Tagged: Jonathan Lucroy

Official Trade Deadline Press Releases

Chronologically, in case you missed them, here are the official press releases sent out today by the Brewers regarding the two trades they made involving Will Smith, Jonathan Lucroy, and Jeremy Jeffress.

First, the trade that sent Smith to the San Francisco Giants.

BREWERS ACQUIRE PITCHING PROSPECT PHIL BICKFORD AND CATCHER ANDREW SUSAC FROM GIANTS

Left-Handed Pitcher Will Smith Headed to San Francisco

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Brewers have acquired right-handed pitcher Phil Bickford and catcher Andrew Susac from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for left-handed pitcher Will Smith. The announcement was made by General Manager David Stearns.

Bickford, 21, was selected by San Francisco in the first round (18th overall) of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft. He entered the 2016 season ranked by Baseball America as the third-best prospect in the Giants organization. He is currently ranked by MLBPipeline.com as the top prospect in their organization (65th overall in baseball), and appeared in this year’s All-Star Futures Game in San Diego.

Bickford this season went a combined 5-6 with a 2.71 ERA in 17 starts between Class-A Augusta (11 GS, 3-4, 2.70 ERA) and Class-A San Jose (6 GS, 2-2, 2.73 ERA). He has held opponents to a .208 batting average (70-for-336, 5 HR) with 105 strikeouts in 93.0 innings pitched. He made his professional debut last season, going 0-1 with a 2.01 ERA in 10 starts with the Rookie Arizona Giants. He produced 32 strikeouts in just 22.1 innings pitched as he held opponents to a .169 batting average (13-for-77, 0 HR).

Susac, 26, was batting .273 (57-for-209) with 8 HR and 36 RBI in 58 games at Triple-A Sacramento this season. He has Major League experience with the Giants, batting .240 (53-for-221) with 6 HR and 33 RBI in 87 games from 2014-15. Selected by San Francisco in the second round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, Susac was a member of the 2014 world champion Giants.

Smith, 27, was acquired by Milwaukee from Kansas City on December 5, 2013 in exchange for outfielder Norichika Aoki. He went 9-8 with a 3.28 ERA and 1 save in 181 relief appearances as a Brewer, including 1-3 with a 3.68 ERA in 27 outings this season.

 

And the trade with Texas…

BREWERS ACQUIRE TWO HIGHLY-TOUTED PROSPECTS FROM THE RANGERS

Catcher Jonathan Lucroy and Right-Handed Pitcher Jeremy Jeffress Headed to Texas 

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Brewers have acquired outfielder Lewis Brinson, right-handed pitcher Luis Ortiz and a player to be named from the Texas Rangers in exchange for catcherJonathan Lucroy and right-handed pitcher Jeremy Jeffress. The announcement was made by General Manager David Stearns.

“While it is extremely difficult to part with players the caliber of Jonathan Lucroy and Jeremy Jeffress, we are excited to add more young and talented players to the organization as we continue to build toward future winning seasons in Milwaukee,” said Stearns.

Stearns added, “We would like to thank Jonathan for his seven years of not only All-Star play on the field, but for the leadership and dedication that he and his wife, Sarah, displayed throughout the community. We also would like to thank Jeremy for his contributions to the Brewers, particularly his admirable work as a first-time closer this season.”

Brinson, 22, entered the 2016 season ranked by both Baseball America and MLBPipeline.com as the second-best prospect in the Rangers organization. He is currently ranked 30th and 21st, respectively, in all of baseball by those outlets.

Brinson was selected by Texas in the first round (29th overall) of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft. He batted .237 (72-for-304) with 11 HR, 40 RBI and 11 stolen bases in 77 games at Double-A Frisco this season.

Ortiz, 20, entered the 2016 season ranked by Baseball America as the fourth-best prospect in the Rangers organization. He entered this season ranked by MLBPipeline.com as the fifth-best prospect in their organization and currently ranks third. He is currently ranked 74th and 63rd, respectively, in all of baseball by those outlets.

Ortiz was selected by Texas in the first round (30th overall) of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft. He went 4-6 with 3.48 ERA in 16 games (14 starts) between Class-A High Desert (7g, 6gs, 3-2, 2.60era) and Double-A Frisco (9g, 8gs, 1-4, 4.08era).

Lucroy, 30, batted .284 with 79 HR and 387 RBI in 805 games during seven seasons with the Brewers (2010-16), including .299 (101-for-338) with 13 HR and 50 RBI in 95 games this season. The two-time All-Star (2014 and 2016) was selected by Milwaukee in the third round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft.

Jeffress, 28, returned to the Brewers in 2014 and has gone 8-3 with a 2.36 ERA and 27 saves (all this season) in 148 relief appearances during that stretch. He was originally selected by Milwaukee in the first round (16th overall) of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft.

Brewers 30 Clubs/30 Days Video Clips

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These are the archived videos aired on MLB Network on March 4th as Greg Amsinger and Milwaukee’s all-time Saves leader Dan Plesac visited Brewers’ camp at Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix, Arizona as a part of the Network’s “30 Clubs in 30 Days” series previewing the 2016 season.

GM David Stearns sits down with Amsinger & Plesac

Ryan Braun talks about his bounce back 2015 and looking ahead to 2016

Jimmy Nelson with Dan Plesac

Domingo Santana talks about his fresh start

Will Smith on the bullpen

Ryan Braun demos base running/stealing with Plesac

Chris Carter talks to Greg Amsinger

Lucroy talks 2016 with Amsinger

Matt Garza talks youth and rotation with Plesac

Counsell with Plesac

Brewers Prospects with Jonathan Mayo

Brewers Fan Vote

Brewers Predictions

MLB Network’s “Top 10 Right Now” Rankings Entering 2016

Each year I compile MLB Network’s “Top 100 Players Right Now” which airs annually before the regular season begins.

