[BirdWatcher]

The 1972 regular season has come to an end- I will report on the Brewers last series, against the MGL champs Charlotte, later- and the Brewers did finish in 2nd place in the MGL with a respectable, but somewhat disappointing, 94 wins. (The Brewers finished the season with the best run differential in the MGL, while the Jacksonville Wolf Pack of the SJL finished with the best run differential in all of the WPK and also finished in 2nd place.)

The Brewers played well down the stretch and perhaps most encouraging was the play of several of their younger players.
(I'm not in front of the game as I type this so there will be few details and many generalities.)

In spite of finishing with a low batting average (.227, IIRC) and far too many strikeouts, center fielder Joe McPhillips gave plenty of evidence of his vast potential, finishing with an on base percentage approximately 100 points higher than his batting average and a nice little collection of extra base hits and stolen bases. With his great defensive skills added in he finished with one of the better WAR numbers on the team. The October 1st scouting report indicates that he projects to cut down on his strikeouts while maintaining great OBP skills and an above average contact projection. He also now projects to hit at least an above average number of HR's. The Brewers scouting staff sees him as an elite center fielder in the making (4 stars overall/5 stars potential.)

Josh Schaeffer, who made a real splash in the last few weeks of the season, is now seen as profiling as a valuable right field starter on a contending team. He has an elite eye at the plate, great speed, good contact skills, and well above average defensive skills in right field.

Jonathan Koch had some good moments offensively during the 1972 season but in the end finished with very poor numbers. But he is already displaying elite defense at second base and the scouting staff sees him as developing fine hit skills with very decent power for his position. Ian Dube was a surprise in his time at the big league level, finishing with really good offensive numbers and playing solid defense, but profiles as a back-up at best. Still, he's made his case for future consideration should Koch falter.

Mike Foster, as has been amply reported, was a very pleasant surprise this season. He had a good year at the plate, though it would be nice if his on-base skills were a bit stronger, and although he is unlikely to ever win a gold glove at third base he does have a very strong arm and is a more than adequate defender. The most recent scouting report shows him taking steps forward in his HR power skills, which should be above average, and he now projects as a solid starter on a contending team.

Among the more established younger Brewer players, Chad Brown finished the season in a bit of slump at the plate and committed a small rash of errors in the last two weeks of the season, but still led the team in WAR among position players and had a fine season at the plate, in the field, and on the base paths. His 21 errors was an improvement upon past performance and the most recent scouting report indicates that at the age of 26 Brown's defense at short may still be improving.

Bobby Erbakan did not take the step forward offensively that was hoped for him this season but he did have a fine season and continues to display potential to be a superstar in the league. His HR total was down from 21 in 1971 to 11 in 1972, but he still profiles as an above average power hitter. Defensively there is no doubt that he is by far the best first baseman in the league. There is really no question about him capturing his 4th Gold Glove award.

Kevin Curtis was Kevin Curtis. Low batting average, decent OBP, a nice little collection of doubles, and Gold Glove defense. He is our starting catcher for the foreseeable future and a real fan favorite.

Andrew Kennedy is arguably the best pure hitter on the team. He combines great contact skills with fine gap power and just a smidgen of occasional over the fence power. He isn't fast but he's a smart base runner. He isn't a great defender but he will rarely hurt you too much at left field or first base and in a pinch he can play right field too. And he's one of the best leaders in the clubhouse.

Among the more veteran players on the team, Antonio Puente continues his descent into offensive mediocrity, hitting far too few HR's for a supposed power hitter, striking out way too often and walking less and less. On the other hand, in his first full season as a starting right fielder Puente looks to be the odds on favorite to win the Gold Glove, which would be the first of his career. Likely he and that Gold Glove will be shipped off to another team in the off-season.

Veteran superstar left fielder Ryan Rodgers put up great numbers at the plate this season and remains an elite defensive outfielder in left field and still a solid occasional option in center, where he has previously won Gold Gloves. Problem is, he was out with a pair of injuries for much of the season. We will hope for better health for this previously iron man player in the coming season.

Pat Rondeau, who will be a free agent at the end of the 1973 season, was a bright spot on the team. He doesn't walk much but he's a speedy contact hitter who also won't strike out much and he provides elite defense in the outfield corners and solid defense, with a strong arm, in center. He is the perfect 4th or 5th outfielder to help bridge the gap until either or both Joe McPhillips and Josh Schaeffer are ready to fly without a net.

