Milwaukee Brewers: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not

The Milwaukee Brewers have had an up and down year offensively. Which hitters are hot and which hitters are not?

Hot Hitters

Acquired during the off-season in a blockbuster trade, Christian Yelich has had a nice year offensively.  He has almost 100 at bats and his average is close to .300. In addition to his high average, he has an OBP of over .360 and an OPS over .800.  Yelich has also shown a little pop with three home runs already this year.

It doesn’t hurt that Yelich plays very good defense as well.  He is providing the Milwaukee Brewers with everything they could have asked for when they made the trade of him this past off-season.  The only thing he hasn’t done well is steal bases.  Yelich only has one stolen base this year and in two of the last three years, he has swiped 16 bases.

The second hot hitter for the Milwaukee Brewers is another off-season acquisition, Lorenzo Cain.  Cain is hitting over .270 and has an on-base percentage of over .380. In addition, he has an OPS over .800 and eight stolen bases. He has shown a little power with four home runs and is second on the team with 20 runs scored. Cain really is doing a little of everything for the Brewers this year including playing a solid center field.

Not Hot Hitters

One of the bigger disappointments offensively so far this year for the Milwaukee Brewers has been Travis Shaw. Shaw had very nice year last year and was a steal in the trade for Tyler Thornburg.  Unfortunately, all that’s continued from last year to this year has been his power. He has hit seven home runs  so far this year which has led a team high nineteen RBI’s. Otherwise, his average is hovering around .220 with an OBP around .300 and an OPS close to .760. There is no question that the Milwaukee Brewers expected more from Shaw this year. It’s still early, so there is a lot of time to turn things around.

There are several more names of hitters that aren’t doing well so far this year, but the other name that has to be mentioned is Orlando Arcia. Arcia is doing very little offensively. His average going into the weekend is .212, his OBP is .248 and his OPS is .546. After last season, Brewers fans felt that he was going to be the shortstop of the future. However, there is no question they need more from him offensively in order to meet that expectation.

Next: Corey Knebel Is Back In Milwaukee

One of the bigger storylines for the Milwaukee Brewers this year has been their inconsistency at the plate. They have averaged less than four runs a game and were shut out seven times. If some hitters who have a history of success can turn things around, the Brewers can meet the expectations that most had for this offense prior to the season starting.