Brewers Report Cards: Player Grades At The Half-Way Point

Brewers Infield Grades

Keston Hiura: F

He’s been demoted to Triple-A twice, and owns a .157/.245/.315 slash line on the season. Since coming back up from his second demotion, Hiura has been better and is looking like his old self. However, that won’t save him from his overall first half grade being an F.

His defense at first base hasn’t been as bad as expected, and he’s adjusted fine defensively. But the offense has been a concern. Perhaps over the second half of the season he can earn a better grade.

Kolten Wong: A-

Kolten Wong has been as advertised. He’s provided exceptional defense and leadership in the infield and has been solid in the leadoff spot in the lineup, hitting .294/.349/.490 with seven home runs.

Wong has had two stints on the IL, which is keeping him from a full “A” on this report card, but just barely.

Luis Urias: B-

It’s a very complicated grade for Luis Urias. He was handed the starting shortstop job to begin the season, and struggled with it. He struggled to get his offense going and he had the occasional horrible game on defense. He still has poor throws to first base sometimes.

His struggles forced the Brewers into trading for Willy Adames, more on that later, and since that trade Urias has been playing better.

Urias’ .244/.336/.427 slash line isn’t super spectacular, but he’s showcased some unexpected power with 10 home runs on the season, which is second on the team. Urias is in more of a super-utility role now but has been playing mostly everyday at third base in the wake of Travis Shaw’s injury.

Willy Adames: A+

Is there any other possible grade for Willy Adames? Since joining the Brewers on May 22nd, Adames has hit .279/.354/.504 with six home runs, several clutch hits, and an endless amount of energy.

It’s clear that Adames has sparked the Brewers, bringing energy to the team on the field and in the clubhouse and hitting like he was expected to when he was one of the top prospects in all of baseball. He said he couldn’t see the ball well in Tampa Bay, and his offensive numbers suffered because of it.

With what he’s provided this team, Adames is deserving of an A+.

Daniel Vogelbach: B+

Despite mostly being a bench option for a decent chunk of the first half, Daniel Vogelbach took over the everyday first base role when Keston Hiura went down to Triple-A and he did a really good job with it. He upped his season average to .216 and up to a 95 OPS+ in that role.

Vogelbach suffered a significant hamstring injury in Arizona and went on the IL, which led to Hiura’s return to the big leagues. He had a better than expected half and his defense at first base was surprisingly good.

Omar Narvaez: A

After a very rough 2020 season, Narvaez’s 2021 couldn’t be going much better. He’s hitting .294 on the year with a 134 OPS+. His numbers are looking much more like what he did in the first four years of his career. To this point, they’re even a little better.

Narvaez is showing some power, hitting for a high average, and providing some solid defense behind the plate. He still has some lapses, but for the most part has been a good defender.

Manny Pina: D

D is for defense, which is the only reason Manny Pina isn’t getting an F so far this season. Pina is providing his usual excellent defense behind the plate, with a strong throwing arm and great handling of the pitching staff.

Offensively, Pina is struggling to a .123/.258/.296 slash line in 81 at-bats. He has not been productive there in limited opportunities, although he has in the past.

Brewers Starting Rotation Grades

Brandon Woodruff: A+

Through 101 IP in the first half, Brandon Woodruff has a 1.87 ERA with 119 strikeouts and just 24 walks allowed. His 0.78 WHIP is lowest in the league.

Woodruff is clearly a Cy Young candidate and is pitching like the ace we know he can be. He was the Crew’s Opening Day starter for a reason and is in line for an All-Star appearance once again.

Corbin Burnes: A+

Matching Woodruff’s excellence is Corbin Burnes. He’s pitched to a 2.53 ERA this year in 74.2 IP with 115 strikeouts and only 14 walks allowed. He’s had a few “rough” starts his last couple times out, which has “spiked” his ERA to over 2.50, but he’s still been excellent overall.

