Milwaukee Brewers: Lorenzo Cain is the team MVP

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MILWAUKEE, WI – APRIL 22: Christian Yelich #22 and Lorenzo Cain #6 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrate after Yelich hit a home run in the fourth inning against the Miami Marlins at Miller Park on April 22, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

While his traditional stats do not exactly jump off the page, anybody that has watched the Milwaukee Brewers this year realizes Lorenzo Cain‘s impact. In just a short time he has become their most indispensable player. He also has made this his team.

The Signing

Lorenzo Cain signed in January with the Milwaukee Brewers for $80 million over 5 years. It is the most money given to a free agent in their history. At the time, it flew under the radar for a couple of reasons. First of all, the trade for Christian Yelich on the same day kind of muted both moves by combining them into one. Secondly, Cain would be 32 years old in his first season back in Milwaukee. It was thought that is age may be detrimental at the back end of the contract. That could still be true. Just don’t bet on it.

This quote from David Stearns at the press conference to introduce Cain was prescient.

“Lorenzo’s talent on the field is well-known and well-recognized throughout the league. He’s one of the rare, true five-tool players in baseball right now. He’s a winning player. He’s played and performed on the biggest stages in baseball, and we’re certainly very excited to have him and his entire family back here.”

He certainly has been that and more for the 1st place Milwaukee Brewers. His consistency throughout has made him their most valuable player thus far.

Lorenzo Cain for MVP

If you break down the season, both Cain and Yelich got off to great starts. During this fun year, there have been many Brewers that could claim MVP honors for a period of time. Eric Thames hit 7 home runs in April before getting hurt. Travis Shaw had a great power stretch and everything but his batting average is on pace to last year. Jesus Aguilar turned into David Ortiz and made people forget Thames. Of course you cannot forget that Josh Hader has also been a transcendent force on the mound all season.

Hader is probably closest to Cain in terms of value. After blowing his 2nd save against the Cubs, the team is now 21-1 in games that he has pitched. That is just one of many ridiculous stats you can throw out there for Hader. Cain has played in 64 games, so he has affected many more contests. More than that, he continues to make winning plays that likely have a lot to do with their numerous close victories this season.

Statistically speaking

The slash line for Lorenzo Cain of .288/.388/.442 do not sound any All-Star alarms at first glance. He has hit in the lead-off position for the first time in his career and has adjusted seamlessly. He takes pitches, evidenced by his OBP being 100 points higher than his average. It is also 25 points higher than his career best. His 39 walks this season (7th in NL) would already be higher than in EVERY season of his career, save for 2017 when he drew 54.

The Brewers 17th round pick in 2004 does only have 22 RBI’s on the season. That stat has more to do with his position in the order, as well as those hitting ahead of him. He is still hitting over .300 with men in scoring position.

Cain has a unique back-leg home run swing that has resulted in 8 round trippers. He is on pace to challenge his career best of 16 that he hit in 2015. His 8th long ball on Wednesday ended up being a huge one, resulting in the only run scored in the game. This helped the Brewers stay in 1st place with a series win over the Cubs.

He also has already stole 13 bases on the young season. Cain is well within reach of his career high of 28, which is significant for a player that is 32 years old. His legs and mind also resulted in one of the best base running plays that you will ever see.

MILWAUKEE, WI – JUNE 13: Lorenzo Cain #6 of the Milwaukee Brewers hits a single in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Miller Park on May 27, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

The base running play of the season

If you have not seen the play yet against the Cubs on Tuesday, please click on this link. Explaining it does not do it justice. The best compliment was that baseball lifers like Bill Schroeder and Jerry Augustine both said on TV they had NEVER seen that happen before. The intelligence, quick-thinking, and awareness were at another level.

Christian Yelich is a great base runner, but even he did not realize what was going on. Cain orchestrated the entire thing. It was just gravy that Travis Shaw paid it off with a 2-RBI double with Cain scoring from first.

That play is even more amazing when you realize that Lorenzo Cain received a late introduction to baseball. He only started playing the game his sophomore year after being cut from the basketball team. This is clearly not the story of the kid that has a bat in his hands when he was 2-years old. Many proponents of the Cain signing did point to having more “tread on his tires” after this late start to playing. He is definitely not slowing down yet.

Intangibles and other metrics

We have gone this far and his fantastic defense has yet to be mentioned. The lead was purposely buried. All of the points prior should be enough to prove his value, but adding his graceful play in center field should put him over the top. He is 15th in Major League Baseball in overall WAR. He is even better when you consider defensive WAR, where he is 5th in baseball at 1.3.

The average Milwaukee Brewers fan likely does not need advanced stats to know that their new center fielder is holding it down defensively. Cain’s first step is amazing. He never looks like he is out of control and makes the difficult catch look routine. How long can he roam out there as he gets older? That’s a discussion for another day, but Mike Cameron did play out there well into his late 30’s.

MILWAUKEE, WI – JUNE 13: Lorenzo Cain #6 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates after hitting a home run in the third inning against the Chicago Cubs at Miller Park on May 27, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

Lorenzo Cain: Team leader

Cain also has seemingly fit into an already tight team that jelled nicely in 2017. The Brewers celebratory gesture they do when they get on base–that seems to have come from LoCain. He also has World Series experience that is extremely valuable. He had his best season in 2015 helping the Royals to the crown.

The player the Brewers traded away to get Zack Greinke in 2010 also seems to have a great time playing baseball. His smile is infectious. This is a metric that can’t be measured, but it sure is better than the alternative. Guys just seem to gravitate to him.

Getting back to the MVP

A group of my friends tried to predict the Brewers MVP before the season. I knew that a lot of people would go for Cain or Yelich, since they were new. I chose Travis Shaw thinking that many would overlook the 2017 offensive team MVP. Shaw has put up great numbers, but he is a bit off from his breakout season.

I realize it is only June, but a lot would have to happen for Lorenzo Cain to take his strong hands off of that title. He has been that good.

Josh Hader will likely be an All-Star, and Cain will have an uphill climb to get there. The electric lefty is also another main reason why the Brewers have been successful in close games, along with Jeremy Jeffress. Lorenzo Cain just has the ability to affect games in almost every inning he plays.

Rest of the season

This past week I saw a lot of Cubs fans remark that the Brewers will fade just like every other year. Yes, these are the same fans that were recently “lovable losers”, but now they have become the arbiters of what it takes to win. I digress. My point is that this Milwaukee Brewers team seems to have a different feel than many Cubs fans are giving them credit for.

They were riding a wave in 2014 that most did not think would last. It didn’t and it led to the rebuild. They arrived a bit too early last season and did not have the experience necessary to compete. 2018 could be a different story.

Next: Mitch Haniger is the One That Got Away

If the Brewers can challenge the Cubs and actually win the division, my money will be on Lorenzo Cain being the difference. It should be a fun summer with a lot of “finger-waving” after big plays. Cain will most certainly be in the middle of it.

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