Milwaukee Brewers: Orlando Arcia Could Be X-Factor In October

The Milwaukee Brewers got surprise production from Orlando Arcia on Monday against the Cubs. This could be a sign of better things to come for the young shortstop.

It was a career day for Orlando Arcia at the plate on Monday, going 4-for-4 and scoring two of the three runs the Milwaukee Brewers used to defeat the Cubs. He put together good ABs and worked the count to get his four singles on the day.

Arcia has been the 8th place hitter for most of his career with the Brewers. They got solid production out of him last season when he hit .277 with 15 homers. But this year was a different story for the most part.

Demotions To Triple-A

Arcia was demoted to Colorado Springs twice this season. In his first stint, he was down for three days before needing to be called back up after Tyler Saladino injured his ankle. The second time he was demoted, Arcia stayed down there long enough to fix the issues with his swing.

His batting average was down to .197 before he was brought back up at the end of July. Since then, Arcia has been making steady improvements.

Back On A Hot Streak

Arcia hit .283 in the month of August and .329 for the month of September, including Monday. That 4-for-4 to finish the regular season brought his batting average up to .236 to close out the season. From where he started, that’s a major improvement over the final two months.

There is hitting ability inside of Arcia. He has the talent to be a productive offensive player in the big leagues. It’s just a matter of getting his confidence up and getting into a rhythm. I believe he’s in a rhythm right now.

Potential X-Factor

In the National League, having an effective 8th hole hitter is very important, especially in the playoffs. The pitcher normally follows Arcia and getting a base runner on allows the pitcher to drop down a sacrifice bunt and make a productive out instead of making one without anyone on base.

We saw this play out on Monday. Arcia got on twice in front of Jhoulys Chacin, which allowed Chacin to bunt him over to second base. In the third inning, that lead to an RBI single from Christian Yelich.

If Arcia can continue this hot stretch into October and get on base from that 8th spot in the lineup, that gives Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich better opportunities to drive in runs. Opportunities can be few and far between in the postseason. Creating as many chances for the Brewers best hitters to drive in runs bodes well for the team’s odds of moving on in the playoffs.

Getting another bat in the lineup to produce late in the year would be huge for the Milwaukee Brewers as they look to make the World Series for the first time since 1982.