Beginning in 2014, I decided to supplement those rankings by giving you a place to find all of the Top 10 Right Now positional rankings as well. I continued that last year with the 2015 rankings.

I’ll add to this post as the episodes air on MLB Network over the next few weeks.

On Thursday, January 14, 2016, the rankings for both Centerfielders and Shortstops were revealed. With January 21st came First Basemen and Starting Pitchers. On January 28th we’ll get Third Basemen and Left Fielders. February 4th and February 11th will reveal the remaining positions of Second Baseman, Right Fielders, Catchers, and Relief Pitchers.

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MLB Network’s “Top 10 Centerfielders Right Now”

  1. Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
  2. A.J. Pollock – Arizona Diamondbacks
  3. Lorenzo Cain – Kansas City Royals
  4. Andrew McCutchen – Pittsburgh Pirates
  5. Jason Heyward – Chicago Cubs
  6. Adam Eaton – Chicago White Sox
  7. Kevin Kiermaier – Tampa Bay Rays
  8. Randal Grichuk – St. Louis Cardinals
  9. Carlos Gomez – Houston Astros
  10. Adam Jones – Baltimore Orioles

The rankings above are from MLB Network’s “Shredder” which takes into account a multitude of statistical factors with no human bias. Each episode also provides at least two additional lists: One from Brian Kenny and one from an MLB Network analyst, who for the Centerfielders is Eric Byrnes. On the CF show, they also revealed the Top 10 lists of two of the members of what they call the “SABR Super Panel” which includes sabermetric pioneer Bill James, Vince Gennaro (President of SABR), and Mike Petriello.

Here are their individual Top 10’s.

Kenny: Trout, McCutchen, Cain, Pollock, Jones, Heyward, Gomez, Joc Pederson (LAD), Kiermaier, Eaton

Byrnes: Trout, McCutchen, Pollock, Cain, Jones, Jackie Bradley, Jr. (BOS), Heyward, Kiermaier, Kevin Pillar (TOR), Eaton

James: Trout, McCutchen, Pollock, Jones, Heyward, Cain, Kiermaier, Eaton, Charlie Blackmon (COL), Gomez

Gennaro: Trout, McCutchen, Pollock, Cain, Eaton, Heyward, Bradley Jr., Kiermaier, Jones, Grichuk

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MLB Network’s “Top 10 Shortstops Right Now”

  1. Francisco Lindor – Cleveland Indians
  2. Troy Tulowitzki – Toronto Blue Jays
  3. Carlos Correa – Houston Astros
  4. Brandon Crawford – San Francisco Giants
  5. Jhonny Peralta – St. Louis Cardinals
  6. Xander Bogaerts – Boston Red Sox
  7. Addison Russell – Chicago Cubs
  8. Marcus Semien – Oakland Athletics
  9. Andrelton Simmons – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
  10. Didi Gregorius – New York Yankees

The rankings above are from MLB Network’s “Shredder” which takes into account a multitude of statistical factors with no human bias. Each episode also provides at least two additional lists: One from Brian Kenny and one from an MLB Network analyst, who for the Shortstops is Bill Ripken. On the SS show, they also revealed the Top 10 lists of all the members of what they call the “SABR Super Panel” which includes sabermetric pioneer Bill James, Vince Gennaro (President of SABR), and Mike Petriello.

Here are their individual Top 10’s.

Kenny: Correa, Crawford, Tulowitzki, Bogaerts, Simmons, Peralta, Corey Seager (LAD), Lindor, Erick Aybar (ATL), Gregorius

Ripken: Crawford,  Correa, Tulowitzki, Lindor, Russell, Bogaerts, Ian Desmond (free agent), Seager, Peralta, Simmons

James: Correa, Bogaerts, Tulowitzki, Lindor, Simmons, Andrus, Desmond, Crawford, Cabrera, Jose Reyes (COL)

Gennaro: Correa, Lindor, Crawford, Bogaerts, Simmons, Tulowitzki, Seager, Adienny Hechavarria (MIA), Russell, Peralta

Petriello: Correa, Crawford, Bogaerts, Lindor, Tulowitzki, Simmons, Seager, Russell, Peralta, Gregorius

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MLB Network’s “Top 10 First Basemen Right Now”

  1. Paul Goldschmidt – Arizona Diamondbacks
  2. Joey Votto – Cincinnati Reds
  3. Miguel Cabrera – Detroit Tigers
  4. Anthony Rizzo – Chicago Cubs
  5. Edwin Encarnacion – Toronto Blue Jays
  6. Jose Abreu – Chicago White Sox
  7. Adrian Gonzalez – Los Angeles Dodgers
  8. Freddie Freeman – Atlanta Braves
  9. Chris Davis – Baltimore Orioles
  10. Brandon Belt – San Francisco Giants

The rankings above are from MLB Network’s “Shredder” which takes into account a multitude of statistical factors with no human bias. Each episode also provides at least two additional lists: One from Brian Kenny and one from an MLB Network analyst, who for the First Basemen is Carlos Peña. On the 1B show, they also revealed the Top 10 lists of all the members of what they call the “SABR Super Panel” which includes sabermetric pioneer Bill James, Vince Gennaro (President of SABR), and Mike Petriello.

