I’ve mentioned this before and might again if I do a Domingo Santana sleeper post, which I’m toying with and don’t end a sentence with with — dah! The Brewers might be the first team in history that would have a lesser than 40% chance of scoring one run with the bases loaded and no outs due to their crazy strikeouts. Everyone on the team Ks at an obscene rate. It’s like their hitting coach is Rob Deer. “Guys, you have to wait for your pitch.” *ball bounces in dirt, three feet in front of Keon Broxton* “Why didn’t you swing at that? I said wait for the pitch, as in swing at every pitch when it gets to the plate — ball or strike!” That’s Rob Deer, hitting coach. If nothing else, it’s worth noting the team’s strikeouts for pitching streamers going against them when we get there. The 2016 Brewers had the worst strikeout rate since 1902 with 25.5%. The top 30 are all in the last ten years, so there’s definitely been a change in the game, but there ya go. Keon Broxton might be the worst offender of swinging and missing on a team that is historically terrible (yes, at some point this is going to turn positive for Keon). Losing Chris Carter’s 32% K-rate will help, but Keon Broxton’s K-rate was 36.1%. “Terrific! I love that aggressive approach!” That’s Rob Deer again. Broxton’s percentage of contact with balls outside the strike zone is 39.4%. That’s historically bad. Last year, the worst mark for qualified hitters was, once again, Chris Carter at 42.2%. Of course, logic tells us if you’re not swinging at many pitches outside the strike zone, then it doesn’t matter. Here, Broxton actually excels. He swings at pitches outside the zone only 22.1% of the time, about the same as Matt Carpenter, Trout and Goldy. There’s hope! Finally! “I’d like to see him swing more at pitcher pitches.” Shut up, Rob Deer! Then there’s the fact that he only makes contact with pitches inside the strike zone at a 76% rate, which would be the 2nd worst in the majors, tied with, you guessed it, Chris Carter. Sigh. So, what can we expect from Keon Broxton for 2017 fantasy baseball and what makes a sleeper?
Please, blog, may I have some more?