ON THE FARM

Phil Bickford (age 21/Single-A)

Last week: 1 games (1 start), 1-0, 6 1/3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

Season (Brewers only): 6 games (5 starts), 2-1, 3.67 ERA, 27 IP, 26 H, 1 HR, 15 BB, 30 K, .252 OBA, 1.52 WHIP.

Notable: In his final start of the season, Bickford threw 95 pitches, which was his most since he joined the Brewers organization.

 

Lewis Brinson (age 22/Triple-A)

Last week: 4 games, 16 AB, 3 H, 1 2B, 3 R, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 0 BB, 7 K, .188 BA.

Season (Brewers only): 23 games, 89 AB, .382 BA, .387 OBP, .618 SLG, 1.005 OPS, 9 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 14 R, 20 RBI, 4 SB, 2 BB, 21 K.

Notable: While Brinson played well at home the Sky Sox (450/439/650), he was no slouch on the road (327/346/592), hitting three of his four home runs away from Colorado Springs.

 

Notable: Clark finished the regular season in a 1-for-21 slump.

 

Isan Diaz (age 20/Single-A)

Last week: 4 games, 20 AB, 2 H, 1 2b, 3 R, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 8 K, .100 BA.

Season: 135 games, 507 AB, .264 BA, .358 OBP, .469 SLG, .827 OPS, 34 2B, 5 3B, 20 HR, 71 R, 75 RBI, 11 SB, 71 BB, 148 K.

Notable: Snapped an 0-for-18 skid (including going 0 for 7 on Sept. 2) by going 2 for 5 in the final regular-season game. Diaz ended up leading the Midwest League in homers and total bases (238) and was second in RBI. He also was second in strikeouts.

 

Lucas Erceg (age 21/Single-A)

Last week: 3 games, 13 AB, 1 H, 1 2b, 2 R, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 0 BB, 2 K, .077 BA.

Season (with Wisconsin): 42 games, 167 AB, .281 BA, .328 OBP, .497 SLG, .825 OPS, 9 2B, 3 3B, 7 HR, 17 R, 29 RBI, 1 SB, 12 BB, 38 K.

Notable: Erceg batted 292/329/518 against righties but just 233/324/400 vs. lefties (note: he only had 30 AB vs. LHP at Wisconsin).

 

Josh Hader (age 22/Triple-A)

Last week: 1 game (1 start), 0-1, 3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 5 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): 14 games (14 starts), 1-7, 5.22 ERA, 69 IP, 63 H, 5 HR, 36 BB, 88 K, .245 OBA, 1.43 WHIP.

Notable: Hader finished the year throwing 71 pitches and lasting only three innings at Iowa on Sept. 2. His four walks in that game tied his season high.

 

Gilbert Lara (age 18/Rookie)

Last week: 5 games, 21 AB, 8 H, 1 2b, 2 R, 5 RBI, 0 SB, 0 BB, 4 K, .381 BA.

Season: 59 games, 228 AB, .250 BA, .293 OBP, .320 SLG, .613 OPS, 10 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 28 R, 28 RBI, 2 SB, 12 BB, 59 K.

Notable: Helena completes its season Thursday. Lara entered the finale on an eight-game hit streak which saw him boost his batting average 22 points.

 

Jacob Nottingham (age 21/Double-A)

Last week: 4 games, 11 AB, 3 H, 1 2b, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI, 0 SB, 0 BB, 4 K, .273 BA.

Season: 112 games, 415 AB, .234 BA, .295 OBP, .347 SLG, .641 OPS, 14 2B, 0 3B, 11 HR, 46 R, 37 RBI, 9 SB, 29 BB, 138 K.

Notable: Went 3 for 5 with a double and home run on Sept. 4 at Mississippi.

 

Luis Ortiz (age 20/Double-A)

Last week: 1 game (1 start), 0-1, 2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Season (with Brewers): 6 games (6 starts), 2-2, 1.93 ERA, 23 1/3 IP, 26 H, 2 HR, 10 BB, 16 K, .280 OBA, 1.54 WHIP.

Notable: Was roughed up in his final start at Mississippi. In Ortiz's last two starts he allowed six runs (five earned) on 12 hits in just six innings.

 

Brett Phillips (Age 22/Double-A)

Last week: 4 games, 15 AB, 3 H, 1 3b, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 2 BB, 3 K, .200 BA.

Season: 124 games, 441 AB, .229 BA, .332 OBP, .397 SLG, .729 OPS, 14 2B, 6 3B, 16 HR, 60 R, 62 RBI, 12 SB, 67 BB, 154 K.

Notable: Phillips hit just 202/324/329 in 66 games after the Southern League All-Star break. He finished tied for fourth in home runs in the league.

 

Corey Ray (age 21/Single-A)

Notable: Ray joined Wisconsin at the end of the year to be eligible to play in the Timber Rattlers' playoff games (he went 1 for 12 in three games; those stats are included above).

Others: Biloxi 1B Nick Ramirez (4th round, 2011) and C Parker Berberet (25th round, 2011) are converting to pitchers. . . . Biloxi SS Angel Ortega (6th round, 2012) hit .471 in 17 AB. . . .  Biloxi RHP Brandon Woodruff (11th round, 2014) went seven scoreless innings in his final start with 9 K. . . .  Brevard County 2B Trey York (9th round, 2016) went 5 for 9 with a double and two triples. In 7 games with the Manatees, York batted 330/440/571. . . . Wisconsin C Max McDowell (13th round, 2015) stole four bases in three games, giving him 21 on the season. . . . Helena 1B Ronnie Gideon (23rd round, 2016) and RHP Wuilder Rodriguez were named Pioneer All-Stars.   

 

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