Milwaukee Brewers: 2018 New Year’s Resolutions for the Crew

Ryan Braun

• Stay Healthy

When Ryan Braun is healthy, he is still one of the most dangerous hitters in the National League. He missed well over a month in two separate DL stints in 2017. He’s been hampered by nagging injuries for the past few years. When he was healthy back in 2016, he hit 30 homers with a .305 average. He’s still a great hitter, but his focus should be on staying healthy so he can play at his best.

Keon Broxton

• Stop striking out so much
• Find some consistency

Keon Broxton has a ton of potential. He posted his first career 20-20 season in 2017, but just barely. He has the potential for maybe even 30 home runs and 30 or 40 stolen bases. However, he’s the streakiest player alive. He’ll have two good weeks where he’s hitting everything and then a whole month where he couldn’t hit a watermelon. Broxton struck out 175 times, enough for a 37.8% strikeout rate. That’s terrible. He needs to resolve to make more contact and find some consistency if he wishes to continue to start in center field.

Brett Phillips

• Cut down on the strikeouts

Brett Phillips is another Milwaukee Brewers player that has a lot of power but also strikes out too much. In his 98 plate appearances, Maverick struck out 34 times, enough for a 34.7% strikeout rate. To become a more consistent contributor in this lineup, Phillips will need to cut down on those whiffs and make more contact.

Domingo Santana

• Strike out less
• Improve throwing arm

Domingo Santana struck out 178 times in 2017 with a 29.3% K rate. He was very productive overall with 30 homers and a .278 average, but cutting down on the K’s would be great. Also, he graded out as a below average defender in right field. In order to improve that, he should build his arm strength. Considering he’s a right fielder, who’s supposed to have the strongest arm, and Phillips who is known to have a cannon is right there. It’s either become a better thrower, or move to left at some point.

Stephen Vogt

• Improve Throwing Arm
• Draw more walks

Stephen Vogt‘s walk rate this year was 3.9%. It’s generally seen around baseball that players should draw a walk at at least a 5% clip. There’s nothing wrong with getting on base more. Vogt’s throwing arm was atrocious this year. It was part of the reason he was released from Oakland. He only threw out four baserunners all year and that needs to change. He’s a good pitch framer and calls a great game behind the plate, but with a lethal throwing arm, he’s back to being one of the top defensive catchers in the league.

Manny Pina

• More power

Speaking of top defensive catchers in the league, Manny Pina put together a phenomenal season. He led the league in pickoffs and caught 36% of would be base stealers. His pitch framing metrics also grade out positively. The only issue to improve on is his bat. He hit for a good average and didn’t strike out a ton. But he finished the season with only nine home runs. He doesn’t need to hit 20 a year, although that would be nice, but if he can get in the 12-15 home run range, his profile would jump even higher.