Jason Wang

need to give some of the other players a chance!

Image courtesy of © Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images Honorable Mentions Logan Henderson 4 GS, 21 IP, 2.14 ERA, 2.49 FIP, 33.3 K%, 6.2 BB% For the past two seasons, Henderson has been just outside the major-league rotation, but he's been effective when called up. Brandon Woodruff’s injury seemed like the perfect time for him to get some real innings under his belt, but then came the unfortunate news that he would be hitting the injured list with a back strain. The situation is even sadder when considering that, prior to getting hurt, he continued his strong showing from last year and was one of the better starters for Milwaukee last month. His tendency to give up plenty of pulled balls in the air may have been a concern in the long run, but he managed to keep most of the fly balls in the ballpark. He’ll be out of commission for about a month, but assuming his comrades start to get healthier, the team may not have a clear place to put him when he gets back. Statistical Nugget: Despite having an average velocity of 93.1 mph, Henderson’s four-seam fastball has a whiff rate of 28.4%, partly thanks to its 18.1 inches of induced vertical break. Aaron Ashby 11 G, 17 ⅔ IP, 1.53 ERA, 2.09 FIP, 29.6 K%, 9.9 BB% Ashby has a real shot at being one of the league’s most impactful relievers this year. It’s only the start of June, and he has already pitched 40 innings, setting him up to comfortably eclipse the 66 ⅔ innings he pitched last year. The best part is that he has remained effective despite his monstrous workload. The Brewers ask a lot out of their trusty multi-inning southpaw, and he has consistently delivered. His sinker has gotten hit around a bit, but the breaking ball duo of his curveball and slider has helped limit the damage, with both pitches having whiff rates greater than 56%. Along with his sheer stamina, he is a rare case of a pitcher who has both elite strikeout (32.6%) and ground ball (53.7%) rates, making him an invaluable component of Milwaukee’s bullpen. Statistical Nugget: Ashby has a higher whiff rate on his curveball (56.8%) than any MLB pitcher who has thrown at least 100 pitches. Trevor Megill is in second place (50.6%). Kyle Harrison 5 GS, 28 IP, 0.96 ERA, 2.00 FIP, 28.2 K%, 5.5 BB% In the offseason, the Brewers packaged away much of their infield depth to acquire a couple of underwhelming young starting pitchers and David Hamilton. It seemed like a bizarre move at the time, but after a few months of seeing the results, it’s clear that Milwaukee may have committed their most egregious act of robbery yet. Kyle Harrison has officially broken out and has become one of the best left-handed starters in the sport. In May, the only pitchers to accumulate more fWAR (1.2) than him were Chris Sale (1.3) and Cristopher Sánchez (2.1) He recently had the unfortunate privilege of pitching in the first game of the high-altitude Las Vegas Series, where he was on the wrong end of an offensive onslaught by the Athletics. This caused his numbers to take a steep decline, but he’s clearly demonstrated that under more normal conditions, he has what it takes to be a very solid #2 option in the Brewers’ rotation. Statistical Nugget: Harrison’s go-to secondary pitch is his slurve. Last year, opposing hitters slugged .639 against the pitch. This year, they’re slugging just .227. Pitcher of the Month — Jacob Misiorowski 6 GS, 38 ⅓ IP, 0.23 ERA, 0.68 FIP, 41.9 K%, 4.4 BB% Was there ever any doubt? I would say that Misiorowski posted video-game numbers in the month of May, but it’s difficult to find any video games that are this easy. Milwaukee’s ace dominated opposing hitters in his six starts, and if not for a historic scoreless stretch by Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez and the medical marvel that is Shohei Ohtani, Misiorowski would be a clear favorite for the NL Cy Young. Two of the main criticisms levied at the 24-year-old were that his inning count was limited by being inefficient and that he lacked command of his otherworldly stuff. Last month, only one of his six starts was shorter than six innings, and three of his starts were stretched to seven. He did this while limiting free passes and reducing his overall walk rate on the season to just 7.3%. His dominance in May rightfully earned him quite a bit of the mainstream spotlight, but this is the pitcher that Milwaukee has known about since they drafted him in 2022. With a 1.50 ERA over his first 78 innings of the year, the sky’s the limit for the future face of the franchise. Statistical Nugget: Misiorowski officially added a cutter this year, and it has quickly become a lethal weapon in his arsenal. Its Run Value per 100 pitches is 5.5, more than any other cutter in baseball (min. 100 pitches). View full article

