Jake McKibbin

In May, Joey Wiemer had a slash line of .188/.274/.306 for a .580 OPS. At times, it looked like, even despite his defense, he needed to be sent down to work on some adjustments that could allow his power to come through at the major-league level. He had some early-season BABIP luck, beating out infield dribblers, but hasn’t produced solid, consistent contact at any point. He has an expected batting average (xBA) of .195, has an expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA) of .284, and a hard-hit rate in the 28th percentile for the league. Not the power-hitting right fielder we expected, and his swing-and-miss tendencies have had him looking almost blind at the plate through May. So why the optimism? Everything with Wiemer, since joining the Brewers in the fourth round in 2020, has been centered on simplifying his swing, which looks wild to say the least. When things go wrong at the plate, the Brewers usually go to their default answer: “Let’s eliminate his leg kick.” That (non-)movement is catching the league by storm, with the likes of Jeremy Pena adopting the approach, as well as Keston Hiura. In this case, it seems to have worked. Before Wednesday, Wiemer had just 13 out of 108 batted balls hit 102 mph or harder. Since Thursday, though, he has hit six out of 12 batted balls over that mark, producing much more regular, solid contact and more professional at-bats. On Sunday, he had a 103-mph groundout, a 106-mph single, and 104-mph ground ball that (alas) became a double play. On Monday, he hit two doubles, one of which was over 110 mph, and his only out came after hitting a ball just foul into the upper decks in the Great American Ball Park. In his most recent home run, look how much less stressful the swing is: It’s resulted in him being able to attack pitchers, as well as take his walks, with five walks in the last week and a slash line of .318/.444/.545. That’s to go along with some BABIP misfortune, with some balls rifled at fielders. If we’re seeing the Joey Wiemer breakout, then the Brewers will be going a long way towards fixing their impotent May offense. Joey has arrived.

This will likely come as no surprise to those watching the sluggish offense provided by the Brewers in May, but there has been one standout amidst the team’s struggles to get on base and pressure opposing pitchers with regularity. They have had too many black holes in the line-up, but this player has hit day in, day out for them. Before we get to the May Hitter of the month, here are a few players who were under considerations after putting together a solid May. Honorable Mentions Christian Yelich Yelich hit .284 in the month of May with four home runs, four doubles, and 11 walks to just 15 strikeouts (a 15% strikeout rate), a vast improvement of the 34 he tallied in April. On top of a week-long power binge, after which he was sidelined with a back injury sliding into three consecutive bases, he has provided a consistent on base presence with a .376 OBP and .842 OPS overall, teasing many fans at the notion that he isn’t far away from rekindling his best form. The biggest sign is when he pulls the ball more in the air, but it should be noted that he currently has a .285 xBA and .488 xSlg, so he has hit into a reasonable amount of misfortune so far this season. Could June be the month Yelich awakens from his slumber? Rowdy Tellez Our April hitter of the month produced another solid effort at the plate, going .240/.329/.427 for a .756 OPS, including four home runs. He hasn’t had one of his hot streaks this month, but it’s only a matter of time before he runs into one and carries the Brewers for a week or so. Perhaps more concerning is that he’s only tallied six RBI in 81 plate appearances, the Brewers need to give him more of a platform with men on base, and he needs to do a better job at getting the ball in the air to avoid the double plays that can plague him. William Contreras His bat was slightly stagnant to begin the month, but it started to heat up late in the month, with six RBI across his last five games, including three home runs. Sporting a .194/.301/.444 line, he was hitting far too many grounders straight into the dirt, but has begun to come out of his funk, and his .756 OPS has gone a long way to helping the Brewers through this tough stretch of games. Interestingly, his return has coincided with an uptick in games at which Victor Caratini has started as catcher, perhaps a great balance behind the plate is needed for him given this is his first season as primary catcher. Hitter of the Month Owen Miller Owen Miller has been, quite simply, outstanding for the Brewers. He has shown an aggressiveness early in counts. He is regularly making solid, aerial contact on targeted pitches. The hometown kid also added the ability to turn on inside pitches for some big home runs this last month. All expectations of Miller were of him being a bit, role player with an average to subpar bat, but ever since spring training, he has raked. He’s hit .363 with seven doubles and four home runs in May with a 15.6% strikeout rate, and has greatly deserved the increased playing time and move up the batting order. Miller’s short, compact stroke is complimented by his understanding of the pitches he can do damage on. While he struggles more in the outer third of the zone, he waits patiently for pitches on the middle and inside that he can pull, with over 80% of his batted balls going to straightaway center or the pull side. He is in the 91st percentile for whiff rate, only missing four balls in the upper third of the zone all year long, while creating regular line drives from most areas of the strike zone, a big reason for his high level of productivity so far this season. Without his run of form, the Brewers would likely be sitting below .500 by now, now it’s up to the rest of the line-up to start bringing him in more often. Aside from his bat, he has also shown solid range in defense across almost every position on the infield, as well as causing some havoc in the bases when required, such as when he scored on a steal of second base, taking an aggressive send to reach home plate in a tight encounter. What are your thoughts of the month Owen Miller had in May? How would you rank these candidates? Leave a comment below.