This Skill is Why the Brewers Love Joey Ortiz's Defense at Shortstop

[Jack Stern]

Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

Joey Ortiz’s tenure with the Brewers has been filled with highs and lows, but there has been one constant. When given the opportunity—and, in many cases, on their own—coaches, teammates, and executives have raved about his defense, even as Ortiz’s public-facing fielding metrics have been more mixed in their praise.

During the Brewers’ first homestand of the 2026 season, there was one play in particular that jumped out to Pat Murphy. On Saturday, White Sox pinch-hitter Austin Hays pulled a base hit toward the left-field line, away from a shaded Brandon Lockridge. Lockridge initially misplayed the ball before throwing it in to Ortiz, who fired a strike to William Contreras to nail Colson Montgomery at the plate.

Less than an hour later, Murphy was gushing over how Ortiz completed the play and his overall defensive prowess.

“I don’t remember a dude that played shortstop for us like that, that played so consistently. And his key is the way he can redirect the baseball,” he said. “It’s uncanny. He did it a bunch last year. He did it tonight. It just sticks out. Watch that play on film. Not too many shortstops make that play, and that’s what separates him, I think.”

Effectively redirecting the baseball is a product of what the Brewers believe is Ortiz’s standout skill—the one that makes his defense invaluable and explains why they’ve been incredibly patient with his offense: body control.

The Brewers say Ortiz has an elite understanding of how his body moves and how to use it. It makes him the most fluid and sure-handed defender in their infield, even if he’s not the quickest or the most explosive. It also enables him to complete acrobatic plays that take him into unnatural fielding positions—plays that might not stand out to some range-focused algorithms, but are highly challenging to execute in reality.

“Joey Ortiz has elite body control,” said third base and infield coach Matt Erickson, who has been integral to Ortiz’s development as a big-league shortstop. “You can argue the fact that he's probably average when it comes to just raw foot speed and quickness, but when it comes to body control and anticipation, he's as good as it gets.”

Ortiz's coordination is excellent. He can speed himself up and slow himself down with precision, allowing him to adjust to a ground ball that takes a bad hop or changes direction due to funky spin. His quick hands transfer the ball swiftly out of his glove, and he can make accurate throws from awkward throwing positions.

“He understands his legs in his throw,” Murphy said. “He understands space and timing. It's like a good shooter in basketball. It's more than just technique; it's the skill and the touch and the feel and the timing. He has it.”

During spring training in 2024, when Ortiz was new to the team, Murphy had an even more succinct (if somewhat more opaque) way of communicating the same thing. He immediately saw and praised the fact that Ortiz "is comfortable when the ball gets close to him."

That body control helps Ortiz effectively relay a throw from the outfield to the plate, but it shows up more obviously on plays like the one he made the following afternoon. Ortiz made a sliding stop on a grounder in the hole between shortstop and third base. With his body still moving toward third, he quickly transferred the ball to his throwing hand and made a strong throw from his knees to Brice Turang, who completed an impressive double play.

“That play is never practiced,” Erickson said. “That's a gift that he has, and he made it look incredibly easy.”

The Brewers’ strength and conditioning team helps players understand the aptitudes and weaknesses of their body type and runs them through workouts designed to improve their mobility. Body control can only be improved to a certain extent through coaching, though. Natural ability is a huge piece of the equation, and much of the development must come from the player himself learning through experience and awareness.

“They're teaching you things, but I think it happens within you when you have that ability,” Murphy said. “I don't think it's innate, but I think it's an ability that's acquired and developed to be able to realize that I can do this quicker, or I can do this smoother and not lose any speed, or actually gain speed by doing it smoothly with my body in the right position. So it's kind of a combination of all that. [Ortiz is] special, the way he does it.”

As the Brewers discussed their infield arrangement last spring after the departure of Willy Adames, shoulder soreness ultimately locked Turang into second base to start the regular season. Ortiz’s body control was also a significant factor in the conversation, though, and is the reason he has since remained at short.

“There's no doubt in my mind that Brice could be a really good shortstop and Joey can be a really good second baseman,” Erickson said. “But because of their skill set, because of Joey's glove confidence and body control, and his ability to catch the ball clean over and over in different fielding positions—it’s better than Brice’s, in my opinion.”

