Milwaukee Brewers: Manny Pina Heating Up At The Right Time

The Milwaukee Brewers haven’t gotten much production out of the catcher position for most of the season. But Manny Pina is riding a hot streak at the plate and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

The bottom of the Milwaukee Brewers lineup has struggles for the first couple months of the season. This was mostly due to uncharacteristic slumps from shortstop Orlando Arcia and backstop Manny Pina. Arcia is slowly getting back into form, but Manny Pina appears to be on fire right now.

After going 2-for-3 on Wednesday afternoon against the Reds, Manny Pina has raised his batting average to .254 on the season. Less than a month ago, Pina was sitting at a paltry .215 average.

Manny Pina’s Hitting Streak

With Wednesday’s game in the books, Pina officially extended his hitting streak to eight games. In that time, his average has jumped from .232 up to .254, an increase of 22 points.

Pina also has three multi-hit games during this streak.

This current hitting streak started with the Padres series and has continued against teams like the Braves, Cubs, and now the Reds.

Getting Pina Going

Last season, Manny Pina hit .279/.327/.424 with nine home runs and 21 doubles. He played a crucial role in 2017 and had one of the higher batting averages on the team when the season ended.

This year, Pina currently has a .254/.310/.383 slash line with six home runs and 11 doubles. His power has dropped off a little bit, and he isn’t hitting as many doubles either. While some may believe 2017 was a fluke year for Pina, he still has a pretty good bat. But he’s just now unlocking it.

Pina can help bring production back to the bottom part of the order. The first six hitters can bring the power and the scoring ability. But when they get on base for Pina and Arcia at the bottom of the order, being able to bring in those runs is going to be crucial in a pennant race.

This is the perfect time for Pina to heat up and get on a long hitting streak. The Milwaukee Brewers have been lacking production at the catcher position all year long. With his bat hot, this offense is looking even better. He had some crucial hits last season, and will be up in some big moments once again this year.

The playoffs is all about who is hot at the right time. Manny Pina is getting hot, which means the rest of the Brewers team should follow soon after.

The future at the catching position would be up in the air during the winter if Manny didn’t turn things around at the plate. Now that he has, the decision is going to be that much harder for GM David Stearns this winter.