Milwaukee Brewers: Trent Grisham’s 2019 Season Report Card

Trent Grisham may have had a wild card game to forget, but to say 2019 was a special run for the Richland Hills, Texas native is an understatement. We take a look at Grisham’s 2019 season and how he helped on the Milwaukee Brewers improbable run to the postseason.

Despite many blaming Trent Grisham for his role in the Milwaukee Brewers loss in the Wild Card game, it’s difficult to see the Crew even getting there without Grisham.

Regular Season

Minor leagues: A+

Trent Grisham’s 2019 started in Biloxi, stopped off in San Antonio, then had an August 1st call up that saw him take over the starting role outfielder role when Christian Yelich went down. His season had a lot of highs and a few lows but it was a great 2019 for the 22 year old.

When the 2019 season started in Phoenix, no one knew what to do with or where to put Grisham. The Brewers outfield was loaded with Yelich, Lorenzo Cain, Ryan Braun, and Ben Gamel. Triple-A San Antonio had top outfield prospects Corey Ray, Troy Stokes Jr., and Tyrone Taylor. So he ended up back in Biloxi starting for the Shuckers.

Grisham had fallen out of favor with many in the prospect rankings. The one time top prospect had fallen and made many question if the 2015 15th overall pick had topped out. That is when Grisham went back to basics. For years he was told to change his bat grip, from a golf club style grip to a more natural looking grip. This season he went back to what made him a first round pick.

In 63 games at Double-A, Grisham went .254/.371/.504 with an OPS of .875. By June, he had found his stroke and had his best month in the organization, being named the organization’s Minor League Player of the Month. He was named the Southern League Player of the week the first week of June and was a Southern League All-Star. His 13 home runs were already a career high and it earned him a promotion to Triple-A on June 20.

It was his work in San Antonio that earned him a promotion to the Major Leagues.

In just 34 games, Grisham slammed 13 home runs, batted in 30 runs, had eight doubles, three triples, stole six bases and walked 23 times. His 51 hits in 134 at bats gave him an amazing .381/.471/.776 split with a 1.247 OPS. He earned his second consecutive organizational minor league player of the month and got the call to join the big club on August 1 after the trade deadline.

Major leagues: B-

Grisham’s addition was a needed shot to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Crew ended July, five games over .500 at 57-52, Braun and Yelich had been ailing from lingering injuries, Cain was coming out of a early season slump but needed some rest. The offense was struggling and needed some life.

Grisham didn’t make an impact right away, but a 3-4 day against the Chicago Cubs light the fire. Grisham would go 16-for-71 in the month of August with four home runs, 11 RBIs, which included hitting a go-ahead run against the Minnesota Twins closer Sergio Romo in a 6-5 victory. Grisham remained steady in September, collecting 20 hits including three doubles, two triples, and two home runs.

During his brief stint in Milwaukee, Grisham showed potential. His .231/.328/.410/.738 line was solid for a guy who had never sniffed above Double A until late June. During his three stops in 2019 Grisham had 147 hits, including 32 home runs, 28 doubles, eight triples, swiped 13 bases and drove in 95 runs in 148 games.

In the postseason, Grisham will be remembered for one thing. A ball, that after watching multiple times takes a weird bounce, slipping past his glove. However his lead off walk and run scored helped the crew get to an early 2-0 lead. Don’t let that one play define your opinion on Grisham’s ability.

The Milwaukee Brewers believe Grisham will be an important part of their future and we’ll see a lot more of him in 2020.