Burnes made history several times over this year, including breaking the record for most strikeouts to begin a season before allowing a walk with 58 Ks before that first walk. He also should be an All Star and a Cy Young candidate.

Adrian Houser: B

Adrian Houser has been serviceable this year, posting a 4.16 ERA in the first half over 75.2 IP. He doesn’t strike out as many guys and pitches to contact, but has been burned by that on occasion.

Houser has been healthy and making his starts, never really having any blow up performances. He’s kept the Brewers in games for the most part, and that’s all you can really ask.

Brett Anderson: C

Brett Anderson has been about what’s expected of him. His 4.69 ERA is around his career average, and he’s doing what he was signed to do: eat innings and get ground balls. His ERA is slightly higher than normal, but that’s been from a few bad games that went very short. He’s left two starts early after giving up a bunch of runs with an injury.

He’s on the IL currently, but should be back soon.

Freddy Peralta: A+

Peralta has formed a Big 3 in the rotation with Woodruff and Burnes. Peralta’s 2.17 ERA is second-best in the Brewers rotation. In 87 IP, Peralta has 122 strikeouts and has walked 37.

Peralta has allowed just 39 hits, and his 4.0 H/9 is best in baseball among qualified pitchers. His 12.6 K/9 is also best in the National League.

Despite being the “5th starter” and just making the rotation over Josh Lindblom to start the season, Peralta has been excellent and has surpassed all expectations.

Brewers Bullpen Grades

Josh Hader: A+

When you’re a perfect 20-for-20 in save opportunities and hold a 0.55 ERA in 32.2 IP, you’re going to get an “A+” on your report card.

Josh Hader has been lights out. His velocity has been strong, he’s occasionally thrown in a changeup to the mix, and he has stopped allowing the long ball.

Hader hasn’t gone multiple innings in an outing all year, and although that’s frustrated some fans who are used to it, it’s hard to argue with the results. He’s been fresh more often and has been able to pitch more often, and that’s a good thing.

Devin Williams: B

Fresh of a 2020 Rookie of the Year campaign in which he posted a miniscule 0.33 ERA, Devin Williams has fallen back to earth a little bit. His 3.26 ERA isn’t bad, but he has a 5.9 BB/9 and his command hasn’t been as strong as it was last year.

His outings have been more stressful than fun this year, so he gets a B for the first half.

Brent Suter: B

Suter is filling his role as the multi-inning reliever and lefty specialist and doing it about as expected. He has a 3.46 ERA, which isn’t fantastic, but nothing to complain about either. He’s had some tough outings in key moments, but overall has been solid.

Brad Boxberger: B

Again, a solid veteran arm who has had a few rough outings but overall has been solid and has come up clutch in some key moments. Boxberger is sort of filling the 7th inning role after the trade of J.P. Feyereisen. His closer’s experience has helped him get three saves in games where Hader was unavailable.

Trevor Richards: B

His first few outings went poorly, and he was on track for a poor grade, but Richards has turned things around lately. He had a clutch outing to get out of a bases loaded jam with no outs to preserve a lead for Corbin Burnes and since then has done well.

His 3.71 ERA with the Brewers is decent, but if you exclude his first three outings where he had two blown leads, Richards has a 2.19 ERA with Milwaukee. He also had a streak of eight straight scoreless outings.

Eric Lauer: B-

When Lauer has started against NL West teams, he’s been excellent. When he’s pitched against nearly anyone else, not so much. Lauer’s 4.50 ERA in 44 innings indicates he hasn’t been stellar overall although it’s in line with the numbers he posted in San Diego.

He’s had some really good starts against the Dodgers, Padres, and Rockies, but has been roughed up in plenty of other ones. So he gets a B- for the first half.

There were plenty more players who had opportunities this year, but there’s no way to grade all 51 who have donned the Brewers uniform in the first half of the season. Hopefully some of these guys can keep up their high grades in the second half and some can improve their grade over the final three months.