By the Numbers: 10 Noteworthy Stats from the Season’s First Month
With the Brewers heading into mid-May, a month’s sample of baseball calls for a rundown of some early season statistics.
While the team has racked up early individual accolades – including back-to-back NL Player of the Week Awards – they’ve been fueled by strong performances both on the mound and at the plate.
Here are 10 numbers that jump off the stat sheet from the Crew so far this season.
1. Rowdy Tellez’s Isolated Power
It’s no secret that Rowdy, the reigning NL Player of the Week, has raked this season. Just how impressive has he been at the plate? Check his sky-high isolated power, a measurement of a player’s raw power focused strictly on extra-base hits, as it’s a whopping .283 -- good for top-10 in all of MLB.
2. Trevor Gott’s ERA
Trevor Gott has earned a valuable role in the Brewers bullpen. Working ahead of Devin Williams and Josh Hader as a middle innings weapon, Gott’s logged an ERA of just 1.64. The only earned runs he’s surrendered came in the same outing back in April.
3. Josh Hader’s K rate
Hader’s been nearly perfect to start the year, converting all 12 save opportunities without giving up a single run. As usual, his start has been highlighted by a dominant strikeout rate. The Brewers closer has punched out 42.9% of batters he’s faced while tallying an elite 14.3 strikeouts per nine innings.
4. Willy Adames’ Walk Rate
In addition to Adames’ knack for big hits this season, he’s showing great patience at the plate. Willy’s 12.2 walk percentage is the highest of his career, and it’s translated into a team-leading 17 free passes to go along with his eight homers.
5. Eric Lauer’s K/9
Eric Lauer has been dominant through five starts. The lefty has put the league on notice by collecting a remarkable 12.7 strikeouts per nine, which puts him third in all of baseball. It’s a career-high number for Lauer, who is punching out four more batters per nine than his career average.
6. Freddy Peralta’s FIP
Peralta’s ERA isn’t up to his 2021 standard yet, but his FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) tells a different story. Sitting at just 2.39, Peralta sports the lowest FIP in the Brewers starting rotation, indicating he’s run into some bad luck so far.
7. Yelich’s Hard Hit Percentage
Yelich, fresh off the third cycle of his career, has hit the ball as hard as anyone in MLB this year. Yelich’s hard hit rate of 55.3 percent puts him near the top of the entire league, as it ranks in the 98th percentile across MLB.
8. Aaron Ashby’s Ground Ball Rate
Through 23.1 innings pitched, Aaron Ashby’s produced ground balls at one of the top rates in MLB. Ashby’s sinker-heavy arsenal has forced hitters to pound the ball into the ground at a 64.1 percent clip --the highest rate on the Crew.
9. Jace Peterson’s Defensive Runs Saved
Filling in for Luis Urias, Peterson supplied a steady glove when given the chance at the hot corner. Peterson has already compiled five defensive runs saved in under 150 innings played. There are only four position players in MLB with more DRS than Peterson.
10. Cutch’s Sprint Speed
Andrew McCutchen’s proved time and again that age is just a number. The 35-year-old has logged the highest sprint speed on the team at 28.2 ft/s. That mark stands as the fastest recorded speed by a player 35 or older throughout all of baseball this season.