Milwaukee Brewers: Five impact players down the stretch

Only 40 games remain in the MLB season for the Milwaukee Brewers. For them to have success down the stretch, these five players will have to step up.

This season is far from over for the Milwaukee Brewers. The playoffs are well within reach. They trail the Chicago Cubs by only one game. A hot month of baseball could put the Brewers back on top of the NL Central.

Chase Anderson is on the mend and should rejoin the rotation before the end of August. Before he was hurt, he was the ace of this staff. In the meantime, Jimmy Nelson has emerged as a workhorse for the staff. The rest of the rotation has been shaky, at best. Junior Guerra is in the minors, along with Wily Peralta. Matt Garza has been unreliable. It’s that third pitcher that the Brew Crew needs to step up down the stretch.

The bullpen will get a boost when the calendar flips to September. With the expanded rosters, the “fresh” arms from the Minors will help ease the heavy burden the pen has carried all season. Corey Knebel has been as dominant as anybody in baseball. It’s the man responsible for the eighth inning that needs to step back up.

The offense is the same story as always. Hitting a lot of home runs, with far too many strikeouts. Defensively, Orlando Arcia has solidified the shortstop position. The Milwaukee Brewers need more consistency from second base in order to make a September run.

The Milwaukee Brewers are among the steakiest teams in baseball. If they start to hit home runs, like they did over the first few months of the season, the National League is in trouble. These players are crucial for a strong finish.

Eric Thames

Thames averaged 130 games played, with a .349 batting average  and 41 home runs with 127 runs batted in, while playing in Korea. He turned that success into a three-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Through the first month of the season, Eric Thames was on an absolute tear for the Milwaukee Brewers. His .345/.466/.810 slash line made him look like the bargain of the off-season. He added 11 home runs with 19 runs batted in and a solid 1.28:1 K/BB ratio. Unfortunately, he hasn’t come close to matching that production in the months since.

From the start of May, through the end of July, he has hit a paltry .218, with a modest 13 home runs and an underwhelming 26 runs batted in. His strikeout to walk ratio also ballooned to 2.41:1. To say Thames was struggling, would qualify for the understatement of the year.

The Milwaukee Brewers don’t need Thames to hit 11 home runs a month to succeed, they need him to get on base more consistently. Batting number two in the order brings a lot of responsibility, and Thames is not holding up his end of the bargain. He has shown life at the plate as of late, which is a welcome site for all Brewers fans.

If Thames is unable to help clean the table, he at least needs to help set it up moving forward. Ryan Braun has been on fire recently, while Travis Shaw has remained consistent throughout, they need people on base in front of them. This team needs Thames to turn it around if they are going to make a serious playoff push.

Zach Davies

Davies broke out in a huge way for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2016. He showed, when he had command of his pitches, he is as tough to hit as anybody in baseball.

Zach Davies was 11-7 with a 3.97 ERA in 161 1/3 innings during the 2016 season. While those numbers may not be Cy Young caliber, he only walked 38 while striking out 135 for the Milwaukee Brewers. That performance, coupled with the improving defense behind him, were enough to have high hopes for 2017.

Although things didn’t exactly get off to a good start for Davies. His five starts in April were brutal. He was 2-2 with a rough 6.57 ERA, and he had only 22 strikeouts with 11 walks in 24 2/3 innings pitched.

May and June didn’t treat him much better. He did manage a 6-2 record, in 60 2/3 innings, over 11 starts. However, with 17 walks and only 33 strikeouts, he still wasn’t commanding the zone like he needs to. He lowered his ERA more than two runs to 4.30. The signs of improvement were all there.

He really started turning things around in July. In eight games, since July 1st, he is 5-2 with a 3.48 ERA. He has 15 walks and 36 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings pitched. That’s the key to Davies success, and he has worked deeper into games through this stretch.

That’s important for this entire pitching staff in the final six weeks. The Milwaukee Brewers will need the starters to pitch deep into games more consistently. The bullpen has been stretched to its limits. Now the rotation needs to pick up the slack.

Davies has shown, over the last month and half, his ability to get deep into games. Chase  Anderson is coming back soon and Jimmy Nelson has continued to ascend. Davies is the pitcher the Brewers need to help steady the rotation for a strong finish.

Josh Hader

Hader has been a rookie sensation for the Milwaukee Brewers this season. The team has brought him along slowly, but he’s in a prime position to help this team win.

It is time for Josh Hader’s role to expand. When the Brewers have a starter struggling to get through the fourth inning, Hader should be ready to come in the game. His biggest flaw is his control. However, he combats that with ridiculous strikeout numbers.

Playing in Triple-A this season, Hader was not spectacular as a starting pitcher. He had 51 strikeouts and 31 walks in 52 innings pitched. He showed very little command of the strike zone. However, his potential is through the roof, and the Brewers called him up in early June.

Hader quickly made his presence felt. Through his first seven appearances out of the bullpen, Hader threw 9 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run. However, he did walk eight, while only striking out six. For the season, Hader has allowed only two earned runs while striking out 32 and walking 19 in 25 1/3 innings.

Take a little deeper look, ignore the walks, and Hader has been outstanding this season. He has allowed a .133 batting average to opposing hitters. He also has a very good .200 BABIP allowed. That helps to explain his outstanding 92.8% left-on-base percentage. With his otherworldly 11.37 K/9, he has proven he can miss bats.

His role in the bullpen is the second most important role behind Corey Knebel. The Brewers will need him to be able to come into games in high leverage situations and bridge the gap to the late inning guys. He is more than just a lefty-specialist in the pen, and manger Craig Counsell needs to turn to him more often down the stretch.

Jonathan Villar

Jonathan Villar burst onto the scene for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2016. Unfortunately, he was unable to carry that momentum into this season.

One thought that most Brewers fans can agree on, is Villar has been the biggest disappointment this season. After batting .285 with 19 home runs and 62 stolen bases last year, Villar hasn’t come close to matching that production. He’s currently clinging to an everyday role with the team.

He struggled to a .206/.267/.327 batting line in April and has never recovered. The problem with Villar is his inability to get on-base consistently.  A lead off hitter needs to get on base more than 28% of the time. He strikes out too much and doesn’t take nearly enough walks. That’s a bad combination.

Villar reportedly turned down a contract extension from the Brewers in the off-season. It is possible that he put too much pressure on himself to open the season. Getting off to such a slow start only snowballed and made things worse. Early in the season, you could almost see Villar pressing too much, resulting in high strikeouts and poor decisions on the base paths.

For his career, Villar has shown he is a legitimate asset to a Major League organization. Coming into this season he was a .261 lifetime hitter with a .336 on base percentage. His 2.68:1 K/BB ratio is not good, but there have been plenty of solid players who were worse.

Exacerbating the situation even more is his poor play in the field. He has committed 14 errors this season at second base for a terrible .964 fielding percentage. Unfortunately, that’s right in line with his career averages. He is still young, so there is plenty of time for him to turn it around.

The Milwaukee Brewers need Villar to recapture his magic from a season ago. Eric Sogard has been a good story this season, but after injuring his ankle, he hasn’t been the same. Villar needs to step up and become a positive piece for this team if they have any hope of making a playoff run.

Next: What Does Stephen Vogt's Return Mean To The Brewers?

More than just these five players needs to step up to close this season. For the Milwaukee Brewers to make the playoffs, they will need a total team effort. They will need players we’ve never heard of to step in and get a big hit, or a big out. With only 40 games left, this is shaping up to be an exciting end of the season.