Here are their individual Top 10’s.

Kenny: Goldschmidt, Votto, Cabrera, Rizzo, Abreu, Encarnacion, Freeman, Gonzalez, Davis, Belt

Peña: Goldschmidt, Cabrera, Abreu, Rizzo, Encarnacion, Votto, Eric Hosmer (KC), Gonzalez, Davis, Albert Pujols (LAA)

James: Goldschmidt, Cabrera, Rizzo, Votto, Encarnacion, Davis, Freeman, Hosmer, Gonzalez, Abreu

Gennaro: Goldschmidt, Votto, Rizzo, Cabrera, Encarnacion, Davis, Freeman, Hosmer, Belt, Abreu

Petriello: Goldschmidt, Rizzo, Votto, Cabrera, Encarnacion, Davis, Abreu, Freeman, Gonzalez, Hosmer

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MLB Network’s “Top 10 Staring Pitchers Right Now”

  1. Clayton Kershaw – Los Angeles Dodgers
  2. Jake Arrieta – Chicago Cubs
  3. Zack Greinke – Arizona Diamondbacks
  4. David Price – Boston Red Sox
  5. Chris Sale – Chicago White Sox
  6. Max Scherzer – Washington Nationals
  7. Corey Kluber – Cleveland Indians
  8. Dallas Keuchel – Houston Astros
  9. Felix Hernandez – Seattle Mariners
  10. Adam Wainwright – St. Louis Cardinals
**Note: Jose Fernandez does not have enough innings pitched over the last two seasons to qualify for the Shredder’s list.

The rankings above are from MLB Network’s “Shredder” which takes into account a multitude of statistical factors with no human bias. Each episode also provides at least two additional lists: One from Brian Kenny and one from an MLB Network analyst, who for the Starting Pitchers is John Smoltz. On the SP show, they also revealed the Top 10 lists of all the members of what they call the “SABR Super Panel” which includes sabermetric pioneer Bill James, Vince Gennaro (President of SABR), and Mike Petriello.

Here are their individual Top 10’s.

Kenny: Kershaw, Arrieta, Greinke, Sale, Scherzer, Keuchel, Jose Fernandez (MIA), Jacob deGrom (NYM), Wainwright, Matt Harvey (NYM)

Smoltz: Kershaw, Arrieta, Scherzer, Keuchel, Greinke, Price, Madison Bumgarner (SF), deGrom, Sale, Harvey

James: Kershaw, Greinke, Scherzer, Arrieta, Bumgarner, Price, Sale, Kluber, Jon Lester (CHC), Cole Hamels (TEX)

Gennaro: Kershaw, Greinke, Arrieta, Sale, Bumgarner, Fernandez, Gerrit Cole (PIT), Keuchel, Carlos Carrasco (CLE), Scherzer

Petriello: Kershaw, Greinke, Arrieta, Sale, Keuchel, Scherzer, deGrom, Price, Cole, Fernandez

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MLB Network’s “Top 10 Third Basemen Right Now”

  1. Josh Donaldson – Toronto Blue Jays
  2. Kris Bryant – Chicago Cubs
  3. Adrian Beltre – Texas Rangers
  4. Manny Machado – Baltimore Orioles
  5. Justin Turner – Los Angeles Dodgers
  6. Nolan Arenado – Colorado Rockies
  7. Jung Ho Kang – Pittsburgh Pirates
  8. Matt Carpenter – St. Louis Cardinals
  9. Kyle Seager – Seattle Mariners
  10. Todd Frazier – Chicago White Sox

The rankings above are from MLB Network’s “Shredder” which takes into account a multitude of statistical factors with no human bias. Each episode will also provide at least two additional lists: One from Brian Kenny and one from an MLB Network analyst, who for the Third Basemen is Mike Lowell. On the 3B show, they also revealed the Top 10 lists of all the members of what they call the “SABR Super Panel” which includes sabermetric pioneer Bill James, Vince Gennaro (President of SABR), and Mike Petriello.

Here are their individual Top 10’s.

Kenny: Donaldson, Bryant, Machado, Beltre, Arenado, Carpenter, Seager, Matt Duffy (SF), David Wright (NYM), Frazier

Lowell: Donaldson, Arenado, Machado, Bryant, Carpenter, Frazier, Beltre, Seager, Mike Moustakas (KC), Evan Longoria (TB)

Vince Gennaro (President of SABR): Donaldson, Arenado, Machado, Bryant, Carpenter, Frazier, Beltre, Duffy, Moustakas, Kang

Bill James: Donaldson, Arenado, Machado, Bryant, Carpenter, Seager, Longoria, Beltre, Frazier, Duffy

Mike Petriello: Donaldson, Machado, Arenado, Bryant, Carpenter, Beltre, Seager, Moustakas, Duffy, Longoria
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MLB Network’s “Top 10 Left Fielders Right Now”

  1. Michael Brantley – Cleveland Indians
  2. Starling Marte – Pittsburgh Pirates
  3. Justin Upton – Detroit Tigers
  4. Yoenis Cespedes – New York Mets
  5. Alex Gordon – Kansas City Royals
  6. David Peralta – Arizona Diamondbacks
  7. Christian Yelich – Miami Marlins
  8. Matt Holliday – St. Louis Cardinals
  9. Corey Dickerson – Tampa Bay Rays (traded from COL 1/28)
  10. Brett Gardner – New York Yankees

The rankings above are from MLB Network’s “Shredder” which takes into account a multitude of statistical factors with no human bias. Each episode also provides at least two additional lists: One from Brian Kenny and one from an MLB Network analyst, who for the Left Fielders is Cliff Floyd. On the LF show, they also revealed the Top 10 lists of all the members of what they call the “SABR Super Panel” which includes sabermetric pioneer Bill James, Vince Gennaro (President of SABR), and Mike Petriello.