Image courtesy of © Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images Honorable Mentions Brice Turang 111 PA, .231/.355/.363, 21 H, 3 2B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 18 BB, 2 SB, 107 wRC+ Turang slowed down a bit in the month of May, especially when it came to hitting for power, but his walk rate remained exceptional. His walk rate of 17.0% is exceptional and has helped keep his offensive production afloat even when the power has slipped. Luckily, things began turning around toward the end of the month, and June is off to a great start. He has slugged an impressive .778 in 27 at-bats so far and is doing plenty of damage once again, as noted by our very own Matt Trueblood. Statistical Nugget: Turang’s average exit velocity this season is 91.3 mph, the highest mark in his career so far. His average exit velocity as a rookie was 85.5 mph. William Contreras 106 PA, .302/.358/.365, 29 H, 3 2B, 1 HR, 14 RBI, 8 BB, 1 SB, 106 wRC+ Turang isn’t the only person who suffered from an apparent power outage last month. Contreras has been on a steady decline when it comes to his pop, which isn’t unexpected for a catcher who slugged .506 in his final season with his old team. The silver lining is that he has been hitting for a higher average and striking out far less. This has spurred some questions as to whether his power production and bat speed have declined as a result of the physical toll of playing as frequently as he does, given the grueling mental and physical demands of being a big-league catcher. While he hasn’t been able to do it consistently, he has shown occasional glimpses of being able to punish baseballs just as much as he did in his slightly younger days. Statistical Nugget: This season, Contreras is averaging .462 and slugging .731 against cutters. Andrew Vaughn 65 PA, .351/.431/.526, 20 H, 7 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 6 BB, 173 wRC+ Although he started the year on the injured list due to surgery on his left hamate bone, Vaughn wasted no time getting to work after returning to the team. He has been on an absolute tear and was one of the few truly standout bats in the lineup last month. Milwaukee’s ability to hit the ball into the stands is worse than one might assume. The Brewers’ combined 54 home runs are 28th in MLB. They haven’t really needed it, as shown by them being third in MLB for runs scored (344), but having a bat with real power potential like Vaughn will (if nothing else) give fans a few more long balls to admire than they would’ve had otherwise. Statistical Nugget: This season, Vaughn has a .692 OPS with runners in scoring position and a 1.016 OPS with the bases empty. Hitter of the Month – Jake Bauers 85 PA, .307/.388/.533, 23 H, 5 2B, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 8 BB, 1 SB, 160 wRC+ When Bauers first joined the team, it was assumed that he would be the latest in a long line of disappointing talent at first base, and there wasn’t much of a reason to believe otherwise. Prior to 2024, he had accumulated -1.4 fWAR and had never posted a wRC+ of 100 or higher. His first year as a Brewer was more of the same, but 2025 seemed to be an inflection point in his career. Now, at 30 years old in his seventh big-league season, Bauers has arguably been the best hitter on the team, and his numbers are in elite territory. In baseball, regression to the norm is always one freezing-cold month away, but the same was said about Vaughn after he was acquired from the White Sox. Vaughn has remained productive ever since. Milwaukee has become known for reviving the careers of pitchers, but they may have cracked the hitter puzzle, too. Bauers is a prime example of what’s now possible. Statistical Nugget: Jake Bauers’s 148 wRC+ this year is fifth among qualified first basemen and is higher than Bryce Harper (141) and Matt Olson (140). View full article

Image courtesy of © Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images Last Friday, we posted a forum thread that asked for our readers’ preferred trade targets for this year’s deadline, assuming they could only pick one name. We had more than a few intriguing answers, and I’m here to take a closer look at each pitch. @TwinsBrewersWorldSeries said: Freddy Peralta (just to watch heads explode). We roll with some combo of Miz, Harrison, Patrick, Henderson in the playoffs….but Peralta replacing Sproat or Gasser gets us the 1 seed. Aside from the obvious value of a homecoming for our glorious king Freddy Peralta, this is a pretty solid take. On the surface, his 3.38 ERA and average Statcast numbers don’t seem like much to write home about, but