Logan Schafer: ‘It was a year of adjustments’

Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

It was a trying season for Milwaukee Brewers’ outfielder Logan Schafer in 2013.

Schafer, 27, made the Opening Day roster for the first time in his young career as the fourth outfielder behind Ryan Braun, Carlos Gomez and Norichika Aoki, but struggled to perform.

He was a full-time starter during his minor league career, and sitting on the bench was something the left-handed hitter wasn’t accustomed too. For the first time, he wasn’t seeing consistent at-bats and had a hard time adjusting,

“It was just trying to get used to a different role,” Schafer said in a radio interview with Rupena’s Hot Stove Weekly. “It’s still the same game, and that’s easy to say, but I was in a different capacity being off the bench and really not getting the amount of at-bats I was typically used too.”

Schafer hit .211/.279/.322 in 337 plate appearances for Milwaukee. He batted only .175 after the All-Star break.

“It was a year of adjustments,” Schafer said. “You know, I would have liked to think that I could have adjusted a  lot quicker and been better at that role.”

Schafer went on to make the point that he was an “alright” pinch hitter but stumbled when he was called on to start. As a pinch hitter, he hit .256, which was considerably better than when he started.

“Actually as a pinch hitter, I think I did alright. It’s just my starts, when I got my random starts, you know, the spot starts here and there. That’s when my struggles were apparent.”

Schafer will start the season on the bench in 2014, backing up all three outfield positions. If the Khris Davis experiment fails, Schafer will need to be ready to step in and overcome his starting struggles.