How Can Caleb Durbin Improve in 2026?

Caleb Durbin knows what Jett Williams is going through right now—and we aren't talking about dealing with both being 5-foot-7. Durbin was the other guy acquired by the Milwaukee Brewers in a trade for a popular pitcher.

The difference is that Durbin was more of a finished product, ready to see what he could do in the majors. Williams, currently the Brewers' No. 3 prospect and a consensus top-100 guy in baseball, played 34 games at Triple-A Syracuse last season and might make his way to Milwaukee at some point in 2026, but not before honing his craft at Nashville. Durbin, by contrast, was in the mix for an Opening Day spot with the New York Yankees before he was dealt to the Crew in the Devin Williams trade.

Durbin was never a highly-rated prospect, perhaps due to being undersized and relying on his speed as a big attribute, along with a solid and unspectacular bat. When they acquired him, it was hard to see where the Brewers would play Durbin. Brice Turang was coming off a Platinum Glove season at second base, and Joey Ortiz was seen as the heir apparent at shortstop following Willy Adames's departure via free agency, perhaps sliding from third base to second base if Turang was the choice at short.

After playing shortstop in college at Division III Washington University in Missouri, he played a lot of second and some short in the minors. He dabbled at third base, seeing action in 75 games in total at the hot corner. He worked at the position in spring training last year, but the Brewers chose to go with Oliver Dunn and Vinny Capra as a platoon at third base on the Opening Day roster.

It was off to Nashville to begin 2025 for Durbin, but offensive struggles prompted the Brewers to send Dunn down and call up Durbin for his debut in mid-April. The rest, you might say, is history.

What Durbin did in 2025, while not spectacular, was part of the backbone of the Brewers' run to a third consecutive NL Central title. He adapted to become a more-than-competent third baseman, quelling worries that he didn't have the arm for the position and improving massively in his footwork and feel for the spot. He was a solid contributor offensively, including being a magnet for pitches from opposing pitchers. As a rookie with a new team at a new position, Durbin put up .256/.334/.387 slash line, with 11 homers and 53 RBIs in 136 games. He didn't utilize his speed as much as expected, but added 18 steals in 24 attempts.

All of that led to Durbin finishing third in NL Rookie of the Year voting, one of three Brewers in the top seven and four to get votes. One thing stood out. In addition to being plunked 24 times—second-most in MLB—he was very disciplined at the plate. While he only drew 30 walks (eighth on the team), Durbin only struck out 50 times in 506 plate appearances, ranking in the 98th percentile of big-league hitters. Among Crew hitters with at least 200 plate appearances, only Andrew Vaughn had fewer punchouts (37). Heck, Jake Bauers had 59 strikeouts in 218 plate appearances (although also 32 walks).

Durbin figures to be just as solid defensively in 2026, following almost a full season at third base. He had 5 Defensive Runs Saved, tying for the 10th-most at the position.

However, it's on offense where Durbin could make more progress. His Statcast numbers say that his actual slash line (.256/.334/.387) was pretty close to what was expected (.253/.317/.384). While his plate discipline is a strength, Durbin needs to improve on hitting the ball hard consistently. He ranked in the bottom 4% in exit velocity (85.2 mph) and hard-hit percentage (26.9%), and the bottom 6% in bat speed (67.9 mph) and launch-angle sweet spot (29.6%).

Boosting those numbers even nominally will add more doubles and a few more homers to his stat columns, while nudging his entire slash line upward. As we saw with Turang and Sal Frelick in 2025, that type of improvement from one season to another is possible. We know Durbin is capable of it, too, because he was both more selective and better at pulling the ball in the air in Triple A in 2024 than he was last year in the majors. Even a modest leap from him would give the Brewers another offensive weapon in 2026.

The feistiness in Durbin won't allow him to not put up a fight, especially when others are already talking of Williams replacing him.