because he’s Freddy Peralta, there’s a solid chance that he would be even more effective in Milwaukee than he currently is in Queens. To me, the most important quality that Peralta would give to the Brewers’ rotation is length. The current rotation is mostly made up of younger players, and while one of them is throwing jet fuel on his 90th pitch, the others don’t quite have the same stamina. Milwaukee already has a tendency to demand a lot from its bullpen, and with many of their starters going fewer than six innings, it’s even more pronounced this year. Five of Milwaukee’s relievers have already made 23 or more appearances, and Aaron Ashby has been forced to throw 37 ⅓ innings. Poor guy. @owbc said: Joe Ryan is mine. It would be Skubal, but I think he might go ahead of the deadline, and we are more concerned about October than getting more regular-season starts. Joe Ryan is arguably the only good thing the Twins rotation has had going for them over the last two years. After a strong 2025 campaign, he has been even better this year, pitching to a 3.20 ERA with a 2.76 FIP over his first 13 starts. He has elite strikeout and walk rates, and his four-seam fastball is one of the best in the business. Minnesota isn’t out of the playoff race just yet, but it seems like it’ll be quite the uphill battle for them to make it there. Thus, it’s likely that they’ll be sellers at the deadline as they were last year. Their farm system is quite solid (ranked No. 9 by MLB Pipeline in March), and Ryan seems like he’ll be their most sought-after asset this year, so expect a steep asking price. @cragi said: Skubal The Tigers are going to get a lot of calls about Skubal this summer, but I’d be surprised if the Brewers were one of the parties dialing in, mostly because I think the $32 million salary is enough for Milwaukee to pass. You could ask the Tigers to pay down what he's owed, but that means giving up even better prospects. Additionally, their current southpaw options aren’t too shabby. Kyle Harrison is putting up video-game numbers and would probably be getting even more attention if his stablemate Misiorowski weren’t playing an even cooler video game. Shane Drohan hasn’t had as many innings but hasn’t been half bad when he has pitched, posting a 2.87 ERA over 31.1 IP with a 2.77 FIP. You can thank the Red Sox for both of these fellas. Throw in the fact that the Brewers have two multi-inning left-handed relievers in Ashby and DL Hall, and I don’t think the front office is even willing to pay Skubal’s remaining salary, let alone give up significant prospect capital to even have the ability to do so. @nate82 said: Highly unlikely, but if Witt becomes available, that is the only player I would go after. Highly unlikely indeed, especially given his eye-watering $288-million contract, but it would be nice to have a player of his caliber covering one of Milwaukee’s weakest positions. Neither Joey Ortiz nor David Hamilton has been offensively viable at shortstop this year, and they’ve combined for a .531 OPS, making the Brewers comfortably dead last in terms of shortstop OPS. Third base isn’t much better, which means that the entire left side of the infield is a point of concern and will probably be one of the organization’s priorities down the stretch. I don’t know if that means making a trade or calling up one of their current infield prospects, but I do know that it definitely doesn’t involve getting Bobby Witt Jr. in a Brewers jersey. @jay87shot said: Byron Buxton, I would love a SS/3B, but I don’t see a difference maker really being available. I will give a shout out to Reid Detmers, I think he is a guy like Harrison that has the tools to be a top line guy but needs to get out of LA. Thank you for agreeing with my last point Mr. 87shot! What a timely response. This seems like it will be the third consecutive season that Buxton will post an OPS+ above 130, and I’m all for it. He’s a great player with some exceptional tools and is one of the best outfielders in the game when healthy. His seven-year, $100-million contract extension might actually be the only successful move made by Minnesota’s front office since I started watching baseball. Assuming the Twins would be willing to trade their current face of the franchise, he’d be a great fit on paper for the Brewers, but I have to wonder if Milwaukee would be willing to give up on the cheaper and almost-as-good alternative in Garrett Mitchell. At least they both share a penchant for spending time on the injured list. As for Detmers, I don’t doubt that he’d excel in Milwaukee over Anaheim and would likely benefit from more separation between his arsenal (his four-seam, sinker, and changeup have very similar profiles right now). However, the