Brewers: 2 players who justified team’s faith and 1 who hasn’t

The Milwaukee Brewers have faith in the players they acquire and usually give them ample time to settle in and succeed. For some players it takes a little extra time to do so and the Brewers more often than not are rewarded for their faith.

During that extra time it takes to allow a player to work through struggles, there are moments where things look hopeless, and it takes faith in that player turning things around to keep them around. If they do turn it around, the team looks smart. If they don’t turn it around, the team looks like fools.

The Brewers have shown faith in numerous players despite struggles. Here are a few that rewarded the team for their faith, and one that didn’t.

Rewarded: Freddy Peralta

Will Sammon of The Athletic had an excellent article go up recently (subscription required) on Freddy Peralta becoming an organizational win for the Brewers after acquiring him as a teenager in the Adam Lind trade and developing him into the 25 year old stud starting pitcher he is now.

The Brewers had to have plenty of faith in Peralta in the early days and even after he made his Major League debut in 2018, there were plenty of ups and downs. Peralta, just 21 years old at the time, had mostly just one pitch, a fastball, that didn’t even have elite velocity. Still, it played up and he dominated in his first start.

Peralta has shown flashes of brilliance since, with a few more strong starts in 2018 and 2019, but some more struggles in 2019 led to him going into the bullpen for most of that season. He was having more success in the bullpen than in the rotation and there was a belief among some that that was his long-term home.

The Brewers showed incredible faith in Peralta when they signed him to a five year, $15.5MM contract extension prior to the 2020 season. The financial security it provided Peralta has helped him settle in. If Peralta stayed in the bullpen going forward, that money still wouldn’t be a lot, but if he became a rotation piece, that deal becomes a bargain.

Peralta started 2020 in the rotation, but made just one start and then went back to the bullpen for the remainder of the season.

Then as 2021 began, the Brewers announced Peralta would be in the rotation yet again, the fourth year they would be trying him out as a starter. The previous three times had not gone all that particularly well, outside of a few outings. This time? Peralta has more than rewarded the Brewers for their faith in him.

Through his first 12 outings, Peralta has a 2.25 ERA with 92 strikeouts in 64 IP. He has become the 3rd-best pitcher in the rotation for the Brewers, behind Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes. He’s become consistent, and has begun to limit his walks as well.

Peralta’s arsenal has expanded to four pitches, up from the essentially just one that he had when he made his debut in 2018. The Brewers have been patient and continued to have faith that Peralta could be a big rotation piece instead of just a high leverage bullpen arm, and Peralta has proven them right.

Not Rewarded: Travis Shaw

It’s a love-hate relationship with Travis Shaw. Shaw first came over to Milwaukee in 2017 after an offseason trade with the Boston Red Sox. He started off strong, putting up great seasons in 2017 and 2018, looking like the long-term answer at third base in Milwaukee.

However, Shaw got off to a terrible start in 2019, ended up losing his starting third base job and got sent down to the minors. He couldn’t get going the rest of the season and ended up getting non-tendered that winter.

This spring, the Brewers brought him back on a minor league contract with a very good chance of making the big league roster. He ended up making the team and he was looking like his old self for a little bit.

But only for a little bit.

After a strong first two weeks of the season, in which Shaw led the team in RBIs and was one of the league leaders in that category, Shaw’s numbers have plummeted.

Since April 16th, Shaw has hit .162/.258/.272 with just three home runs, 14 RBIs, and 40 strikeouts in 136 at-bats. His .202 BABIP shows he’s been unlucky somewhat in terms of the balls he does put in play, especially considering how often he hits into the shift as a dead-pull hitter.

Shaw is a great guy to have in the clubhouse, and is a capable defender at third base even though he has limited range. But his bat is going to be what keeps him in the lineup everyday, and we haven’t seen the 2017 or even 2018 Shaw in a long time.

The Brewers have remained patient with Shaw, having faith that he could find his 2017/18 form once again. They had faith in 2019 that didn’t result in a positive outcome, and then have tried their luck again in 2021 and it hasn’t resulted in anything better.

As long as Shaw remains on the roster and getting opportunities, the Brewers still have faith, but who knows how long he’ll stick on the roster if his slump continues like this. He’s likely going to be pushed back into a platoon role instead of an everyday role as the Brewers seek more production out of third base.

Luis Urias was one option to take playing time against lefties at third, but with Kolten Wong‘s injury he’s going to see most of his time at second base for the time being.

Hopefully Shaw can join the likes of Burnes and Peralta and reward the Brewers for their faith in him, but his situation as a veteran corner infielder is different than a young starting pitcher just getting settled in the big leagues.

Because of that different situation, his leash will be far shorter, but he’s been getting plenty of leash so far. More often than not, the Brewers have been rewarded for their faith in their players.