Best All-Time Rookie Campaigns By Milwaukee Brewers Hitters

[Michael Trzinski]

Matthew Lenz of our sister site, Twins Daily, recently wrote a piece featuring the Twins' top rookies by position in their 63-year history. The Milwaukee Brewers have been in business since 1970. I decided to copy his idea with some slight changes.

My criterion for inclusion is a little different than his. In my reality, any player who had yet to reach the MLB ‘rookie limit’ of 130 at-bats was eligible for my ‘Best Rookie Campaign.’ So, check it out and let me know where I was right or where I veered off into the ditch. I did not add ‘bench bats,’ just eight position players plus the designated hitter.

CATCHER- B.J. Surhoff (1987)
Surhoff started his 19-year major league career with a bang, slashing .299/.350/.423 across 395 at-bats in 115 games. His 2.5 bWAR was good for seventh on the team. Surhoff—the number one pick overall in the 1985 MLB draft out of the University of North Carolina—showed versatility by playing a few games at third base while not squatting behind the plate. He showed a good arm, throwing out 35% of the runners trying to steal.

Others Considered:
Dave Nilsson (1992), Jonathan Lucroy (2010), Martin Maldonado (2012)

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FIRST BASE- Prince Fielder (2006)
After getting a cup of coffee and a continental breakfast in 2005, the slugging son of Cecil Fielder broke out in 2006, slashing .271/.347/.483 with 28 home runs and 81 RBIs across 569 at-bats. He finished seventh in NL Rookie of the Year voting. Fielder was error-prone at first base but made 150+ starts at first in all six of his full seasons in Milwaukee. He led the team with 154 hits in 2006 and was second in several other categories.

Others Considered:
Jesus Aguilar (2017)

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SECOND BASE- Ronnie Belliard (1999)
The stocky (5-foot-9, 210-pound) Belliard arguably had a better rookie season than Paul Molitor did 21 years prior. His OPS+ was nearly 20 points higher than Molly’s, and all three slash numbers were superior to Molitor's. Belliard had a batting mark of .295/.379/.429 across 457 at-bats; his 2.2 bWAR was seventh on the team. He finished third with four triples and 64 bases on balls. He was an average fielder at the keystone during his four full seasons in Milwaukee.

Others Considered:
Paul Molitor (1978), Scooter Gennett (2013), Keston Hiura (2019)

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THIRD BASE- Ryan Braun (2007)
Braun was the fifth overall pick in the 2005 MLB draft and earned the NL Rookie of the Year award two years later. He hit 34 homers, drove in 97 runs, and led the NL with a .634 slugging percentage. His slash line was an outstanding .324/.370/.634 across 451 at-bats, with his .324 average leading the team. Despite his very solid batting stats, his fielding brought his bWAR down to 2.0, which ranked seventh on the Brewers. After a brutal rookie season at the hot corner (.895 fielding percentage with 26 errors), Braun finished his career in the outfield, playing a total of 14 seasons.

Others Considered:
Dale Sveum (1986), Casey McGehee (2009), Joey Ortiz (2024)

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SHORTSTOP- Pat Listach (1992)
The speedy Listach was the first Brewer to win a Rookie of the Year award, this time in the American League. Along with 54 stolen bases, his slash line was .290/.352/.349 across 579 at-bats. Listach led the team with 93 runs and was second with 168 hits. His bWAR was 4.5, which ranked fourth on the team. Listach played four more years for Milwaukee and one with Houston but never replicated his rookie season.

Others Considered:
Robin Yount (1974), Ernest Riles (1985), Jose Valentin (1994), J.J. Hardy (2005)

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LEFT FIELD- Danny Walton (1970)
After two at-bats for Houston in 1968 and 92 for the Seattle Pilots in 1969, Walton came with the team to Milwaukee and hit 17 home runs for the Brewers, slashing .251/.349/.441 across 397 at-bats in 1970. On a very weak Brewer team (65-97-1), Walton was second in homers, second with 175 total bases, and third with 20 doubles. He played two seasons with Milwaukee and spent nine years in the big leagues overall with seven different teams.

Others Considered:
Greg Vaughn (1990), Corey Hart (2006)

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CENTER FIELD- Scott Podsednik (2003)
‘The Podfather’ was a speedy fly chaser who finished second in the NL ROY race. Podsednik stole 43 bases in his rookie season and had a slash line of .314/.379/.443 across 558 ABs. He led the team with a 3.6 bWAR, 100 runs scored, 175 hits, eight triples, stolen bases, batting average, and on-base percentage. He led the NL with 70 steals in 2004 and would be a part of the 2005 Chicago White Sox World Series winners.

Others Considered:
Alex Sanchez (2002), Lorenzo Cain (2010)

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RIGHT FIELD- Jackson Chourio (2024)
‘Chewy’ lived up to all the hype and will likely earn votes for the National League Rookie of the Year when results come out in mid-November. Chourio slashed .275/.327/.464 in 528 at-bats, recovering from a slow start during which he batted .207 on June 1. In the final four months, Chourio had a slash line of .305/.360/.527 with 16 home runs and 61 RBIs across 364 at-bats after the weather warmed. He finished among the top three for the Brewers in runs scored, hits, doubles, triples, stolen bases, batting average, and total bases. His 3.8 bWAR was third-best on the team. Chourio is a fan favorite, and the sky seems to be the limit for the 20-year-old star.

Others Considered:
Bob Coluccio (1973), Dion James (1984), Matt Mieske (1994)

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DESIGNATED HITTER- Joey Meyer (1988)
The burly (6-foot-3, 260-pound) Hawaiian only played two seasons for the Brewers, but his rookie campaign saw him hit 11 homers with a slash line of .263/.313/.419 across 327 at-bats. After a slow start in 1989, he was sent to Triple-A in early May and later returned to Milwaukee, only to play 35 more games in the bigs. Milwaukee released him after the season and played in Japan the following year, crushing 26 homers in 378 at-bats for the Yokohama Taiyo Whales. He is best known for a home run he hit in Denver in 1987, which was said to have traveled 582 feet.

Did I miss anyone? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading!

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