Brewers may not be as enthusiastic about giving up minor-league talent for a project starter who may not even fit in the current postseason rotation. I do want to point out that over the last two seasons, he has pitched to a 4.31 ERA and 3.04 FIP. Tantalizing, but not sure if it’s enough to push him over the edge. The front office is probably keeping an eye on him, though. @LouisEly said: If Toronto stays out of it, Ernie Clement. This gets back to the original problem the team currently has with the left side of the infield, which has simply been lackluster. Ernie, whose legal name is evidently not Ernest, has been a valuable utility piece for the Blue Jays. While many teams have utility players that simply fill several roles at a near replacement level, Clement has been one of the most valuable players on the team since 2024. He has spent most of his time filling in at second base now that Kazuma Okamoto has taken over the starting job at third base, but Clement would still be a meaningful upgrade over Luis Rengifo, who has struggled to be impactful with the bat or the glove thus far. With a strong skillset, a few remaining years of club control, and a dedicated fanbase in Toronto, he won’t come cheap, but he could be the answer to one of Milwaukee’s most glaring issues right now. @HarryDoyle said: Literally any mediocre hitting third baseman. It’s time to start a dialogue. Thanks for all of your contributions. I hope to do this again soon! View full article

Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-Imagn Images Jacob Misiorowski took over baseball headlines last year by being a flamethrowing rookie who was controversially nominated to the All-Star game after just five career games. At the time, his numbers looked good, but things deteriorated in the second half, during which he posted a 5.36 ERA over 40 ⅓ innings. Now, he has recaptured the attention of fans across the sport—not because of some gimmick or contentious award, but because he has simply been dominant. He's currently tied with Cristopher Sánchez for the most strikeouts in MLB (80) and has absurd Statcast numbers, landing in the top decile for several statistics, including whiff rate (39.5%) and barrel rate (3.0%). He’s just nine starts into the season, but after 51 innings, how do his other rate stats compare to some of the best pitching seasons in Brewers history? Here are the top five single-season performances by descending fWAR and how Misiorowski’s current numbers stack up. fWAR IP ERA FIP K% BB% Ben Sheets (2004) 8.0 237.0 2.70 2.65 28.2% 3.4% Corbin Burnes (2021) 7.5 167.0 2.43 1.63 35.6% 5.2% Teddy Higuera (1987) 6.7 261.2 3.85 3.25 22.1% 8.0% Mike Caldwell (1978) 6.3 293.1 2.36 2.94 11.1% 4.6% Teddy Higuera (1988) 5.9 227.1 2.45 2.80 21.5% 6.6% Jacob Misiorowski (2026) 1.9 51.0 2.12 2.27 39.6% 8.4% Because nearly five decades separate Caldwell’s 1978 campaign and Misiorowski’s current work, there are quite a few differences that jump out almost immediately, with pitcher workload being perhaps the most notable. Caldwell’s workload in 1978 was already a Herculean task by his standards, but the culture of the modern game likely means that no Brewer will ever get anywhere close to that number of innings again. In fact, the only player to pitch more than 200 innings for Milwaukee since 2012 was Corbin Burnes in 2022. Burnes just barely crossed the milestone marker, logging 202 innings of work. Another key difference is strikeout rates, which have steadily climbed over the years. While Caldwell managed to accumulate 6.3 fWAR with a strikeout rate that would’ve been the worst among qualified pitchers in 2025, the team’s modern aces (Burnes and Misiorowski) have thrived by punching as many tickets as they could. Misiorowski is the most extreme example of this contemporary pitching philosophy, which seems to prioritize dominance in shorter spans over longevity. Of his nine starts so far, only one has been more than six innings. It doesn’t help that he has been exiting games early due to cramping in his legs, but those injuries are a side effect of averaging 92 pitches per start, 61% of which are fastballs that average nearly 100 mph. To some, this may seem like a problem, but to the Brewers, this is sort of the desired outcome. So while he might not be able to reach the counting-stat excellence of preceding franchise greats, he has a solid chance of having one of the most impressive rate-stat seasons in Milwaukee history. Assuming he maintains his current rate stats for the remainder of the year, this is where he’d stand compared to every other qualified pitching season for the Brewers. ERA 2.12 (1st) FIP 2.27 (2nd) K% 35.6% (1st) AVG .161 (1st) WHIP 0.90 (1st) Figures like SIERA and expected