The more explosive and rangier infielder might often be viewed as the better overall defender and the best fit to play shortstop. Erickson sees it differently.

“Brice’s lateral range and quickness is much better than Joey’s,” he said, “and I believe that lateral range is important at second in today's game, because of the shifting rules, and when you're holding a runner [with a right-handed batter hitting], you need a guy that can really cover ground. We have that guy, arguably the best in the game.”

The fluidity and hand-eye coordination from Ortiz’s body control, meanwhile, make a greater impact at shortstop. He may not cover as much ground as Turang, but he gloves the ball more consistently, transfers it faster, has a stronger throwing arm, and can react to the nuances of trickier plays at the position.

“You have to catch the ball clean at shortstop, or you don't have a play,” Erickson said. “You don't necessarily have to do that at second or at third all the time, and you can still get an out. At shortstop, you've got to have a clean catch. And I think Joey's really good, definitely the best on our roster, at that.”

The Brewers believe he’s still getting better at it, too. After another offseason of work, Erickson sees Ortiz using his body more efficiently than last year.

“Out of spring training last year, there were certain things in the weight room that we thought he could improve on,” Erickson said. “There was a maintenance to it last year during the season, and then there was a focus to it this offseason. And I really like where he came in in spring training, because you can noticeably see he’s even better in some of those areas.”

The Brewers’ infield could soon find itself in transition, particularly with the news of shortstop prospect Cooper Pratt’s extension and the ascension of Jesus Made and Andrew Fischer through the farm system. For now, though, Ortiz remains a valued linchpin of their infield defense.

“The team believes in this dude,” Murphy said. “They believe in him.”

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[MattK]

Thanks Jack! Excellent analysis & breakdown, as ever. 

Ultimately, unless Joey hits as well, I'm afraid the wave of younger middle infielders will move him out of the system via trade to a second division club which can be more one-dimensional.

[David Crawford]

While our pipeline is full of huge potential in Pratt, Made and others...  what Ortiz is doing on the field is immense.  It is now and it is tangible.  Even when these prospects start pushing him, they will need to be similar defensively at least even if the bat is most likely better.  I am not convinced that Joey Ortiz can't be a .250 BA/.310 PBP combined with his elite glove, that is extremely valuable today.

[Snoebird]

47 minutes ago, David Crawford said:

While our pipeline is full of huge potential in Pratt, Made and others...  what Ortiz is doing on the field is immense.  It is now and it is tangible.  Even when these prospects start pushing him, they will need to be similar defensively at least even if the bat is most likely better.  I am not convinced that Joey Ortiz can't be a .250 BA/.310 PBP combined with his elite glove, that is extremely valuable today.

The Brewers had the worst defense-against in MLB last season. They also had the most infield hits, by far, in the league. We just saw Tampa Bay's best hitter, Junior Caminero, commit three errors to help the Brewers pull away to an 8-2 victory. They are winning without two of their most important sluggers, Chourio and Vaughn. All of which means replacing the defense of Ortiz and Turang with more offense-minded players will threaten the team's MO as a run prevention team. Matt Erickson will have his work cut out for him.

[Samurai Bucky]

1 hour ago, Snoebird said:

 All of which means replacing the defense of Ortiz and Turang with more offense-minded players will threaten the team's MO as a run prevention team. Matt Erickson will have his work cut out for him.

"Chicks [and Fantasy Baseball Players] dig the long ball."

I recall looking at a defensive stat (I think it was Defensive Runs Saved) and towards the end of the year, Ortiz had a negative number.  Anyone who watched the games realized that something was off.

I checked two sites for something related to that stat.  First, there is Fangraphs.  Joey's placed 16th out of 117 possible candidates last year.

https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?pos=all&stats=fld&lg=all&qual=y&type=1&season=2025&month=0&season1=2025&ind=0&team=0&pagenum=1&pageitems=2000000000

The other is Baseball Savant.  He placed 23rd out of 299 possible.

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/fielding-run-value?gameType=Regular&seasonStart=2025&seasonEnd=2025&type=fielder&position=0&minInnings=q&minResults=1

I hope he continues to hit and get on base.  That would make him a complete player.