As you know, baseball projections, or any projections for that matter, are never a sure thing, especially when they consist of nothing but educated guesses, as mine do. Projection systems like Steamer and ZiPS, which you can find on FanGraphs lovely site, are much more accurate, because they use complicated and in-depth formulas and models to make their decisions on players. As for me, I simply did some research and predicted the results on my own.
But even though my projections were purely guesses, I still had my share of correct calls. Here’s where I went right:
| AVG | HR | wOBA | wRC+ | OBP | ISO | K% | BB% | WAR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Projection | .279 | 18 | .353 | 122 | .340 | 0.181 | 18.7% | 7.8% | 1.5 |
| Season Stats | .277 | 20 | .351 | 119 | .360 | 0.183 | 17.5% | 11.5% | 2.2 |
Not to pat myself on the back or anything, but I was dead on when it came to projecting LInd. Aside from his on-base percentage and walk rate, I was just one or two points off on every offensive statistic. His WAR was higher than I thought it’d be; credit that to his glove. His 5 Defensive Runs Saved at first base was far and away a career high.
Though it’s not saying much, Lind had one of the best offensive seasons on the Brewers in 2015. He got on base more than any Brewer not named Gerardo Parra, and he rediscovered his power swing after hitting just six home runs a year ago.
2016 outlook: Don’t be surprised if Lind is traded this winter. New general manager David Stearns already cleaned house with the coaching staff and has reorganized the front office. It’s only a matter of time before he starts moving player personnel.
| AVG | HR | wOBA | wRC+ | OBP | ISO | K% | BB% | WAR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Projection | .308 | 26 | .368 | 140 | .378 | .220 | 18.2% | 8.9% | 4.5 |
| Season Stats | .285 | 25 | .366 | 129 | .356 | .213 | 20.2% | 9.5% | 2.8 |
Okay, okay, I know there’s a huge discrepancy in Braun’s projected Wins Above Replacement and his actual WAR. I thought he was going to improve at least a little in right field since he had a whole year there under his belt. but he was just as pitiful as he was in 2014.
However, my prediction that he would transform back into one of baseball’s best hitters came true. Braun put up his highest ISO since 2012 and finished 29th in all of baseball in weighted runs created plus.
2016 outlook: With his extension just about to kick in, it’ll be tough to trade Braun, no matter how badly Stearns wants to. Nonetheless, Braun proved he can still hit with the elite, and he should continue that next season.
| AVG | HR | wOBA | wRC+ | OBP | ISO | K% | BB% | WAR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Projection | .268 | 6 | .310 | 95 | .314 | .125 | 17.0% | 4.1% | 1.4 |
| Season Stats | .264 | 6 | .289 | 77 | .294 | .117 | 17.4% | 3.1% | 0.2 |
As regular readers know, I’ve never been a fan of Scooter Gennett. Every time I see him at the plate, I shed a tear for the departed Rickie Weeks. Sigh.
I knew Gennett was going to have a below-average season, which is why I’m counting this as a win for my projections. Yet, I didn’t expect him to be so abysmal that I was rooting for Hector Gomez to take over his second-base job. He played no better than a replacement player. Offensively, he was useless, and his defense took a big slide as well.
2016 outlook: Honestly, I can’t imagine Gennett having a major-league job next year. Oh wait. The Brewers are rebuilding, which means Gennett will absolutely be on the team’s roster, unfortunately. Unless Milwaukee is ready to give one of their younger prospects a try. I mean, why not?
| ERA | FIP | xFIP | SIERA | HR | K% | BB% | GB% | WAR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Projection | 2.62 | 3.11 | 3.00 | 2.59 | 4 | 21.9% | 9.6% | 57.4% | 1.0 |
| Season Stats | 2.65 | 3.22 | 3.00 | 2.85 | 5 | 23.5% | 7.7% | 58.2% | 0.8 |
Before the season started, I wrote that Jeremy Jeffress would be MLB’s next top closer sometime in the near future, and after the stand-out numbers he racked together as the setup man in 2015, I’m even more confident in saying that. I called this one almost perfectly.
Jeffress is a strikeout and ground-ball pitcher, and he proved that over a full season for the first time in his career. He struck out almost nine batters per game and his GB% was the 17th-best among qualified relievers, mostly due to his power sinker.
2016: Jeffress will again be Craig Counsell‘s go-to-guy in high leverage situations next season, and he even could slide into the closer’s role if the Brewers choose to shed money and a veteran by trading Francisco Rodriguez.
You can check out my full list of projections here:
The First Out At Third 