statistics are excluded because we don’t have data for earlier seasons. Naturally, maintaining this torrid pace is much easier said than done. There’s still a chance that, like last year, the wheels of his season start to fall off once we approach the dog days of summer. Conversely, a year of working with Chris Hook and the Brewers’ pitching development program can do wonders for a young baseball talent, and there’s good reason to believe that he’s much closer to his true potential than he was as a rookie. Strikeouts and whiffs are up, walks are down, and he’s no longer solely reliant on his fastball to get through at-bats. There are still plenty of things to nitpick, like how inefficient his outings can be or what things will look like if he does experience diminished velocity in later innings, especially since he opts to fill up the zone. Can he continue to get away with a three-pitch arsenal that’s really more like a two-pitch arsenal? Maybe, but it’d be nice to have some more fun offerings. The question of where this season by Misiorowski will land in the history of all-time great campaigns by Brewers pitchers is one worth revisiting at the end of the season, even if it’s not the only year we’ll be on watch. In fact, it’d be quite surprising for a player to peak at just 24 years old, so his best years may even be ahead of him. The organization has had no shortage of premier pitching talent over the years, but finding someone of his caliber may be a first. This season should be the first of many to prove it. View full article

Image courtesy of © Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images Matt Arnold’s tenure with the Brewers has been highlighted by some brilliant moves. The strategy of buying low and selling high has brought some intriguing talent to the team, like Caleb Durbin (acquired from the Yankees in the Devin Williams trade), Joey Ortiz (acquired from the Orioles in the Corbin Burnes trade), and most recently, Kyle Harrison (acquired from the Red Sox in the great infield culling of 2026). That said, not all of his deals have been as successful. Sure, some of the smaller trades were duds on both ends, and any depth pieces that ultimately fail to exceed expectations can’t necessarily be deemed failures. However, one recent trade this offseason is looking like one of the tougher sells in hindsight. On Dec. 14, 2025, the Brewers acquired left-handed reliever Ángel Zerpa in exchange for Nick Mears and Isaac Collins. It came as a surprise to some, since both Collins and Mears were solid contributors in 2025, while Zerpa’s abilities were less obvious. Collins posted a 122 wRC+ over 441 plate appearances and placed fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting, while Mears made 63 appearances for Milwaukee and pitched to a 3.49 ERA. On the other hand, Zerpa had pitched a total of 177 innings over five seasons for the Royals and managed an ERA of 3.97, with a 4.13 FIP. By all estimates, that's a satisfactory big-league resume, but it's hardly worth giving up two players. Nonetheless, our very own Jack Stern had his thoughts on why the implicit upside of Zerpa and impending regressions of Mears and Collins could still swing the deal in Milwaukee’s favor. Even when Zerpa hit a snag and struggled to find his footing to start the year, Stern remained optimistic on what he could accomplish down the stretch. Unfortunately, now that Zerpa’s season will draw to a premature close as a result of UCL surgery, the statistics of his debut season with the Brewers will remain as they are: underwhelming. Across his 12 ⅔ innings pitched, he posted a 6.39 ERA with a 5.33 FIP and -0.2 fWAR. Over in Kansas City, the two former Brewers are faring just a bit better. Collins has seen some defensive regression but has remained solid at the plate so far, posting a 102 wRC+ with a nifty 13.3% walk rate. Mears has pitched 14 innings to a 3.07 ERA and 3.93 FIP, sacrificing chase rate for more ground balls. As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20, and at the time, the thesis behind the trade was probably sound. Although Collins had strong numbers over the entirety of last season, his offensive production took a tumble in the fall, posting a .664 OPS in the final month of the regular season and managing just one walk with seven strikeouts in ten postseason plate appearances. Similarly, Mears had a second-half ERA of 5.59 and pitched just 1 ⅔ innings in the playoffs. Zerpa, a hard-throwing southpaw with some potential left to unlock, seemed like a natural project for the organization’s pitching staff. His showing in the WBC helped his case quite a bit. The tournament that took his hype to all-time highs for Brewers fans may have also been the very thing