Brewers close out the first half by beating rival Reds, plus reactions to day 1 draft picks
Onto the second half of the season we go!
The beverage leaderboard is coming a bit late this week because I’m lazy and life is hard. Much has happened in the last week. First, the Brewers took two of three games from the Reds. Next, they selected Brock Wilken with their first round pick in the MLB Draft.
Those last bits of action brought us to the All-Star break. The Brewers made some more draft picks (more on that during Friday’s episode), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won the Home Run Derby, and the National League finally won an All-Star Game! What a week it’s been, friends.
Next up we’ll look ahead to the stretch run, as there’s plenty of baseball left to be played this season and much still to figure out. The first team on the agenda is those same Reds.
Master Brewer Leaderboard (through 91 games)
(The Master Brewer Leaderboard is a season-long leaderboard tracking and ranking exceptional performances from Brewers players in the form of Master Brew Points 🍺, which at the end of the season will tally up to crown our Crewsing for a Brewsing Player of the Year.)
Willy Adames🍺🍺
Willy Adames had a monster series to close out the first half. The highlight was three homers. We’ll ask it again, is Willy Adames about to have a huge close to his season? It’s trending in a positive direction.
William Contreras🍺
The story of William Contreras’ first half was his development as a pitch framer. His five catcher framing runs per Baseball Savant is tied for fifth most in baseball. Pair that with a 112 wRC+ and Brewers fans are more than content with Bill’s first season in Milwaukee.
Joey Wiemer🍺
Joey Wiemer has had his ups and downs as a rookie, as he was tasked with being an everyday centerfielder, but I think most Brewers fans will be happy with his development. He has 1.5 fWAR though his first 89 games and he should only get better as his pitch selection continues to improve.
Brice Turang🍺
It’s also been an up and down journey for Brice Turang during his rookie season, most notably in the batter’s box as his defense has been excellent, but he’s closed this portion of the season in fine fashion. Turang had a solid series at the plate and flashed the leather against the Reds, contributing mightily to the series win.
Owen Miller🍺
What is one word I can use to describe Owen Miller’s first half with Milwaukee? I’ll say surprising. I didn’t see him playing this much when we analyzed the roster in Spring Training. His .285/.331/.398 triple slash isn’t overwhelming, but the Brewers will take all the near league average bats they can find. First base has been an adventure at times, but Miller has also provided stellar defense at second base and solid defense at third base. Versatility!
Corbin Burnes🍺
Make it back to back quality starts for Mr. Burnes. After rough outings against Arizona and Cleveland it was nice to see some consistency return for Milwaukee’s ace. Burnes was even named as an All-Star injury replacement for Spencer Strider. It was a good week for Corbin.
Wade Miley🍺
Add another beer for Wade Miley. Miley turned in a quality start against the Reds as he looks to close the season strong after battling an injury in the middle of this age 36 season journey.
Devin Williams🍺
Devin Williams is your beer leader at the All-Star break! Can anybody catch him? Christian Yelich and Joel Payamps may have a shot, but it’s a tall order. Devin has been largely dominant and Brewers fans will hope that doesn’t change.
Hoby Milner🍺
It’s easy to forget Hoby’s struggles early in the season, they feel like a distant memory. If the season ended today, his 2.50 ERA would be the lowest since his rookie season back in 2017.
Joel Payamps🍺
Joel Payamps closes out his stellar first half with another scoreless appearance. Who knows what the Brewers bullpen would look like if Payamps had not asserted himself as a dominant setup man.
Abner Uribe🍺
Welcome to the big leagues, Abner! Abner tossed a clean 8th inning that featured two exhilarating strikeouts. He allowed a run in the 9th inning due to some umpire shenanigans, but we are looking past that. It’ll be exciting to see what Abner can do
Leaderboard through 91 games
Devin Williams: 🍺x22
Joel Payamps: 🍺x17
Christian Yelich: 🍺x16
Brian Anderson: 🍺x14
Willy Adames, William Contreras, Joey Wiemer: 🍺x13
Owen Miller, Corbin Burnes: 🍺x12
Peter Strzelecki, Elvis Peguero, Hoby Milner: 🍺x11
Rowdy Tellez, Bryse Wilson: 🍺x10
Brice Turang, Wade Miley: 🍺x8
Julio Teheran, Colin Rea, Victor Caratini: 🍺x7
Freddy Peralta: 🍺x6
Garrett Mitchell, Adrian Houser: 🍺x5
Blake Perkins, Jesse Winker, Andruw Monasterio: 🍺x4
Jake Cousins, Eric Lauer, Trevor Megill: 🍺x3
Brandon Woodruff, Gus Varland, Javy Guerra, Tyrone Taylor, Raimel Tapia: 🍺x2
Mike Brosseau, Luke Voit, Matt Bush, Tyson Miller, Darin Ruf, Abraham Toro, J.B. Bukauskas, Jahmai Jones, Abner Uribe: 🍺
