Why Brewers Have to Find Regular At-Bats for Jake Bauers

[Tim Muma]

Image courtesy of © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Jake Bauers's finish to the 2025 campaign and overall postseason performance grabbed the attention of many Brewers fans, and this year, he should get a chance to extend that surge. If you’re the Brewers, the hope is that it’s actually tough to get him in the lineup on a semi-regular basis. If it’s a challenge to justify Bauers’s inclusion with any regularity, it means first baseman Andrew Vaughn has continued his career bounceback and is sitting pretty in the middle of the lineup. It also indicates Christian Yelich is healthy, productive and holding down the DH spot most of the time. Even the team's skipper acknowledges that that's asking for a lot.

"Not everybody's gonna have as great a year [as in 2025]," Pat Murphy said earlier this month. "Vaughn, [Sal Frelick], Yelich. You can't predict they're gonna have as great a year."

 

But even if those two optimistic outcomes do occur, Murphy needs to find a way to get Bauers’s power and on-base potential in the lineup four times a week. His intriguing offensive skillset—particularly with some adjustments he made while on the IL last season—could add significant value to a diverse lineup that remains similar to the 2025 version that scored the third-most runs in baseball.

 

Bauers’s career numbers might make you scoff at giving him more reps, and even his overall 2025 campaign looks underwhelming in 218 plate appearances (though a .353 OBP is nice to look at). But the case for finding Bauers more at-bats comes from his stellar numbers following a shoulder impingement, and the possibility he discovered what works best for him. Brewer Fanatic’s Matthew Trueblood detailed that development earlier in camp.

 

As a quick reminder, Bauers went .321/.433/.500 with four doubles and a pair of home runs across his final 26 regular-season games last year. He then went 4-for-13 with a double and a homer in 14 postseason plate appearances. While he didn’t have enough plate appearances to qualify for leaderboards, his Statcast color chart shows a pretty picture, with plenty of red.


 

 

He has kept it going in spring training, too, though one must always take numbers in Arizona (and small samples in general) with a grain of salt. Bauers has slashed .440/.576/.920 through his first 33 plate appearances. That includes three doubles and three home runs. The most predictive form of success in the Cactus League is a good strikeout-to-walk ratio, and Bauers has six of each of those thus far.

 

However, two of those strikeouts recently came against lefty Robbie Ray, whom Bauers would almost never face in a game that counts. So in practical terms, he really has six free passes compared to four punchouts. Every step in the dissection of his numbers makes things look better.

 

So, how can the Brewers get Bauers 350 plate appearances this season, assuming his production is in the same ballpark as his post-injury results?

 

First Base: Vaughn will get every chance to prove the start of his Brewers career is legitimate, and he should. While he might not post a 141 OPS+ over a full year like he did in 64 Brewers games, something around 115–120 is a realistic expectation for a 28-year-old former third overall pick who appears to have rediscovered his joy by playing for a successful franchise.

 

Still, Vaughn will need days off to stay fresh, and would probably welcome sitting against certain right-handed pitchers. It wouldn’t necessarily be based solely on how dominant the righty is that day, but rather the type of pitcher and how each hitter matches up, as Trueblood also explored. Depending on those factors, that could mean one or two starts per week for Bauers at first base.

 

Designated Hitter: Yelich is the primary DH, and coming off a 29-homer, 121 OPS+ season across 150 games, he has earned that role. But even as the club’s main DH, his 34-year-old body (not to mention his injury history) suggests he should sit more often.

 

Even if he feels good most of the year, it’s hard to ignore how he finished in the playoffs, going 2 for his last 25 in the postseason with nine strikeouts, no RBIs and a .327 OPS. Perhaps more rest during the regular season keeps him stronger for October.

 

Getting Yelich down to around 130 games would open the door for Bauers to DH at least once a week. In some cases, it could also mean Vaughn DHs while Bauers plays first, but either way, it would create opportunities with Yelich on the bench. It probably wouldn’t be more than once per week, however, since they’re both left-handed hitters. Murphy will also likely slot in catcher William Contreras at DH occasionally, to keep his bat in the lineup while resting his legs.

 

Left Field: This is where things could get most interesting. Left field is one of the least demanding defensive spots, but the Brewers still prefer above-average run prevention at every position. Bauers probably won’t provide that, and would represent a noticeable defensive drop-off from several other options. Much could depend on who the extra outfielders are, as Jackson Chourio and Sal Frelick seem like locks to occupy two of the three outfield spots nearly every game.

 

If Garrett Mitchell doesn’t make the big-league roster—and it’s starting to look like he could miss out—that could open the door for Bauers. Blake Perkins is a switch-hitter (and the better hitter from the right side), but he doesn’t offer the same offensive upside as Bauers. Brandon Lockridge hits right-handed and has shown improvement at the plate, but he’s still a step behind Bauers offensively.

 

That means it comes down to Murphy’s comfort level with putting Bauers in left field on a given night, essentially trading some defense for offense. The Brewers could limit their defensive risk by starting Bauers in left when Milwaukee has a pitcher with a low fly-ball percentage. That doesn’t guarantee anything, but it’s about playing the percentages. With a late lead, tightening up the defense would be easy enough.

 

If Bauers starts once per week in left field, the path to 350 plate appearances becomes clear. There are roughly 26 weeks in the season. Give Bauers four starts per week at the various positions and assume an average of 3.5 plate appearances per game, and that’s 364 by year’s end. If he can maintain his recent offensive production over that many trips to the plate, the Brewers would once again be playing chess, while most of the rest of the league is playing checkers.

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[Bashopolis]

Sure, it makes some sense to explore the possibilities.  But as you said it is difficult to believe a 30 year old with five years of replacement level production is going to turn into an offensive force.  It doesn’t happen very often.  
The Brewers may give him a few weeks in April of heavier use to see if the one month was for real; but don’t expect a long leash.  

[Tim Muma]

11 hours ago, Bashopolis said:

Sure, it makes some sense to explore the possibilities.  But as you said it is difficult to believe a 30 year old with five years of replacement level production is going to turn into an offensive force.  It doesn’t happen very often.  
The Brewers may give him a few weeks in April of heavier use to see if the one month was for real; but don’t expect a long leash.  

I guess I'd like to think he could put up a 2017 Jesus Aguilar type of season. Aguilar was always kind of a tease, then 2017 step up...and money in 2018. But he was a few years younger, in fairness.

Aguilar's 2017 (311 PA):  16 HR, 15 doubles, 52 RBI, .265/.331/.505... I'd see Bauers with slightly higher OBP, lower SLG. We'll see.