that led to his brutal start to the season and eventual addition to the injured list. It’s possible that getting ramped up too early and quickly may have been too much of a workload for his body to handle, but while it’s easy to blame the WBC, it’s far from the definite cause of his worries. Pitching injuries are more common than ever, and with teams making endless demands for more velocity and spin, injuries such as Zerpa’s are typically caused by a slew of different factors, rather than having a single smoking gun. Zerpa will now be sidelined until next spring or summer, which (assuming there’s no labor stoppage in 2027) means that Milwaukee will have, at most, just over a season more of club control over him. Meanwhile, the Royals will have Mears until 2028 and Collins until 2031. Unless Zerpa goes on a ridiculous run to conclude his time with the Brewers and/or Collins and Mears become negative contributors to the Royals, it’s likely the result of this trade will be disappointing. But misses can’t always be avoided, and for an organization as galaxy-brained as the Brewers, not all bets will pay off. View full article

Image courtesy of © Brad Mills-Imagn Images Honorable Mentions DL Hall 10 G, 12 IP, 2.25 ERA, 4.31 FIP, 25.5 K%, 15.7 BB% Hall’s season is off to a great start. With his injury issues hopefully long behind him, he’s finally looking like the prospect that was advertised when he was in the Orioles system, posting a 1.59 ERA over 17 innings pitched thus far. Not much has changed. The Brewers still depend on him to make multi-inning relief appearances, and his arsenal has far more variety than your typical reliever. He has begun to phase out his four-seam fastball and slider in favor of a new sweeper and heavier reliance on his sinker. He has been successful, but there are a few points of concern. His walk rate is much higher than it should be, and his changeup has been giving up a considerable amount of hard contact, especially compared to last year. Statistical Nugget: Hall has thrown 42 sweepers so far this year, limiting opposing hitters to a .000 slugging percentage with a 60% whiff rate. Aaron Ashby 12 G, 13 ⅔ IP, 2.63 ERA, 2.04 FIP, 33.3 K%, 14.3 BB% As the bullpen’s iron man, Ashby has been Milwaukee’s busiest reliever by far. Not only does he have 17 appearances this year, but eight of those outings were for more than one inning. The former starter has been excellent since returning to full health and has been an invaluable part of the pitching staff. His walk rate is the only real blemish on his profile this year, and his breaking balls have given opposing hitters fits. They are averaging .333 against his sinker, which has been more hittable this year than in years past, but with a robust arsenal of five pitches, he has plenty of weapons to get the outs he needs. Statistical Nugget: Ashby has thrown 83 curveballs this year. Opposing hitters have whiffed 70.8% of the time while failing to record a single hit. Jacob Misiorowski 5 GS, 27 ⅔ IP, 3.58 ERA, 3.28 FIP, 34.2 K%, 8.5 BB% Misiorowski dazzled the big leagues in his rookie year, but so far, it looks like his sophomore campaign is going to take his player stock to new heights. His strikeout rate (38.1%) and whiff rate (38.8%) are both in the 99th percentile, and the only qualified pitcher with a higher average fastball velocity is Mason Miller. His slider has shown major improvement over last year, generating less hard contact and serving as a more effective put-away pitch in two-strike situations. His curveball has taken a similar step forward but the star of the show is still his heater, which has a whiff rate of 47.1%. Statistical Nugget: This year, Misiorowski has a zone swing and miss rate of 29.1%, the highest among all qualified pitchers. Pitcher of the Month — Kyle Harrison 4 GS, 18 ⅔ IP, 2.41 ERA, 3.08 FIP, 28.9 K%, 9.2 BB% Harrison is the latest victory in a long list of successful trade deals executed by the Brewers under Matt Arnold. After three unremarkable seasons with the Giants and Red Sox, it took Milwaukee just a handful of starts to unlock his exceptional upside as a starting pitcher. After 29 ⅔ total innings of work this season, he has a 2.12 ERA and a 2.87 FIP. He has been known for his fastball since he was a top prospect in San Francisco’s system, but this is the first year that his slurve has been a viable secondary offering. The shape hasn’t changed much, but it has been located far better this year, ending up outside of the zone and limiting meaningful contact. The Brewers getting the best out of a discarded pitcher is a tale as old as time, but Harrison, who’s under club control until 2031, is looking like he’ll be a core component of Milwaukee’s rotation for the foreseeable future. Statistical Nugget: By pitching run value, Kyle Harrison currently has the most valuable slurve in all of MLB. View full article

Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-Imagn Images Honorable Mentions Gary Sánchez 69 PA, .200/.362/.436, 11 H, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 13 BB It’s too soon to call it a comeback, but his second stint with Milwaukee is certainly trending that way. Sánchez spent much of his first season with the Brewers as a designated hitter, with lukewarm results, and he was limited to just 101 plate appearances with the Orioles last year due to a right knee sprain. This season, he looks much better at the plate and has posted a 150 OPS+ thus far. Despite a low batting average, his absurd 19.0% walk rate and .542 slugging percentage helped keep his overall production afloat. Unfortunately, his numbers are as impressive as they are unsustainable. Sánchez does have good plate discipline, boasting a career walk rate of 9.6%, but he’s no Juan Soto. He has a better chance of holding onto his power, although some regression in his slugging percentage should also be expected. Indeed, he hit all five of his homers before the midpoint of April. Statistical Nugget: This season, Sánchez has a slugging percentage of .950 against four-seam fastballs. Garrett Mitchell 85 PA, .250/.400/.397, 17 H, 5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 17 RBI, 16 BB, 3 SB This is the most we’ve seen of Garrett Mitchell in a while, and the results have been solid so far. He’s still one of the most athletic players in the sport, demonstrating exceptional bat speed and sprint speed, and his quality of contact has been above average. His on-base percentage has been helped immensely by his 18.1% walk rate, but there are two glaring weaknesses preventing us from seeing him at his best. He’s a peculiar case of having a chase rate (19.3%) in the 95th percentile and a whiff rate (41.8%) in the 1st percentile. His zone contact rate of 65.0% is abysmal and is likely a major contributor to his other weakness, which is his squared-up rate. It’s a bat-tracking metric that measures how often a hitter is getting the most out of his swing, and Mitchell’s 13.9% squared-up rate is also in the 1st percentile. Getting the bat to the ball is much easier said than done in the majors, and even with these issues, his OPS+ of 112 isn’t too shabby for a center fielder. Statistical Nugget: This season, Mitchell has a .642 OPS at home and a .883 OPS away. William Contreras 101 PA, .304/.366/.424, 28 H, 5 2B, 2 HR, 15 RBI, 9 BB It’s great to see the Brewers backstop posting Silver Slugger numbers once again. Cutting down on the whiffs and strikeouts this season has been a boon to his production at the plate, and his power has remained largely unfazed. He still has a bit of a launch-angle problem, but on the bright side, he’s pulling the ball in the air at a rate of 20.6%, almost twice his career average of 11.3%. The one potential concern is his average exit velocity, which has taken a slight dip from years past, both in terms of average and max. However, his squared up rate of 30% indicates that he’s getting what he can out of his swing often enough, suggesting a larger sample size will allow the data to return to his career norms sooner rather than later. Statistical Nugget: This season, Contreras has an OPS of 1.017 with runners in scoring position. Hitter of the Month – Brice Turang 106 PA, .265/.410/.482, 22 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 21 BB, 5 SB Turang hit his stride early this year and hasn’t slowed down since. In fact, he has arguably been hot since the WBC, wherein he posted a .937 OPS, the third-best mark in a lineup that had the best hitters the United States could offer. After finishing last year with a 120 OPS+, it seems clear that the days of below-average hitting production are now behind him. He has always had elite contact skills, but a dramatic increase in power is what’s driving this offensive surge. Aside from his barrel rate, his quality of contact numbers are all in the top quartile, and his hard-hit rate is at 51.9% for the season. In 2024, he had a hard-hit rate of just 29.7%. Interestingly, his bat speed is still on the lower en, despite increasing by 4 mph over the past two years. He also pulls the ball in the air at a measly 7.4% clip, less than half of the MLB average. This hasn’t held him back much, since many of his extra-base hits are to the opposite side of the field, but it raises the question of whether there’s even more juice left in Turang’s swing to unlock. Statistical Nugget: This season, Turang has seen 78 sinkers and has a whiff rate of 0.0% against the pitch. View full article