Here are their individual Top 10’s.

Kenny: Marte, Gordon, Upton, Cespedes, Brantley, Holliday, Gardner, Peralta, Kyle Schwarber (CHC), Yelich

Floyd: Cespedes, Upton, Brantley, Marte, Gordon, Peralta, Schwarber, Khris Davis (MIL), Yelich, Gardner

James: Upton, Brantley, Cespedes, Marte, Peralta, Melky Cabrera (CHW), Gardner, Yelich, Gordon, Colby Rasmus (HOU)

Gennaro: Brantley, Gordon, Cespedes, Holliday, Peralta, Upton, Schwarber, Yelich, Marte, Gardner

Petriello: Cespedes, Gordon, Marte, Upton, Michael Conforto (NYM), Schwarber, Yelich, Brantley, Holliday, Peralta

Also, for what it’s worth, Brian Kenny said that Khris Davis “just, just missed” his Top 10.

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MLB Network’s “Top 10 Relief Pitchers Right Now”

  1. Wade Davis – Kansas City Royals
  2. Dellin Betances – New York Yankees
  3. Aroldis Chapman – New York Yankees
  4. Andrew Miller – New York Yankees
  5. Zach Britton – Baltimore Orioles
  6. Mark Melancon – Pittsburgh Pirates
  7. Ken Giles – Houston Astros
  8. Tony Watson – Pittsburgh Pirates
  9. Darren O’Day – Baltimore Orioles
  10. Craig Kimbrel – Boston Red Sox

The rankings above are from MLB Network’s “Shredder” which takes into account a multitude of statistical factors with no human bias. Each episode also provides two additional lists: One from Brian Kenny and one from an MLB Network analyst, who for the Relief Pitchers is Dan Plesac. On the RP show, they also revealed the Top 10 lists of all the members of what they call the “SABR Super Panel” which includes sabermetric pioneer Bill James, Vince Gennaro (President of SABR), and Mike Petriello.

Here are their individual Top 10’s.

Kenny: Davis, Betances, Chapman, Giles, Miller, Kimbrel, Melancon, Britton, Watson, O’Day

Plesac: Davis, Chapman, Betances, Miller, Jeurys Familia (NYM), Britton, Kimbrel, Melancon, Kenley Jansen (LAD), Trevor Rosenthal (STL)

James: Davis, Kimbrel, Chapman, Rosenthal, Melancon, Betances, Giles, Miller, Familia, Allen

Gennaro: Britton, Jansen, Miller, Chapman, Allen, Betances, O’Day, Giles, Davis, Familia

Petriello: Chapman, Davis, Jansen, Kimbrel, Britton, Miller, Betances, Allen, Familia, Melancon
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MLB Network’s “Top 10 Second Basemen Right Now”

  1. Jose Altuve – Houston Astros
  2. Robinson Cano – Seattle Mariners
  3. Joe Panik – San Francisco Giants
  4. Ian Kinsler – Detroit Tigers
  5. Josh Harrison – Pittsburgh Pirates
  6. Ben Zobrist – Chicago Cubs
  7. Neil Walker – New York Mets
  8. Dustin Pedroia – Boston Red Sox
  9. Dee Gordon – Miami Marlins
  10. Logan Forsythe – Tampa Bay Rays

The rankings above are from MLB Network’s “Shredder” which takes into account a multitude of statistical factors with no human bias. Each episode will also provide at least two additional lists: One from Brian Kenny and one from an MLB Network analyst, who for the Second Basemen is Harold Reynolds. They also revealed the Top 10 lists of all the members of what they call the “SABR Super Panel” which includes sabermetric pioneer Bill James, Vince Gennaro (President of SABR), and Mike Petriello.

Here are their individual Top 10’s.

Kenny: Cano, Altuve, Zobrist, Jason Kipnis (CLE), Kinsler, Walker, Gordon, Pedroia, Brian Dozier (MIN), Howie Kendrick (LAD)

Reynolds: Cano, Altuve, Kinsler, Pedroia, Brandon Phillips (CIN), Gordon, Dozier, Zobrist,  Rougned Odor (TEX), Walker

James: Altuve, Cano, Pedroia, Kinsler, Forsythe, Dozier, Gordon, Kipnis, Walker, Zobrist

Gennaro: Kipnis, Altuve, Panik, Kinsler, Gordon, Pedroia, Zobrist, D.J. LeMahieu (COL), Cano, Kolten Wong (STL)

Petriello: Altuve, Cano, Kipnis, Gordon, Zobrist, Kinsler, Pedroia, Panik, Walker, Odor

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MLB Network’s “Top 10 Catchers Right Now”

  1. Buster Posey – San Francisco Giants
  2. Russell Martin – Toronto Blue Jays

  3. JONATHAN LUCROY – MILWAUKEE BREWERS

  4. Francisco Cervelli – Pittsburgh Pirates
  5. Stephen Vogt – Oakland A’s
  6. Brian McCann – New York Yankees
  7. Yadier Molina – St. Louis Cardinals
  8. Salvador Perez – Kansas City Royals
  9. Derek Norris – San Diego Padres
  10. Travis d’Arnaud – New York Mets

The rankings above are from MLB Network’s “Shredder” which takes into account a multitude of statistical factors with no human bias.

