[BirdWatcher]

Denver Brewers August 1967 Team Report:

The Brewers go 14-15 in August. It is tale of two halves as they struggle the first half of the month and are 3-8 through the 15th but then are much better the second half and record 11 wins and 8 losses the rest of the month.
At the end of August the Brewers remain #1 in the MGL in stolen bases, are 3rd in bullpen ERA, 4th in defensive efficiency (they have been quite error prone of late), are middle-of-the-pack (5th) in runs scored, OBP, team batting average, and runs against. Their starter ERA ranks 6th while they are 8th in team HR's.

Who's Hoppy? Top 5 in WAR:
1- Tanner Yurek, 5.0 WAR. Yurek (274/.342/.460), the Brewers' secondbaseman, has been catching up to Antonio Puente for the team HR lead. Tanner now has 17 HR's along with 24 doubles and 2 triples. He has driven in 55 runs and scored 59. He also has swiped 8 bases while not being caught once yet this season.
2- Antonio Puente, 4.9 WAR. Leftfielder Puente (.261/.342/.485) is having a bit of an off year at the plate and finishes August with just 23 HR's to go along with 19 doubles and 2 triples. Puente does remain a very gifted fielder who has also provided plus defense in rightfield on occasion, and he has driven in 87 runs, scored 56, and has 10 stolen bases with only 3 times caught stealing.
3- Chad Brown, 4.8 WAR. Twenty-one year old shortstop Brown (.313/.344/.392) continues to have a break-out season, both at the plate and in the field. Brown finishes August with 23 doubles, 8 triples, and 1 HR thus far on the season. He has driven in 42 while scoring 69 times. Although he has also stolen 14 bases that is offset by the 14 times he has been caught trying.
4- Ruben Souffront, 4.0 WAR. Young rightfielder Souffront (.319/.347/.434) also continues his strong 1967 campaign. Souffront has collected 19 doubles, 7 triples, and 7 HR's, leading to 53 RBI and 60 runs scored. He is first in the MGL in stolen bases at 38 and has been caught trying to steal 14 times.
5- Daniel Torres, 3.6 WAR. At this point lefty Torres (10-6, 2.56) has emerged as the staff ace. Torres has held opponents to a .195 batting average and has produced a 1.07 WHIP. He has struck out 131 batters while walking 62 (control is his primary issue.) He has a solid 2.72 FIP.

Who's Hungover? Bottom 5 in WAR
1- Tom O'Donnell, -0.6 WAR. The young leftfielder has bounced back and forth from AAA Chester to the Brewers, and while he has hit the cover off the ball at Chester he has struggled mightily at the plate at the big league level this season. O'Donnell (.175/.239/200) is a poor defensive outfielder and his value is primarily in his hitting and running abilities, and with him not hitting and not getting on base he really has provided no value to the team whatsoever this season.
2- Armando Cruz, -0.6 WAR. The young fire-throwing righty reliever has had much better results of late and should be a valuable member of the pen going forward. Cruz (1-5-9, 3.80) has put up a 1.36 WHIP and 4.09 FIP but has also only allowed a .226 batting average to opponents. Cruz only needs to improve his control a bit to be a valued reliever (43K, 24 BB).
3- Jose Bravo, -0.4 WAR. Great fielding utility-man Bravo (.165/.223/.250) continues his season-long struggles at the plate.
4- Kyle Green -0.4 WAR. Green (1-1,2.60) has bounced back and forth between AAA and the Brewers and really hasn't had much chance yet to prove himself. He has put up a very poor 2.40 WHIP and allowed opponents to hit at a .359 clip, but again, all of this is in a very small sample size.
5- Tony Silmon, -0.2 WAR. Backup catcher Silmon (.171/.213/.267) has been playing a bit better of late and does provide very solid defense behind the plate (though he is weak armed). There is talk that they team will be looking for an upgrade at back-up next season, but if they can't locate one Silmon could still prove useful given time to develop.

What's Brewing Around the League? In the Shoeless Joe League, the Jacksonville Wolf Pack remain at the top of the pack though not by much. Jacksonville is 82-83 while the second place Philadelphia Mud Hens are 2 1/2 games behind at 79-55. In third place is the Washington Night Train at 79-57 (3 1/2 gb). The Moonlight Graham League continues to see Portland dominate. They are now 83-52 and have an 8 game lead on Oklahoma City (74-59) and are 9 1/2 up on Phoenix and Baltimore (both are 73-61.)
Travis Johnson of Jacksonville once again leads all of the WPK in batting average at .388. Former Brewer Mark Compton (L.A.) is leading in HR's and RBI at 42 and 103 respectively. Jaime Schardein (Charlotte) remains the winningest pitcher in the WPK at 19, in spite of playing for an also-ran. He also leads in strikeouts at 204. Jake Harris (Columbus) has the best ERA (1.77.)

The Streak Souffront Saga: See Who's Hoppy above. Ruben is now 7th in the MGL in batting average and remains in first in stolen bases (though also tied for 3rd in caught stealing.)

Brewers' Power Ranking: #12 (#1 JAC, #2 POR, #3 WAS, #4 PHO, #5 PIT.)
Brewers' Record: 67-69, .493, 7th place MGL, 16 1/2 gb POR.