Milwaukee Brewers: Top 5 players from 2018

As of Wednesday the Milwaukee Brewers completed a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals and clinched their first playoff berth since 2011 and their fifth overall in franchise history. But who were the best five players from the 2018 season?

Making the playoffs in baseball is very difficult to accomplish. It is a long grueling season with many ups and downs. It takes a complete team effort to get to October, and this Milwaukee Brewers team is no different.

When we look back on this season the Brewers has had everything from an Eric Thames walk off, to an Orlando Arcia bunt double, and even a drawn walk from relief pitcher Jordan Lyles in the 15th inning to extend the game. Just about every man on the roster has had a special moment this year that has helped propel the Brewers to a win and now to a spot in the post season.

While there have been many contributors to this 2018 playoff season, there are a handful of players that have been the life blood of this Brewers team. Without them and their efforts, we can confidently say that the Brewers wouldn’t be sitting where they are now.

There have been five key players for the Milwaukee Brewers in this 2018 season that have had huge impacts. Let’s take a look!

Lorenzo Cain

The other portion of the Milwaukee Brewers dynamic duo is Lorenzo Cain. The Brewers were able to bring Cain back to Milwaukee in free agency this past off season.

Cain has been Mr. Consistent for the Brewers all season, both offensively and defensively. He’s never really gone through a slump this season, which is amazing. Cain’s slowest month at the plate came in May where he still had a batting average of .274, with an OBP of .373. Those are very good numbers, especially when that is considered his “down” month.

Much of Cain’s success at the plate is due to his patience. Rarely will he swing at pitches out of the strike zone. That with his ability to make contact to get the ball in play make him an incredibly difficult out.

As impressive as Yelich’s numbers on offense are, Cain is not too far behind. On the season Cain is tied with Yelich for highest WAR in the NL at 7.0. He has a batting average of .310, which is good for third best in the NL. His OBP is at .400 and is also third best in the NL in that category.

But what may be the most overlooked aspect of Cain’s game is his defense. Cain leads all NL center fielders in Defensive WAR at 2.4. He also leads the NL in outfield assists at 11 on the season and is tied for first in double plays from center field.

What makes Cain so good in center is his athleticism. He is able to play shallow compared to other outfielders because he has the speed to get to just about any fly ball that is hit over his head towards the warning track. We’ve seen a number of spectacular catches from Cain this season at the wall.

Cain hasn’t received the same national media attention as some players but with his all around play, he very much deserves to be in the NL MVP conversation.

Josh Hader

After a strong 2017 performance in his rookie year, left-handed reliever Josh Hader has built on that and has had an even better 2018.

Hader’s responsibilities increased at the beginning of the season when Corey Knebel was put on the DL. Hader stepped into the closer role with a much heavier work load and did not disappoint. Between April and May, Hader threw 33 innings and gave up just four earned runs.

When pitching at his best, which is quite often, Hader is almost unhittable and could be considered the best left-handed reliever in the league. Between his fastball that can reach the upper 90s, a curve ball that takes a nose dive at the plate, and the way he’s able to locate pitches, Hader is one of the toughest pitchers to make contact off of.

Hader has shown his ability to go more than one inning for the Milwaukee Brewers. He has appeared in 53 games this season but has pitched in 79 innings. This gives manager Craig Counsell a lot of flexibility in his bullpen when he knows that his best pitcher can give him more than one inning of work.

Over those 79 innings, Hader has an ERA of 2.28, has given up just 34 hits and 20 earned runs. In addition, he has a WHIP of just 0.797 and has recorded 140 strike outs this season. Both of which are best in the NL amongst relievers. With such a low WHIP and such a high strike out number, Hader has allowed very few base runners and is making quick work of the batters he faces.

As good as Hader has been in 2018, perhaps his most dominant performances have come in September. So far he has faced 47 batters and has struck out 27 of them. This includes a stretch where he struck out 17 of the 20 batters he faced, including tying an MLB record by recording 15 consecutive outs via a strike out.

Josh Hader’s dominance on the mound is undeniable.

Jhoulys Chacin

A big question mark among many fans this season was the Milwaukee Brewers starting pitching staff. But the constant from start to finish has been Jhoulys Chacin.

Chacin was another off-season signing by GM David Stearns but unlike Yelich and Cain, early on it was unclear what kind of impact Chacin would have this season.

Before you can be a productive player, you have to be an available player and Jhoulys has been both for Milwaukee this season. He has avoided injury and has made all 34 starts for the Brewers this year. He holds a record of 15-8 but the Brewers are 22-12 overall when Chacin takes the mound.

Overall in 2018, Chacin has been fairly consistent from start to start and has rarely had a game where he absolutely struggles. On the year, he has an ERA of 3.56, a WHIP of 1.182 and his opponents are batting just .223 against him. Chacin has been able to reduce the number of big innings against him as he has limited the long ball this year. He’s given up just 17 home runs this season, an even more impressive stat given how hitter friendly Miller Park is.

A big reason for Milwaukee’s success when Chacin is on the mound is due to how well he performs in the first three innings of games. This is a part of the game that has been a struggle for some of the Brewers starting rotation, but Chacin has done quite well early in games.

Chacin has an ERA of 2.74 in the first through third innings and has held his opponents to an average of only .201. When the Brewers have the lead entering the fourth inning, they have a record of 53-15 on the season.

Chacin’s makes this list because of his consistency and his success early in games. He has helped lead the Brewers to a number of victories in 2018.

Jesus Aguilar

Jesus Aguilar makes this list because of the overall success he’s had in 2018 but in particular because of his monstrous first half at the plate.

Aguilar may have cooled off since the All-Star break but he has still been very productive in the Milwaukee Brewers lineup. With the pace he was on at the start of the year, it was a realistic expectation that he would not be able to keep those numbers up over the course of the full season.

Jesus had put together one of the best first halves of baseball in Brewers history. At the All-Star break he had a batting average of .298, very high for a power hitter and was good for tenth best in the NL at the time. He was first in slugging percentage at .621, first in home runs with 24 and first in OPS at .995. Aguilar also had 70 RBIs at the break, good for third best in the NL and was responsible for some memorable walk off home runs.

Aguilar was able to put up these gaudy numbers and only made nine starts between March and April. It took an unfortunate injury to Thames for Aguilar to crack the lineup. But once he did he never looked back.

Overall in 2018, Aguilar has put up some great numbers. He has a slash line of .275/.352/.541 to go along with 34 home runs and 105 RBIs. Two of the big reasons for Aguilar’s success is his strength and ability to go to the opposite field with the baseball.

Pitchers don’t want to come inside to Jesus, so they will often pitch to the outer portion of the strike zone. Many power hitters would try to pull these pitches but Aguilar will wait back and slap the ball to right field. And because he is so strong, he is still able to drive the ball and hit home runs to the opposite field.

Without Jesus Aguilar’s emergence in the first half of the season, the Milwaukee Brewers would most likely still be fighting for a playoff spot. He has been apart of many rallies and big innings that led to a Brewers win.