Each episode will also provide at least two additional lists: One from Brian Kenny and one from an MLB Network analyst, who for the Catchers is Dave Valle. They also revealed the Top 10 lists of all the members of what they call the “SABR Super Panel” which includes sabermetric pioneer Bill James, Vince Gennaro (President of SABR), and Mike Petriello.

Here are their individual Top 10’s.

Kenny: Posey, Martin, LUCROY, Perez, Molina, Vogt, d’Arnaud, McCann, Cervelli, Yasmani Grandal (LAD)

Valle: Posey, Molina, Perez, Martin, LUCROY, Grandal, McCann, d’Arnaud, Jason Castro (HOU), Vogt

James: Posey, Perez, McCann, Martin, Molina, LUCROY, Miguel Montero (CHC), Norris, Vogt, Cervelli

Gennaro: Posey, Molina, Martin, Grandal, LUCROY, d’Arnaud, Cervelli, Montero, Vogt, Perez

Petriello: Posey, Martin, Grandal, Cervelli, McCann, Perez, Yan Gomes (CLE), Molina, LUCROY, d’Arnaud

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MLB Network’s “Top 10 Right Fielders Right Now”

The rankings above are from MLB Network’s “Shredder” which takes into account a multitude of statistical factors with no human bias.

Each episode will also provide at least two additional lists: One from Brian Kenny and one from an MLB Network analyst, who for the Right Fielders is Eric Byrnes. They also revealed the Top 10 lists of all the members of what they call the “SABR Super Panel” which includes sabermetric pioneer Bill James, Vince Gennaro (President of SABR), and Mike Petriello.

Here are their individual Top 10’s.

  1. Bryce Harper – Washington Nationals
  2. Giancarlo Stanton – Miami Marlins
  3. Jose Bautista – Toronto Blue Jays
  4. Mookie Betts – Boston Red Sox
  5. J.D. Martinez – Detroit Tigers
  6. Nelson Cruz – Seattle Mariners
  7. George Springer – Houston Astros
  8. Yasiel Puig – Los Angeles Dodgers
  9. Miguel Sano – Minnesota Twins

  10. RYAN BRAUN – MILWAUKEE BREWERS

Kenny: Harper, Stanton, Bautista, Betts, Martinez, Sano, Springer, Hunter Pence (SF), Cruz, Shin-Soo Choo (TEX)

Byrnes: Harper, Stanton, Bautista, Carlos Gonzalez (COL), Martinez, Springer, Curtis Granderson (NYM), Betts, Pence, Cruz

James: Harper, Bautista, Stanton, Betts, Martinez, Cruz, BRAUN, Gonzalez, Kemp, Jay Bruce (CIN)

Gennaro: Harper, Bautista, Stanton, Cruz, Martinez, Granderson, Betts, Gonzalez, Springer, Pence

Petriello: Harper, Stanton, Bautista, Cruz, Betts, Springer, Sano, Choo, Gonzalez, Martinez

Milwaukee BBWAA Chapter Announces Brewers Team Awards

Each season, every city’s chapter of the Baseball Writer’s Association of America votes on team awards for the respective clubs based there. Milwaukee is no exception. As such, the seven members of the Milwaukee BBWAA chapter voted on the standard awards as they always do. The winners of the same were announced this morning.

Here is a breakdown of the voting (where provided in the official press release) for each of the five awards.

Most Valuable Player – Ryan Braun

  1. Ryan Braun (Seven (7) 1st place votes – 35 points – Unanimous)
  2. Adam Lind (Six (6) 2nd place, One (1) 3rd place – 19 points)

Most Valuable Pitcher – Franciso Rodriguez

  1. Francisco Rodriguez (35 points – Unanimous)
  2. Jeremy Jeffress – (14 points)
  3. Jimmy Nelson (11 points)

Top Newcomer – Adam Lind

  1. Adam Lind (31 points)
  2. Taylor Jungmann (22 points)

Unsung Hero – Jeremy Jeffress

  1. Jeremy Jeffress (24 points)
  2. Will Smith (15 points)

“Good Guy” Award – Jonathan Lucroy

  1. Jonathan Lucroy (35 points – Unanimous)
  2. Kyle Lohse (14 points)
  3. Scooter Gennett (12 points)

Broken: Lucroy’s Toe

Sad Lucroy

Jonathan Lucroy left Monday night’s game early a half-inning after taking a foul ball squarely off the toes of his left foot while catching. He finished the inning and flew out in his next at-bat but then was lifted in favor of Martin Maldonado. Lucroy limped out of the batter’s box and down the first base line on the play.

Following Monday’s game, the Brewers tweeted the following worst-case scenario news.

In the off-season, the Brewers claimed Juan Centeno off waivers from the New York Mets. Centeno is on the 40-man roster and will join the team in Milwaukee tomorrow.

Entering play Monday, Centeno was hitting a mere .192 in 27 plate appearances across seven games for the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox.

Centeno, 25, made his MLB debut back in 2013 for the Mets and has a career batting average of .225 in 14 games.

Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers ’15 – #20 Jonathan Lucroy

BBtJN Logo

LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

(so on and so forth)

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUC!

