2 reasons Brewers fans should be excited about Andrew Vaughn

With Aaron Civale requesting a trade from the Milwaukee Brewers after being moved to the bullpen, it put the organization in a difficult spot.

Civale would have been a good piece to move at the deadline for a prospect or two. He's an experienced arm that has been really solid since returning from the injured list. He could provide any contender with valuable rotation depth in a playoff race.

But with Civale requesting a trade, his value plummeted. The Brewers wasted no time in honoring his request by trading him to the Chicago White Sox on Friday morning in exchange for first baseman Andrew Vaughn.

Vaughn was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, but he has been a disappointment for Chicago and never quite lived up to his potential. That being said, there are still a couple of reasons for Brewers fans to be excited about the addition of Vaughn and what he will bring to Milwaukee.

1. Vaughn has been unlucky in 2025

It's been a rough season for Andrew Vaughn in 2025. He was hitting .189 with just five home runs and a .531 OPS before he was sent down to Triple-A on May 23.

Vaughn has shown flashes of being an all-around force at the plate, but the White Sox have been waiting years for Vaughn to channel his raw power and surpass his career high of 21 home runs. Not only is he on pace to fail to do that in 2025, but he's cratered in every offensive category.

Looking at Vaughn's analytics profile, however, he seems to be getting really unlucky this season, which has his early season slump looking worse than it really is.

Vaughn's expected batting average is .258, but he is hitting .189 due to batted ball luck. His expected slugging percentage is .461, but instead he's at .402. Vaughn is right around the 80th percentile in baseball in average exit velocity (91.5 mph), barrel percentage (13.3%), squared-up percentage (29.9%), and hard-hit percentage (48.3), according to Baseball Savant.

His walk rate is way down from previous seasons, and even with his projected numbers, he's not a middle-of-the-order bat. But Andrew Vaughn has been hitting the ball harder than his numbers would lead you to believe.

2. Vaughn is a notorious slow starter

Vaughn has hit at every level he has played at. He is one of the best college hitters of all time and has at least been average at the dish for most of his major league career. He always hits, but he's a notorious slow starter.

In 2024, Vaughn has an OPS of .497 at the end of April. At the end of May, he was hitting .199 with a .577 OPS and only four home runs. Those numbers are right on track with where he is at in 2025.

In June of 2024, Vaughn had 12 multi-hit games. He hit .337 with six home runs and posted an OPS of .933 for the month.

It is always right around now when Vaughn gets going and starts to look like himself again. The summer months unlock something for the California native.

Considering that Vaughn's statistics through May are not all that unusual for his big league career, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw him heat up shortly after joining the Brewers. A little more batted ball luck goes his way, and he gets into his power with the weather getting warm. Andrew Vaughn has the potential to be a fun addition for Milwaukee. But first, Vaughn will need to earn his way onto the Brewers roster, as the team assigned him to Triple-A after the trade was officially announced. Vaughn will battle with Tyler Black and Ernesto Martinez Jr. for playing time at first base down in Nashville, though both Black and Vaughn have the ability to pla

Would it have been nice to get a prospect or two for Civale? Definitely, but Milwaukee needs power, and there are a few reasons to be excited about what Vaughn can bring in that department.