Milwaukee Brewers: Orlando Arcia A Silent Stud in October

The Milwaukee Brewers have had a fair share of names to be candidates for their “Postseason MVP” in 2018. From Christian Yelich, Mike Moustakas, and Erik Kratz. But there is another name that should be getting noticed, and that is shortstop Orlando Arcia.

Orlando Arcia is playing in the postseason for the first time in his career with the Milwaukee Brewers.  Being one of the youngest players on the team–24 years old–you could say the pressure of playing well in October would rattle him some ways because of the inexperience.  But after watching his performance this postseason, you would think he has done this before.

What Was Arcia Like This Season?

Orlando Arcia was one of the many players that were bounced around from Triple-A to the Major League level many times this season.  He was called up to the Majors for the last time on July 26th and has remained on the team since then.

When he started heating up late in the season, it led us to believe he could be an X-Factor in October. These are his final regular season stats with Triple-A and the Majors:

Triple-A (Colorado Springs):

• 22 G
• .341 AVG (29-85)
• 2 HR
• 8 RBI
• .417 OBP
• .911 OPS

Major League:

• 119 G
• .236 AVG (82-348)
• 3 HR
• 30 RBI
• .296 OBP
• .576 OPS

As you can see, batting this regular season was not really Arcia’s forte.  He is better known for his glove work and speed on the base paths.

How Is Arcia Handling Playing October Baseball?

He’s doing pretty well. For being six foot, 160 pounds and near the bottom of the order, Arcia is showing that he has some pop in that bat. He hit a home run in Game Three of the NLDS in Colorado and also hit a one out, first pitch home run off of Hyun-Jin Ryu in the bottom of the fifth inning of Game Two of the NLCS yesterday. Here are his postseason stats thus far:

• .250 AVG (4-16)
• 2 HR
• 2 RBI
• .250 OBP
• .875 OPS

Another quick stat to add to those numbers: Orlando Arcia is batting an even .400 (8-20) in the month of October. That is including his perfect 4-4 in Game 163 against the Cubs for the division title at Wrigley Field. You could say that El Nino is getting hot at the right time.

Looking Ahead

We look forward to Monday night as the Milwaukee Brewers travel to L.A. for Game Three of the NLCS with the series tied at one game apiece.  Game Three probables are Jhoulys Chacin for the Brewers and Walker Buehler for the Dodgers with first pitch being at 7:39 PM CST at Dodger Stadium.

With a hot Orlando Arcia, the Brewers lengthen their lineup and provide a threat at the bottom of the order that they’ve been missing pretty much all season.