As for pitching, the two top WAR scores on the team were recorded by the twin aces, Cheol-han Lee and Erik Sloan. (Though admittedly for Sloan approximately half of his season was spent as a member of the Charlotte Sting.) Lee and Sloan are veterans but are showing few signs of decline at this point. Harry Lyerly continues to be one of the most consistent Brewer starters and at age 24 still has room for growth. In an environment where HR's were down across the league, Lyerly was uncharacteristically stingy in this area and that can't be counted on for the future. But he also was among the best in the league in term of opponents batting average and that is nothing new and a good sign that he should be able to maintain at least solid mid-rotation effectiveness even if the gives up more long balls in the future. He led the league, once again, in K/9 at 9.0, so it certainly helps when the opposition fails to make contact at all. Steve Green puts up very good underlying stats- striking out a lot of batters, walking few, not giving up a lot of hits. Oddly, with a profile that would suggest he should be far less susceptible to the long ball than Lyerly, Green once again was prone to giving them up too often. His final numbers were good, not great. But the most recent scouting report indicates that he is just getting better and should remain a very solid mid-rotation option. Lefty Matt Helm, who has emerged as the team captain in the absence of Abel Pennington (who missed much of the season with a serious arm injury and likely will be non-tendered in the off-season), unfortunately is now also profiling as a fragile pitcher. He has solid skills, put up some fine numbers this season, and will be part of the rotation next year, but with the danger of injury being high pitchers like Eric Johnson and Justin Peacock may end up spending a significant amount of time in the Brewers uni next season.

The bullpen is largely solid with young pitchers like Dave Duncan, Jordan Stephens, and Sam Pruiett having put up good numbers in 1972 and receiving favorable reports from the scouting staff. Veteran closer Jose de los Santos was among the league leaders in saves (21) in 1972 and is still a talented pitcher though there are indications of some inevitable decline. Lefty Liann-wei Hua was mostly terrific and could emerge as the anchor of the bullpen, though good right-handed hitters can cause him some troubles. Veteran Jaden Francis got off to a horrible start in 1972 and had a very strong finish. He is likely a middle reliever, with very high stamina, who can occasionally perform in a set-up role. His position in the bullpen seems assured for now.
Fragile veteran Miguel Solis, the most accomplished reliever in Brewers history, has not been re-signed and is eligible to be a free agent this off-season. With the latest report from the scouting staff showing declines in his abilities (in spite of mostly very good performance in 1972), he will most certainly be allowed to leave. Veteran Eric Singer, a fan favorite and one of the more heralded relievers in WPK history, had probably the worst season of any Brewers reliever in 1972. He has a large contract which the Brewers will attempt to move in the off-season (perhaps in a package with the more affordable Antonio Puente.)


As a whole the Brewers numbers were actually quite good this season. The team finished 2nd in runs scored as well as 2nd in runs allowed. They led the league in batting average, and were near the top in most every other offensive category, except HR's, where after a 1-year aberration in 1971, they returned to the bottom of the pile. (Hopefully, with the power potential of McPhillips, Foster, Koch, and Erbakan we can rise at least to the middle of the pack in 1973. None of them are likely to be premiere power hitters, the way Antonio Puente once was, but if we can combine enough above average HR's hitters along with our many great gap hitters (Kennedy, Brown, McPhillips, Curtis, etc.) that should be enough.)
The Brewers (IIRC) led the league in FIP, and were near the top in many other pitching and defensive categories, including easily leading the league in opponents strikeouts.

In summation, the future looks potentially bright. Granted, we will be relying on some young players taking a real step forward in 1973 in order to re-take the title from Charlotte- in particular Joe McPhillips and Jonathan Koch. We will need Mike Foster to continue his great development of this season. We will count on Bobby Erbakan to up his offensive game another notch. And we will hope that Harry Lyerly and Steve Green continue to develop and stay healthy while aces Cheol-han Lee and Erik Sloan basically maintain their present course. Then, if someone like Josh Shaeffer turns out to be ready to take on a bigger role and he plays at even a fraction of the level he did in his brief late-season audition, this team could be one to be reckoned with going forward.