Yes, the “ooh” sound in the middle of an athlete’s name means, at least in Wisconsin, that said player will never truly know how the fans feels because it always sounds like ample disdain on the home field. It’s an inevitability. If you’ve ever produced a worthwhile memory, have longevity, and/or are popular for whatever reason, the “oohs” are going to find you. From Brewers favorite Cecil Cooooooooper and the Green Bay Packer John Kuuuuuuuuuuuhn to current Brewer (and today’s profile subject)…

Jonathan Luuuuucroy (er…Lucroy).

JonathanLucroy

The other thing that Jonathan Charles Lucroy couldn’t escape last year was hitting doubles. They were everywhere, it seemed. Truth be told, he hit 53 of them setting a new high-water mark for that statistical category for catchers. Equally as impressive, if not more so, was the Lucroy finished the deed with two months of an ailing hamstring and when the entire rest of the team was seemingly in a simultaneous slump at the plate. Mind you, Lucroy didn’t avoid slumping in 2014, he just happened to have his in July (.207/.271/.414) after a blisteringly hot June (.359/.427/.602) but still managed six doubles in July.

The statistics are there, and in the interest of time I won’t bore you with all of them. Instead allow me to summarize Lucroy’s on- and off-field contributions to the Brewers both in terms of statistics as well as notoriety. Jonathan Lucroy finished fourth in the National League’s Most Valuable Player balloting for 2014, started the All-Star Game at catcher, set those records for doubles, finished with a .301 batting average by getting the two hits he needed on the season’s final day, is the subject of a Star Wars-themed bobblehead in May at Miller Park as well as a fitting “Double Jonathan Lucroy” bobblehead in Appleton at the Brewers Class-A affiliate in April. He was the Brewers representative in MLB Network’s annual “Face of MLB” contest and even attended the President’s State of the Union address in part due to his work with the Honor Flight program. His “nerd power” and eyeglasses celebration was endearing and his frankness and earnestness as a locker room voice for the team is well-noted. His pitch framing is talked about in most every baseball circle that cares. He’s become a complete player with just enough self-deprecating wit to keep away those who would tear down athletes and celebrities deemed to be too popular.

Lucroy truly is a bastion of baseball excellence for the Brewers. He’s listed among the game’s elite at his position and his play is absolutely paramount to the success of the Brewers in 2015. With that in mind, manager Ron Roenicke has made a decision to continue keeping Lucroy’s bat in the lineup while protecting him physically from catching every single day by using Luc as soft platoon partner at first base with newcomer Adam Lind. Lucroy appeared in 18 games at first base for Milwaukee in 2014 — a that number will likely increase in 2015. He handles the pitching staff well and despite not having a great throwing arm it is accurate.

All (okay, most) of the above is why when Lucroy showed up to Spring Training with a recurrence of the hamstring injury that affected him down the stretch last season, so many fans and analysts were worried. Lucroy is reportedly fine now, though still advised against full out “sprinting”. Getting and keeping him healthy throughout 2015 is something that the award winning medical staff of the Brewers is up for, but the body has to cooperate to a degree.

Lucroy’s availability will go a long way in determining how 2015 ends up for himself, his teammates, and Brewers fans alike.

If anybody is up to the task, it’s the man affectionately referred to as “Luuuuc.”

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Follow Jonathan on Twitter: @JLucroy20

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Catch up on the countdown!

MLB Network’s Top 100 Players Right Now Entering 2015

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As I did last year, and the year before, and the year before that, I’ll be keeping a running list of the Top 100 Players Right Now as they are revealed on MLB Network, eventually compiling the entire list.

They will have revealed all 100 by the end of Friday, February 27th. I’ll update this same space as they reveal the remaining entries.

As always, I will understandably highlight the Brewers players on the list. The Brewers had six players on the list entering 2012. Rickie Weeks was 83, John Axford was 77, Yovani Gallardo was 72, Aramis Ramirez was 66, Zack Greinke was 64, and Ryan Braun was too low at number 9. Entering 2013, the Brewers only had three players featured on the list (at the time it was revealed). Yovani Gallardo repeated his position at 72, Aramis Ramirez jumped all the way up to 32, and Braun settled in at 6. Kyle Lohse made last year’s list as well. As for 2014, just three players once again. Jean Segura checked in at 60, Carlos Gomez debuted at 44, and Ryan Braun dipped to 24.

The criteria for the list remains the same:

  • Emphasized stats from the last three (3) seasons, weighting 2014
  • Projected 2015 performance
  • Defensive position
  • Accolades
  • Intangibles

Here now are the Top 100-1* Players as listed by MLB Network:

100. Joe Mauer – 1B – Minnesota Twins

99. Albert Pujols – 1B – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

98. Justin Verlander – SP – Detroit Tigers

97. Prince Fielder – 1B – Texas Rangers

96. Yordano Ventura – RP – Kansas City Royals

95. Pablo Sandoval – 3B – Boston Red Sox

94. Ben Zobrist – 2B – Oakland Athletics

93. Adam Eaton – OF – Chicago White Sox

92. Gerrit Cole – SP – Pittsburgh Pirates

91. Devin Mesoraco – C – Cincinnati Reds

90. Russell Martin – C – Toronto Blue Jays

89. Jake Arrieta – SP – Chicago Cubs

88. Lance Lynn – SP – St. Louis Cardinals

87. Kenley Jansen – CL – Los Angeles Dodgers

86. Jose Reyes – SS – Toronto Blue Jays

85. Andrelton Simmons – SS – Atlanta Braves

84. Nolan Arenado – 3B – Colorado Rockies

83. Chris Carter – 1B – Houston Astros

82. Jeff Samardzija – SP – Chicago White Sox

81. Starling Marte – LF – Pittsburgh Pirates

80. Jose Fernandez – SP – Miami Marlins

79. Christian Yelich – LF – Miami Marlins

78. Julio Teheran – SP – Atlanta Braves

77. Alex Cobb – SP – Tampa Bay Rays

76. Jayson Werth – LF – Washington Nationals

75. J.D. Martinez – RF – Detroit Tigers

74. Todd Frazier – 3B – Cincinnati Reds

73. Neil Walker – 2B – Pittsburgh Pirates

72. Carlos Santana – 1B – Cleveland Indians

71. Salvador Perez – C – Kansas City Royals

70. Sonny Gray – SP – Oakland Athletics

69. Stephen Strasburg – SP – Washington Nationals

68. Doug Fister – SP – Washington Nationals

67. Freddie Freeman – 1B – Atlanta Braves

66. Nelson Cruz – DH – Seattle Mariners

65. Alex Gordon – LF – Kansas City Royals

64. Josh Harrison – 3B – Pittsburgh Pirates

63. Ryan Braun – RF – Milwaukee Brewers

62. Yasiel Puig – CF – Los Angeles Dodgers

61. Aroldis Chapman – CL – Cincinnati Reds

60. Matt Harvey – SP – New York Mets

59. Masahiro Tanaka – SP – New York Yankees

58. Adrian Gonzalez – 1B – Los Angeles Dodgers

57. Kyle Seager – 3B – Seattle Mariners

56. Yan Gomes – C – Cleveland Indians

55. Matt Kemp – RF – San Diego Padres

54. Jacoby Ellsbury – CF – New York Yankees

53. Anthony Rizzo – 1B – Chicago Cubs

52. Dustin Pedroia – 2B – Boston Red Sox

51. Evan Longoria – 3B – Tampa Bay Rays

50. Cole Hamels – SP – Philadelphia Phillies

49. Edwin Encarnacion – 1B – Toronto Blue Jays

48. Hunter Pence – RF – San Francisco Giants

47. Hisashi Iwakuma – SP – Seattle Mariners

46. Matt Holliday – LF – St. Louis Cardinals

45. Yu Darvish – SP – Texas Rangers

44. Jason Heyward – RF – St. Louis Cardinals

43. Jon Lester – SP – Chicago Cubs

42. Carlos Gonzalez – RF – Colorado Rockies

41. Jhonny Peralta – SS – St. Louis Cardinals

40. Greg Holland – CL – Kansas City Royals

39. Wade Davis – RP – Kansas City Royals

38. Carlos Gomez – CF – Milwaukee Brewers

37. Justin Upton – LF – San Diego Padres

36. David Ortiz – DH – Boston Red Sox

35. Jordan Zimmermann – SP – Washington Nationals

34. Craig Kimbrel – CL – Atlanta Braves

33. Victor Martinez – DH – Detroit Tigers

32. Joey Votto – 1B – Cincinnati Reds

31. Anthony Rendon – 3B – Washington Nationals

30. Jose Altuve – 2B – Houston Astros

29. Ian Desmond – SS – Washington Nationals

28. Zack Greinke – SP – Los Angeles Dodgers

27. Hanley Ramirez – LF – Boston Red Sox

26. Madison Bumgarner – SP – San Francisco Giants

25. David Price – SP – Detroit Tigers

24. Bryce Harper – RF – Washington Nationals

23. Jonathan Lucroy – C – Milwaukee Brewers

22. Adam Jones – CF – Baltimore Orioles

21. Michael Brantley – LF – Cleveland Indians

20. Adrian Beltre – 3B – Texas Rangers

19. Yadier Molina – C – St. Louis Cardinals

18. Josh Donaldson – 3B – Toronto Blue Jays

17. Troy Tulowitzki – SS – Colorado Rockies

16. Johnny Cueto – SP – Cincinnati Reds

15. Corey Kluber – SP – Cleveland Indians

14. Adam Wainwright – SP – St. Louis Cardinals

13. Paul Goldschmidt – 1B – Arizona Diamondbacks

12. Jose Bautista – RF – Toronto Blue Jays

11. Max Scherzer – SP – Washington Nationals

10. Robinson Cano – 2B – Seattle Mariners

9. Jose Abreu – 1B – Chicago White Sox

8. Buster Posey – C/1B – San Francisco Giants

7. Miguel Cabrera – 1B – Detroit Tigers

6. Andrew McCutchen – CF – Pittsburgh Pirates

5. Chris Sale – SP – Chicago White Sox

4. Giancarlo Stanton – RF – Miami Marlins

3. Felix Hernandez – SP – Seattle Mariners

2. Mike Trout – CF – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

1. Clayton Kershaw – SP – Los Angeles Dodgers

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Ryan Braun has been revealed as the 63rd best player in Major League Baseball “Right Now” entering 2015. As the criteria for the rankings weights 2014 the most and pretty much only relies on the last three years of stats at all, this is an understandable position for Braun right now. I have a feeling though that at this time next year Braun will have rebounded a bit.

Carlos Gomez moves up six spots from 44 last year to check in at 38. I’d rather have Gomez than Justin Upton at 37.

And due to a Twitter tease, we know (or at least Brewers fans do) that Jonathan Lucroy will be number 23 when they get there.

I’ll update more once I see who is around the Brewers, but that’s the only three I expect to make the list.

