Brewers Hitter of the Month: July 2024

Honorable Mentions
Eric Haase
31 PA, .345/.387/.655, 10 H, 3 HR, 4 R, 8 RBI, 2 BB, 13 K
Haase had a small sample size of plate appearances but I felt that his performance was worth a brief mention. July was the first month he got major league at-bats with Milwaukee, and he made the most out of this opportunity, posting a team-leading 1.042 OPS. 

Rhys Hoskins
84 PA, .192/.262/.507, 14 H, 2 2B, 7 HR, 11 R, 19 RBI, 6 BB, 26 K, 2 HBP
To many, a .192 batting average may automatically disqualify a hitter from receiving any sort of praise. Still, Hoskins was an integral part of the Brewers’ run-scoring in July, leading the team in RBI for the month. Over half of his hits were for extra bases, and his power has been as advertised. 

His overall production is still on the lower end with an OPS+ of just 104, and especially for a first baseman, the Brewers were likely hoping for more. 

Jackson Chourio
88 PA, .317/.364/.512, 26 H, 7 2B, 3 HR, 14 R, 12 RBI, 6 BB, 12 K, 4 SB
With a .876 total OPS for July, Chourio continued the momentum he started last month. His strikeout rate of 13.6% was the lowest of any month in his career so far, and he’s clearly made big adjustments to compete at the big league level. After being one of the worst hitters on the team at the end of May, he has managed to claw his way back to having an OPS+ of 101 while playing elite defense. 

Long story short, Jackson Chourio is really good. Who knew?

Willy Adames
103 PA, .312/.369/.516, 29 H, 7 2B, 4 HR, 14 R, 17 RBI, 9 BB, 33 K, 2 SB
Adames had an intriguing month. Despite a wicked strikeout rate of 32.0%, he still managed to hit for an excellent average and great power, leading the team in total bases with 48. It was a big bounce back, going from a .592 OPS in June to a .885 OPS in July, the best month he’s had this season. He now has the team's third-highest OPS+ among qualified hitters at 110.

In the days leading up to this year’s trade deadline, general manager Matt Arnold mentioned how important Adames was to the team, stating that they probably weren’t going to trade him. Do the Brewers have plans to re-sign him when he becomes a free agent this year? Only time will tell. 

Hitter of the Month - Christian Yelich
66 PA, .288/.431/.577, 15 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 10 R, 6 RBI, 12 BB, 9 K, 1 HBP, 3 SB
Yelich has been battling the same perennial back issues he’s had throughout his career, but even in the face of such adversity, he has played the best baseball of his life since 2019. July saw him recover from a slight slump he encountered in June, bringing his walk rate to an astounding 18.2% and his home run rate to 4.5%. 

It’s still unclear when he’ll return to the lineup. He’s stated that he’d like to delay surgery as long as possible to avoid missing the remainder of the season, but manager Pat Murphy has gone on to say that surgery is “inevitable.” Losing Yelich for the last 50 games of the year and the postseason would be devastating, especially given his output thus far, but he’s not out of the picture just yet.