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Tyler Black has been a man without a position he can call home. Originally drafted as a second baseman and playing there in 2021, he split time between second base and center field in an injury-plagued 2022 season, before moving to the hot corner in a breakout 2023. He slid over to first base in late 2023 and has primarily played there in 2024. Black still hasn’t stuck in Milwaukee, only notching 22 at-bats in a brief cup of coffee. But could the Brewers solve multiple problems by putting him in left field?
Why left field? Partially, it’s where teams have historically hidden defensive liabilities who still need to be in the lineup due to their bats, and Black seems to be developing that reputation. It worked for the Brewers once before, when they moved Ryan Braun to that position in 2008 despite him winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award at third base in 2007. Khris Davis also handled left field for the Brewers before they traded him to Oakland (a deal they probably wanted back, given his performance in the 2016-2018 timeframe).
As of the morning of May 28, Black has posted an .862 OPS at Nashville, with 10 of his 12 extra-base hits being triples or homers. He’s also added seven stolen bases, while drawing 20 walks in 143 at-bats. This isn’t much slippage from his 2023 numbers with the Sounds, nor his breakout numbers at Double-A Biloxi.
Left field is also where Black’s bat could help the Brewers offense the most, with players like Sal Frelick, Jackson Chourio, and Blake Perkins each posting an OPS of .662 or lower entering Monday's game. If Black were to man left field, it could allow the Brewers to give Chourio time to make adjustments in Nashville.
Putting Black in left field most of the time could be a huge boon for Christian Yelich, by freeing him up to play some first base and spend a bunch of time at designated hitter. Yelich’s back issues have already cost him time this season, and probably contributed to struggles from 2021-2022. Earlier this year, Yelich offered the hope that he was back to the MVP form he displayed in 2018-2019. More time at DH could probably help him maintain that form.
In addition, Black does offer some positional versatility. During his time in the minors, he was at least able to hold his own at second base, third base, first base, and center field. The universal DH leaves Milwaukee with four bench players – one of whom is the second catcher.
While Black’s initial cup of coffee saw him post a .579 OPS, there is much to suggest that he can make the adjustments to handle MLB pitching with enough at-bats. Those at-bats can't be accumulated anywhere but the big leagues, at this stage of his development. It is, in essence, the same situation Chourio is facing, needing big-league reps to adjust to the strike zone (no computer-called strike zone in MLB) and to get used to the speed of the MLB game.
The fact of the matter is that the Brewers need Black’s bat at the MLB level, particularly given the struggles of Oliver Dunn and Frelick (although the latter, at least, delivers some OBP skills and solid defense) at the plate. For the short-term and medium-term future, the best move for the Brewers – and for Tyler Black – may be to have him in left field.







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