The News You May Have Missed From Brewers Spring Training Over the Weekend

We got a boatload of information in tweet form and in longer-form pieces from the Brewers beat writers fortunate enough to already be down at Spring Training covering the Brewers as camp opened up over the weekend.

Here’s a compilation of what you might have missed if you weren’t paying attention.

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FRIDAY

P&C weekend began with Brewers.com’s Adam McCalvy reminding us just how beautiful green baseball fields are.

Then the information started coming. We learned that Tyler Thornburg, less than a week removed from being labeled as hopefully a “viable candidate” for the bullpen by Asst. GM Gord Ash, was expecting to open camp with no restrictions.

From there, McCalvy talked to Jonathan Lucroy about the All-Star’s expected workload this spring.

The Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel’s Todd Rosiak also spoke to Lucroy along with Kyle Lohse after the Friday morning announcement about the changes related to the game’s perceived “pace of play” issues.

Tom Haudricourt posted a series of tweets with a quote from the talkative Lohse regarding the team’s collapse. Lohse had said at Brewers On Deck that he would talk to his teammates about it when they got to Maryvale and then move on.

Lohse as transcribed by Haudricourt: “Hopefully we have a group of guys that are pissed off about way things ended.”

Lohse: “We had an excellent 4 ½ months. I’m pissed. You don’t get that many opportunities to get to the playoffs.”

Lohse: “When you have it that close, it should help drive you. Let’s learn from it and not let that happen again.”

The official Twitter account of the Brewers Player Development staff got in on the news making by dropping this tweet on Friday.

But of course, we already knew about half of that the night before. (h/t @Mass_Haas)

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SATURDAY

Day Two of camp opened with some news about a potential #7 starter in the person of Michael Blazek.

Speaking of starting pitchers, Rosiak told us that Johnny Hellweg, just 9.5 months removed from Tommy John surgery, is throwing off a mound and should be in games before April.

Rosiak also talked to Ash about Thornburg and Jim Henderson.

Haudricourt checked back in on Twitter with a reminder about the backup corner infielder spot.

As for the back-end of the bullpen? Well, at least for now…

Ron Roenicke spoke with reporters. Todd Rosiak tweeted that the hot corner could have more games started by not Aramis Ramirez than in years past.

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SUNDAY

Adam McCalvy worked his beat hard on Saturday, and on Sunday we saw the results of some of his efforts. Included among them was this conversation with Dontrelle Willis, who is aiming to make the Brewers on a minor league deal.

From outside the Brewers beat, FoxSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal checked in with this Sunday evening tidbit.

And this clarification…

Injury News: Lucroy Expected to Miss 4-6 Weeks

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(Forgive the relative tardiness of this, but I was busy at Truck Day and finally am at a keyboard.)

The Brewers sent out the following tweet this morning, which worried fans.

The injury — a partial tear of his right hamstring tendon near the top of the muscle — flared up when Lucroy began running drills about two weeks ago. Apparently the area bothered Lucroy as early as August of last year, but the Brewer backstop played through the discomfort. The strain is classified as “mild” and both the Brewers medical staff and Lucroy himself feel that the All-Star will be just fine for Opening Day on April 6.

Brewers COO Rick Schlesinger met with the media during “Truck Day” at Miller Park and said that 4-6 weeks is a range and that there’s a good chance that someone as dedicated and diligent as Lucroy could come in on the short side of the same. Schlesinger said that the club won’t rush one of it’s most important players back before he’s healthy. He also chuckled and said that the biggest thing might be slowing Lucroy down so that the catcher doesn’t go too hard too quickly and suffer a setback.

It was revealed to the media that, to aid in his recovery, Lucroy received a PRP injection as well.

The silver lining, according to Gord Ash who met with the media about Lucroy’s injury earlier on Wednesday, is that he won’t be completely shut down from Spring Training activities. He can still field, throw, catch, and do anything that won’t stress the injured tendon. Running is out for the time being and I can’t imagine squatting behind home plate at all is a good thing for him at this point.

From an overall team preparation standpoint, Lucroy missing this time behind the dish won’t be too large of a negative. He’s worked with all the starting pitchers in the past and unless the team does acquire Jonathan Papelbon from the Philadelphia Phillies, there are only a handful of new relief pitchers (Cotts, Knebel, Pérez) to get to know. That can be done with side work or even late in camp as there’s more work to go around for the big league guys.

As for Lucroy’s scheduled defensive work at first base, it sounds like he might be slowed, but he won’t be stopped. If he is to get some starts over there against left-handed pitching, he’ll want to get better quickly. Colorado, the Brewers season-opening opponent, could potentially start southpaws in two of the three games of the opening series at Miller Park.

Brewers On Deck 2015 – The Interviews

Here is a boatload of audio recorded on Sunday, January 25, 2015 at Brewers On Deck in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Enjoy!!

Right fielder Ryan Braun

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Relief pitcher Jim Henderson

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Manager Ron Roenicke

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New Brewers first baseman Adam Lind

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Starting pitcher Wily Peralta

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Newest member of the starting rotation Jimmy Nelson

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All-Star outfielder Carlos Gomez

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Second baseman Scooter Gennett

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All-Star starting catcher Jonathan Lucroy

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General Manager Doug Melvin met with the assembled media

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EXCLUSIVE with 40-man pitcher Michael Blazek

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Prinicpal Owner Mark Attanasio addressed the media

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This is the full audio from one of the Main Stage events, a panel discussion (with fan questions!) featuring Mark Attanasio, Doug Melvin, Gord Ash, Adam Lind, Corey Knebel, and Luis Sardinas