Brewers: 3 Candidates To Hit In the Cleanup Spot In the Lineup
“We had guys that just didn’t perform last year offensively. It was puzzling. It was out of the norm. You’re hoping, you’re planning on them getting back to norm, and that’s going to create a pretty big improvement in our offense. That’s a big part of this.”
These are the words of Craig Counsell, the optimistic skipper of the Milwaukee Brewers who’s entering his seventh season at the helm of the ballclub. He’s well aware that his guys had a tough season at the dish last year and he’s expecting a big bounce back. Counsell did all he could to try to stimulate the Milwaukee bats last season, shuffling guys around the lineup almost regularly, but it never clicked.
This year, I would guess the Brewers manager would like to develop more of a consistent lineup. One spot in the lineup where Brewer hitters struggled was the cleanup spot. As a matter of fact, Craig Counsell started SEVEN different hitters at that particular spot in the lineup in 2020 and the results were less than thrilling.
Among those seven players, they had a combined average slash line of .190/.374/.390, not ideal numbers for one of the most important spots in the lineup. Four of the seven players who started in the cleanup spot last year are not currently on the roster and the combined number of games started by the guys remaining on the team is 21 out of the 62 they played a year ago.
So obviously the Brewers cleanup spot needs to be addressed in 2021, so who are the best options?
There are three that stick out as leading candidates.
Brewers cleanup hitter candidate #1: Keston Hiura
Keston Hiura has the pop to be a cleanup hitter in the big leagues. He also strikes out at a high clip, unfortunately following the profile of a number four hitter. He only started in one game at that spot in the lineup last year, but in 2019 he was quite comfortable in the cleanup spot hitting his most home runs (10) at that spot compared to the six other spots in the lineup he started at.
Another positive of Hiura being the Crew’s cleanup hitter is the continuity within the lineup. Ideally, Kolten Wong leads off (lefty) with Lorenzo Cain (righty) hitting second and Christian Yelich (lefty) starting the game in the hole with the right-handed hitting Hiura next. Craig Counsell has always been a fan of keeping the lineup as balanced as possible and Hiura would fit nicely in this spot.
Keston Hiura is very capable of hitting 25+ home runs in a full season and his career slugging percentage of .505 is very respectable. He will need to overcome the season-long slump that he encountered last year if he wants to hit in the coveted spot behind the 2018 NL MVP. But if and when he figures out his struggles at the plate, I think he’s a prime candidate for being the day in, day out cleanup hitter.
Brewers cleanup hitter candidate #2: Travis Shaw
Out of the 562 games that Travis Shaw has started in his career, he has hit cleanup in 260 of them, so he’s no stranger to the spot in the lineup. His best OBP and SLG numbers (min 10 games started) come in the cleanup spot and he has 55 home runs and 55 doubles in those 260 games. Last season with the Blue Jays, Shaw started the majority of his games in the three-hole, with only one start at cleanup where he went 1-3 with a walk and a double.
First and foremost, he needs to perform well enough in spring to make the Opening Day roster. From there, the major focus for Shaw should be trying to get back to his 2018/2019 form and the place in the lineup will come, but it’s nice to have an option with some experience at that spot.
Despite the lack of production that he’s seen in the past couple seasons, I believe that he just profiles too well at third base for the Crew to not start him there. Success for the Mayor of Ding Dong City could very possibly be the key to success for the entire team as the Brewers’ third base bats last year were a shell of what they’d been in the past.
Unless he has a scorching Spring, I wouldn’t count on him to be the Opening Day cleanup hitter. But if he finds a groove during the 2021 campaign, look for Craig Counsell to put him back in the spot he had so much success in during his first spell with Milwaukee.
Brewers cleanup hitter candidate #3: Avisaíl García
This one might be a bit of a surprise but I think Avisaíl García is Craig Counsell’s third-best option to hit cleanup this season. If you notice a trend, all three of these players listed are in pretty desperate need for a rebound performance in 2021. This year is a big year for García as there is a club option for 2022 that could be turned mutual if he meets a couple requirements within the contract regarding plate appearances.
Brewers fans have yet to see his full potential but he was actually Tampa Bay’s primary cleanup hitter in 2019 where he slashed .282/.332/.464 with 20 home runs, 25 doubles and 72 runs batted in. In that fourth slot, García had his most home runs with seven and over half of his doubles came there as well.
He’s similar to Shaw in the fact that he has some experience there, but he probably won’t give you more than 25 home runs, whereas Shaw gave the Brewers over 30 in his two best years in Brew City.
Last season was one to forget for Milwaukee’s primary center fielder but if García can get things figured out, he’s undoubtedly in the conversation for the cleanup spot. He actually had the highest batting average out of the aforementioned seven players at .292 while hitting fourth but that was only in a sample size of seven games.
It’s time for Avisaíl García to earn his $10MM/year and he very well could earn it right in the middle of the Brewers lineup.
Honorable Mention Candidates
Daniel Vogelbach – Vogelbach is the ideal cleanup hitter, but with the lack of clarity in regards to the DH, he would probably only get the spot if Hiura needed a day off or was struggling mightily against right-handed pitchers. He did start in the third-most games at cleanup though with 13 last season.
Ryan Braun – If Ryan Braun was to return to the Brewers, he would be a similar option to Vogelbach in the scenario that an outfielder needs a day off or gets hurt, he steps in. Braun has spent about 84% of his career hitting third, but the Brewer legend still slugged .488 last year at 36 years old. If he comes back, which is a big if, then he could see some time here.
Christian Yelich – Christian Yelich will almost definitely hit second or third for Craig Counsell, but given any unforeseen circumstances, he could slide into the cleanup spot and produce there as well. He has more than enough power to hit cleanup, but realistically he has the capability to be good 1-9 in any lineup.
The cleanup spot in the lineup is unclear at the moment, but more clarity should come as we go through spring training.