[BirdWatcher]

Denver Brewers July 1967 Team Report:

The Brewers go 15-14 in an up and down month but at least end the month by winning 4 of 6. They did have a nice month against old rivals, Los Angeles Spinners, as the Brewers took 4 of 5 from the reigning (but on the wane) MGL champs.
The Brewers continue to be at the top of the league in Stolen Bases and bullpen ERA. They are currently 3rd in defensive efficiency and 4th in team ERA. They are middle of the pack in categories like runs allowed and team batting average. Unfortunately, they are 7th in runs scored, 8th in offensive bases on balls, and 9th in offensive HR's.

Who's Hoppy?
Top 5 in WAR at this point:
1- Chad Brown, 4.3 WAR. The young shortstop Brown (.323/.351/.414) continues to have a wonderful season and is now 6th in the MGL in batting average, 3rd in hits, tied for 1st in triples (8), as well as second among MGL shortstops in range and zone rating. He has had a little error proneness lately and has now committed 19 on the season, but this is still a marked improvement over his first two seasons. Brown has also hit 19 doubles, has struck out only 19 times while walking 18 times. He does have 8 stolen bases but has unfortunately been caught stealing 12 times.

2- Antonio Puente, 3.6 WAR. Puente got hot late in the month of July and now has 15 doubles, 2 triples, and 16 HR's and has driven in 60 runs. Puente (.263/.341/.471) also plays excellent defensive leftfield (4th in Range and ZR and 2nd in defensive efficiency) and has stolen 7 bases while being caught trying 3 times.

3- Tanner Yurek, 3.6 WAR. Like Puente, Yurek (.265/.339/.458) has been hot lately and especially with the longball. Yurek now has 13 HR's to go with 19 doubles and 1 triple. He has driven in 45 runs. He also has 4 stolen bases and hasn't been caught trying to steal yet this season.

4- Daniel Torres, 2.6 WAR. Lefty Torres has taken over (just barely) from Steve Alonso as the best starter on the staff this season. Torres (9-4, 2.45) has held opponents to a .183 batting average (best in the league), has a WHIP of 1.05, has recorded 104 strikeouts while walking 54 batters and has a fine FIP of 2.84.

5- Ruben Souffront, 2.6 WAR. Ruben (.319/.336/.421) has fallen into a bit of a cold spell at the plate the past few weeks, but is still having a fine season. He has 14 doubles, 7 triples (tied for 4th in league), 3 HR's, 40 RBI and he leads all of the WPK in stolen bases at 32 (he has been caught 12 times.)

Who's Hungover?
Bottom 5 in WAR:
1- Hector Uribe, -0.7 WAR. The fine fielding thirdbaseman Uribe has struggled mightily at the plate most of the season. Uribe (.159/.214/.186) has 3 doubles but no other extra base hits and has struck out 28 times while walking just 9 times.

2- Armando Cruz, -0.5. The young flame-throwing reliever Cruz (0-4, 8 svs, 4.26) continues to have an inconsistent season but is still thought of highly by the organizational brain-trust. He continues to strike out batters at a good rate 10.2/9 IP but needs to cut down on his walks (5.4/9) and HR's (1.4/9) a bit and he will become a valuable member of the pen again.

3- Tony Silmon, -0.4. Backup catcher Silmon (.156/.188/.246) has been a bit hot at the plate lately and continues to be a solid defender (though somewhat weak armed). He does now have 2 doubles and 3 HR's on the year, though he has walked only 5 times while striking out 21 times.

4- Jose Bravo, -0.2. Utility-man Bravo (.164/.225/.246) is a fine defender and a strong runner (though this season his 3 stolen bases are eclipsed by his 4 times caught trying) but continues to show no potential at the plate. The time may soon come when the organization has a tough decision to make about whether his defense and versatility really compensate for his poor plate skills.

5- Bobby Erbakan, -0.2. Young top prospect Erbakan (.178/.213/.333) looks quite over-matched at the big league level thus far, at the plate at least. He does provide excellent defense at firstbase and has played centerfield well enough in his few opportunities there and he has shown some of his extra-base power potential (2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 HR- among his 8 hits). The team will be monitoring his progress closely to see if a return to AAA for more seasoning is called for.

What's Brewing Around the League: The two-time reigning WPK champs, Jacksonville, continue to lead the SJL with a record of 64-39. In second is Philadelphia at 59-43, 4 1/2 games behind. Washington holds 3rd place at 64-46, 5 gb. The MGL continues to witness the rise of the Portland Wild Things who are now 67-39 and 6 games ahead of their nearest challengers, the Oklahoma City Diamond Kings who have a 60-44 record. Phoenix is in 3rd at 59-44, 6 1/2 games off the pace.
Young Jacksonville star Travis Johnson is once again leading the world in batting average at .383. Former Brewer Mark Compton leads all of the WPK in RBI with 77 and is tied with Baltimore slugger Bob Hernandez in HR's with 27.
Among pitchers, Charlotte's Jaime Schardein once again shines bright, leading in wins at 16 and strikeouts with 168, and sporting a solid 2.31 ERA, all in spite of playing for a very sub-par team. Phoenix' workhorse reliever Pat Brooks leads the WPK in ERA at 1.81 and has an 11-3 record with 11 saves.

The Streak Souffront Saga: As mentioned above, Ruben has been in a bit of slump lately but is still having a fine season. He has dropped to 8th in the MGL in batting average but continues to play fine defense in rightfield and run the bases with strength and determination. Ruben is doing fine. The future looks bright.

Brewers' Power Ranking: #14 (#1 JAC, #2 POR, #3 OKC, #4 WAS, #5 PHO)
Brewers' Record: 53-54, .495, 6th place in MGL, 14 1/2 gb POR.