Tagged: Junior Guerra

Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers ’16 – #63 Junior Guerra

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After an unplanned but ultimately brief hiatus due to slight fatigue after the 2,500 “Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers” Kickoff Column, a weekend with day job work spillover and the allure of Brewers On Deck, I return after a long Monday work day to deliver the piece devoted to the man who wears the jersey aligning with our current position of nine weeks away from Opening Day…

Junior Guerra.

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Junior J. Guerra is a 31-year-old native of Venezuela who has been in professional baseball since 2001 (though not always with MLB-affliated teams) but who just made his Major League Debut last season, a three-game cup of coffee stretching from June 12th through June 22nd. That debut came with the Chicago White Sox, Guerra’s third MLB organization, and the one who signed him after six years out of affiliated baseball. Here’s that timeline.

Signed by the Braves as an international amateur free agent in ’01 (at just 16 years of age), Guerra came stateside with the Braves in 2003. He was signed as a catcher but converted to the mound after not making much progress at the plate — he hit .223 in 269 at-bats over his first three seasons in rookie ball. He got one season with Atlanta after he first toed the rubber to unspectacular results at best (6.59 ERA in 18 games).

Following a 2007 about which I couldn’t find any records of pro ball participation, Guerra caught on with the New York Mets. Now a full-time pitcher — maybe he spent 2007 at home in Venezuela truly learning how to pitch? — Guerra ended up pitching for four different Mets affiilates working to a 2.12 ERA in 18 games. He seemed to be on the right track and, at still only 23 years old, he could very well have been considered a prospect to some degree. Then a reported PED-related 50-game suspension ended his time with the Mets.

Between 2009 and 2014, Guerra kept his dream alive. He pitched wherever he could with stops in Hawaii, Venezuela, Mexico, and even a pair of runs with the Independent League Wichita Wingnuts. He pitched well enough in the Venezuelan Winter League in 2014 to grab the attention of the White Sox.

Guerra started at Double-A Birmingham but only needed five appearances to make his way to Triple-A Charlotte. After seven games as a Knight, Guerra got the call to The Show for the previously mentioned 11 day call-up. Despite a capable showing over the course of the whole season, the White Sox designated Guerra for assignment to open up a spot on their 40-man roster. The brand new Brewers regime which was only officially turned over to David Stearns two days earlier was awarded a waiver claim on Guerra.

GuerraHeadShotForever the answer to a trivia question, Guerra has a good chance to break camp with the Brewers following the departure of a couple of long-time Brewers relievers (Brandon Kintzler and Rob Wooten) who while never elite were certainly useful over their terms with the Brewers.

According to FanGraphs.com, Guerra works with a three-pitch mix. He throws a four-seam fastball averging 94.1 MPH, an 82.2 MPH slider, and a splitter that clocks in 85.7 MPH. With those pitches he was able to handle Triple-A to the tune of a 3.39 ERA with 79 K in 63.2 IP. That’ll play if it converts well enough to the big league level over a significant sample size (which 2015’s three games certainly aren’t).

All in all, Guerra could prove effective in Craig Counsell’s bullpen under the watching eyes of Derek Johnson and Lee Tunnell. Either way, he adds to the inexpensive options at the skipper’s disposal for 2016.

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You can follow Junior Guerra on Twitter: @juni1685

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Catch up on BBtJN ’16:

Kickoff Column – #68-#78

Brewers On Deck Attendees Announced

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List is subject to change but here’s the original list as released by the Brewers.

Players:

  • Orlando Arcia (canceled 1/30 due to illness)
  • Jacob Barnes
  • Yhonathan Barrios
  • Michael Blazek
  • Ryan Braun
  • Keon Broxton
  • Chris Carter
  • Garin Cecchini
  • Trent Clark
  • Clint Coulter
  • Tyler Cravy (canceled 1/30 due to illness)
  • Zach Davies
  • Ramon Flores
  • Matt Garza (added 1/20)
  • Scooter Gennett (removed 1/26 due a conflict)
  • David Goforth
  • Junior Guerra
  • Josh Hader
  • Adrian Houser
  • Jeremy Jeffress
  • Taylor Jungmann
  • Corey Knebel
  • Jorge Lopez
  • Damien Magnifico (canceled on 1/29 due to illness)
  • Martin Maldonado
  • Jimmy Nelson
  • Shane Peterson
  • Brett Phillips
  • Michael Reed
  • Domingo Santana
  • Will Smith
  • Tyler Thornburg
  • Jonathan Villar (added 1/20)
  • Tyler Wagner (traded to ARI 1/30)
  • Colin Walsh

