CINCINNATI – Another successful road trip in the books.
Despite a slow start with two late losses to the Atlanta Braves, the Milwaukee Brewers rallied for four straight wins to cap the trip and reach a season-high 20 games above .500.
From Andrew Vaughn’s playing time to the telltale signs Cooper Pratt is a wide-eyed rookie, here are five things we learned from the latest trip.
Why isn’t Andrew Vaughn playing everyday?
Any way you spin it, Andrew Vaughn has been among the Brewers’ best hitters since coming off the injured list May 4.
Entering play June 24, he was batting .351 with a .970 OPS, marrying those strong results with equally impressive underlying numbers, including a .369 expected wOBA, 21.1% chase rate and more walks than strikeouts.
Yet since coming off the IL, Vaughn is only eighth on the team in plate appearances. What gives?
It’s a matchup-based decision, manager Pat Murphy said. Vaughn’s swing doesn’t work as well against sinker-slider right-handers according to the Brewers’ data, so on those days they have preferred an alignment of Jake Bauers at first and Sal Frelick in right.
“Heavy east-west sometimes is more troublesome for him,” Murphy explained. “But for him this year you can look at it and go, ‘Yeah, against the two-seamer he’s been [worse]. But what about the times against the two-samer that he took it and got something else? You don’t get credit for being good against the two-seamer when you take it. You only get dinged when you swing at it.”
But following Vaughn’s pinch-hit, three-run double that provided the difference-making runs June 24 against the Reds, Murphy’s tone suggested a change in the thinking may be in the works.
“Unless that batter matchup, meaning right versus left or left versus right, has given you better at-bats, why not go with him?” Murphy said.
Abner Uribe’s slider usage
Abner Uribe throws gas but his best pitch from both a batted ball and whiff standpoint is his slider.
Yet Uribe’s slider usage dipped to 28.3% in May, the lowest it’s been in any single month since his first full month in the majors, August 2023. A year ago Uribe didn’t have a single month of slider usage below 40%.
Before arriving in Cincinnati, Uribe had thrown only 22.5% sliders in his prior five outings; in two games against the Reds he flipped the script and used it 53.7% of the time. The results were strong: six whiffs and two grounders, including a double play.
A tweak for Robert Gasser that could stick
When Robert Gasser came off the mound following the fourth inning June 21 in Atlanta, pitching coach Chris Hook had an idea.
“He’s like, ‘Let’s just ditch the windup,’” Gasser said. “‘You gave up hits to start every single inning. Let’s just do the stretch.”
From there on, Gasser retired all six Braves he faced.
Gasser’s timing was clearly better out of the stretch, something multiple other starters or length relievers on the Brewers have felt. Jacob Misiorowski pitches exclusively from the stretch as a starter and Chad Patrick’s switch away from the windup has coincided with an uptick in his performance.
Gasser doesn’t sound ready to completely ditch the windup just yet, having recently watched Shane Drohan’s bullpen and picking up some tips that could help him out, but he’s willing to switch to it at any given moment.
“I mean it worked pretty well, so we’ll see,” Gasser said. “I don’t want to quit on the windup. As a starting pitcher the windup is something I’ve always wanted to do. But you look at Miz, a lot of guys don’t throw out of the windup. It’s not essential.”
Aaron Ashby’s sinker hasn’t been as effective
How do a pair of rec specs explain a sinker that isn’t as effective as it should be?
Allow pitching coach Jim Henderson to explain.
On Ozzie Albies’ walk-off homer off Aaron Ashby on June 20, Henderson saw all he needed to see just by observing how his left-hander’s glasses jostled around his face after he released the ball.
“His glasses popped off,” Henderson said. “He lost his head early.”
As a pitcher with a high release Ashby’s motion requires him to move his head as his arm comes through in order to get to his over-the-top slot. Sometimes, Henderson says, Ashby clears his head too early, which can lead to two specific issues.
“It’s a little bit more of a see for the batter and it’s a little bit more elevated,” Henderson said. “When he keeps his head on it and drives to the back tip of the plate, I think it’s really nasty.”
This could help explain why Ashby’s sinker hasn’t produced very good results this year despite its top-flight velocity and nastiness. Opponents are batting .316 and slugging .456 against the pitch while only whiffing at a 16.3% clip. The average launch angle against it has also soared from -1 degree a year ago to 8 degrees.
“He’s a guy who mixes well when he throws all his pitches,” Henderson said. “He’s got a great sinker but I don’t think it’s something we need to lean on with him.”
Cooper Pratt is the ultimate rookie
Murphy has already labeled Jacob Misiorowski as his team’s Forrest Gump, but there may be a new contender for that title now.
Milwaukee’s new rookie shortstop has a knack for being at the center of something goofy, so much so that the team is compiling a list of Cooper Pratt Things.
“Stuff he’s done, stuff he’s said,” Murphy said. “And it’s so sincere.”
One week in, the list is already pretty long.
Murphy gave a sneak peek into one story on the list that involved Pratt turning into Bauers’ little brother on his first few days in the majors.
“Somebody told him just mirror what Bauers does. Just mirror him,” Murphy said. “So he follows him. Bauers goes to the cage, he follows him. Bauers goes to the bathroom, follows him. Bauers goes out to the field, talking on the phone with his family, follows him. I’m not kidding you.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Why isn’t Andrew Vaughn playing every day? 5 takeaways from Brewers road trip
Reporting by Curt Hogg, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Curt Hogg, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
