Milwaukee Brewers: Is Travis Shaw back?

After a slow first half of the season, is Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Travis Shaw reverting back to the player he was in 2017? What do the stats say and what has the addition of Mike Moustakas meant to his numbers?

What do Shaw’s splits look like?

During the first half of 2017 Travis Shaw posted 65 RBIs, 19 homers, a .299 batting average, and an OPS of .938 for the Milwaukee Brewers. Those were very impressive first half numbers. They were the type of numbers that made many think the team had found their long term answer at third base. A position the team had struggled to find production from for years.

In the second half of 2017, Shaw’s numbers slowed down considerably. He had 36 RBIs, 12 homers, a .242 AVG, and an OPS of .768.

In the first half of 2018, he had 55 RBIs, 18 homers, a .245 batting average, and an OPS of .816. After 18 games in the second half of this year he has hit 11 RBIs, four homers, a .250 batting average, and an OPS of .831

During the first half of 2018 Shaw had similar numbers in the power and run production categories when compared to the first half of 2017. However, his batting average was 50 points higher and his OPS was 100 points higher in the first half of 2017 when compared to the first half of 2018.  Shaw is currently on pace to have similar statistics in the second half of this year compared to the second half of last year.

Has Moustakas helped Shaw out?

Shaw has played ten games with Mike Moustakas in the lineup with him. Has the addition of Moustakas created a bump in Shaw’s stats? A little.

During those ten games played together, Shaw has hit three home runs, and driven in seven. Four of those RBIs came from one swing of the bat last Saturday. However, his other stats didn’t improve. His average has gone from .246 to .245 and his OBP has gone from .345 to .343.

Based on the numbers, the Travis Shaw from the first half of 2017 might be the outlier. It seems that he will be the type of player we saw in the second half of 2017 and so far in 2018.

Even though he has had a few nice games in the second half of 2018, he doesn’t seem to be at the statistical level he was in the first half of 2017.  Shaw might be back, but its back to where he’s supposed to be, and that’s not bad for him or the Milwaukee Brewers.