Coaches/Manager

  • Craig Counsell
  • Darnell Coles
  • Joe Crawford
  • Derek Johnson
  • Marcus Hanel
  • Jason Lane
  • Pat Murphy
  • Ed Sedar
  • Carlos Subero
  • Lee Tunnell
  • Matt Erickson (Timber Rattlers manager)

Alumni

  • Don August
  • Jerry Augustine
  • Jeff Cirillo (added 1/21)
  • Rollie Fingers
  • Jim Gantner
  • Larry Hisle
  • Davey Nelson
  • Ken Sanders (added 1/20)
  • Gorman Thomas
  • Greg Vaughn
  • Paul Wagner (added 1/20)
  • Robin Yount (canceled 1/22 due to personal conflict)

*UPDATE*

Here is some additional information from the official release about Brewers On Deck:

Advance tickets are $15 for adults and $9 for children 14 and under.  Tickets on the day of the event are $20 for adults and $15 for children 14 and under.  On the day event, cash is the only accepted form of payment for admittance. A portion of the proceeds from Brewers On Deck will benefit Brewers Community Foundation. Tickets may be purchased at the Miller Park ticket office by calling the Brewers ticket office at (414) 902-4000 or online at Brewers.com/ondeck through Friday, January 29.

Once again, food donations will be accepted through Hunger Task Force.  Donations can be dropped off at two main entrances to the Wisconsin Center, located at 4th Street and Wisconsin Avenue, and 4th Street and Wells Street.

Brewers On Deck will feature a number of activities for the entire family.  Autographs and photos from Brewers players, coaches and alumni; interactive games in the Kids Area; Q&A sessions and Klement’s Main Stage game shows with Brewers players, coaches and broadcasters; vendor booths with baseball memorabilia; Brewers Community Foundation’s Treasure Hunt, a 50/50 raffle, live auction and many other activities will all be a part of Brewers On Deck.

During the event, the Brewers will unveil a new book – Explore MKE: Your Neighborhood Our City. The Book is published by SHARP Literacy, Inc. and is sponsored by Brewers Community Foundation and Ryan Braun.  It tells the story of two children who share their differing experiences of Milwaukee and are attempting to figure out how they fit in.  It also features informational sections that weave together iconic Milwaukee institutions and neighborhood-based landmarks with important themes in common.

SHARP Literacy, Inc. is a non-profit organization that enhances future life success by energizing urban children and motivating them to identify themselves as confident, capable scholars and lifelong learners by inspiring engagement in reading, writing and research through hands on interaction and visual arts.

Details regarding autographs include the following:  Recipients of “PREMIER” autographs (players to be announced at a later date) will be chosen through a random selection process. Each fan in attendance will receive one Premier Entry sheet which may be redeemed at the Random Selection area outside the Main Exhibit Hall of the Wisconsin Center.  The Premier Entry sheet will be exchanged for a numbered coupon to be entered into the random selection process for any one of the select Brewers players.  Coupon distribution will be available at 8 a.m. the day of the event and will continue up to an hour before each designated autograph session.   There is no cost for coupons to enter the random selection process; however, those holding winning coupons must pay $25 at the respective autograph stage to collect their player signature.  There will be 250 winners for each of the autograph sessions.  The winning ticket numbers will be posted at the designated autograph stage no less than 30 minutes prior to each player’s session.

Players and staff not included in the PREMIER autograph list will not use the random selection process. Each of these players will sign 250 autographs at prices ranging from free to $10. A schedule of players, their session times, and distribution info will be posted later.  The autograph opportunities are for signatures on photo cards provided by the team.  For additional information, visit Brewers.com/ondeck.

Autograph proceeds benefit Brewers Community Foundation.  Please note that cash is the only acceptable form of payment for autographs. The Brewers cannot guarantee that any player will sign other memorabilia, and personalization of items is solely up to the discretion of each player.

Milwaukee Brewers Uniform Number History: #41

Wondering who wore a certain uniform number all-time for the Milwaukee Brewers?

The Brewer Nation has got you covered. If you found this list on its own, head back here for the full repository after checking out this one.

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#41

Ray Peters (’70)
Jim Slaton (’71-’77, ’79-’83)
Jack Lazorko (’84)
Ray Searage (’84-’86)
Mike Birkbeck (’86)
Mark Knudson (’86-’91)
Edwin Nunez (’91)
Jose Mercedes (’94-’98)
Kyle Peterson (’99)
Matt Williams (’00)
Everett Stull (’00)
Jeffrey Hammonds (’01-’03)
Dan Kolb (’03-’04, ’06)
Tommy Phelps (’05)
Greg Aquino (’07)
Braden Looper (’09)
Jeremy Jeffress (’10)
Marco Estrada (’11-’14)
Taylor Jungmann (’15)
Junior Guerra (’16-Current)