5 of the Biggest Brewers Killers at the Plate from the Last Five Years

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ATLANTA, GEORGIA – OCTOBER 12: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after hitting a home run during the eighth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers in game four of the National League Division Series at Truist Park on October 12, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Michael Zarrilli/Getty Images) /

You know who they are, Brewers fans. They’re those opposing batters that you just love to hate because they’ve caused you so much grief in recent seasons.

Sometimes they’re a player from a divisional rival that always seems to come up with a big hit at the right (or in this case, wrong) time. Other times, it’s one from a team that you may only see a few times per year, but somehow still seems to feast on your team’s pitching no matter who’s on the mound.

As good as Milwaukee has been over the last five seasons, there have been a handful of players out there who have been Brewers killers seemingly every time they come up to bat. Let’s take a look back at five of them that have given fans the most fits.

Here are five opposing batters who have been Brewers killers at the plate over the last half decade.

1. 1B Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves

If a Milwaukee fan was asked who the biggest Brewers killer is that comes to mind, odds are that they would think of a number of annoying NL Central opponents first. As it turns out, the biggest one of them all might be an MVP from out east.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman has been a terror to the rest of the league in general. Five All-Star appearances over the last nine seasons, six career top 10 MVP finishes, and an NL MVP win in 2020 will do that for you.

He has often been at his best against the Brewers, though.

For players who have at least 100 plate appearances over the last five years, Freeman leads all Milwaukee opponents with a whopping 1.184 OPS and a staggering 204 weighted runs created plus (wRC+), not to mention all three slash line facets (.349/.440/.744).

It certainly doesn’t help that Freeman loves to hit in American Family Field. Going back even past the last five years, he has a career slash line of .279/.382/.615 at the Crew’s home field. His nine home runs in just 29 games there tie for his most at a non-NL East stadium.

Freeman’s dominance over the Brewers was perhaps no more painful to watch than in last year’s playoffs. After mostly keeping him quiet over the first three games of the series, he fell just a triple short of the cycle in game 4 of the NLDS, going 3-for-5 with a double and a home run on the way to finalizing Milwaukee’s early postseason exit.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – AUGUST 15: Jesse Winker #33 of the Cincinnati Reds in action against the Philadelphia Phillies during a game at Citizens Bank Park on August 15, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Reds defeated the Phillies 7-4. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

2. OF Jesse Winker, Cincinnati Reds

As the Reds made a recent push of competitiveness over the last couple seasons, a few players have emerged as thorns in the Brewers’ side. The best of those players at the plate from an all-around standpoint has likely been outfielder Jesse Winker.

Winker sits second behind Freeman among players who have had at least 100 plate appearances against Milwaukee with a 1.013 OPS. His .322/.409/.605 slash line is certainly nothing to laugh at either.

Winker has really increased his damage against the Brewers these last two seasons, though. Over just 2020 and 2021, he has an elevated slash line of .333/.423/.667 while 9 of his 13 career homers against Milwaukee have come over that span.

Perhaps no one is more aware of Winker’s success against the Crew than Brewers starting pitcher Adrian Houser. After giving up a home run to Winker in each of his two starts against the Reds in 2020, he gave up a pair to the slugger in a May 21st game last season, a day that Winker finished 4-for-4 with three solo homers and a walk.

3. OF Bryan Reynolds, Pittsburgh Pirates

Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds is still pretty green in terms of MLB service time even compared to Winker, having only debuted in 2019. In that short time, though, he has made a quick impression on the league, especially against the Brewers.

Reynolds is the third and final member of the 1.000+ OPS club (min 100 PAs) against the Brewers over the last five seasons, clocking in at 1.005. He lags behind Winker in slugging percentage against the Crew (.585) but beats him in on base percentage (.420) and average (.340).

Reynolds had quite the year at American Family Field in particular in 2021. In nine games, the outfielder went 10-for-26 with a pair of doubles, a triple, a homer, and seven walks. He got on base a whopping 57.1% of the time.

That was just part of his overall bounceback season in 2021. Last year, Reynolds slashed .302/.390/.522, led the NL with eight triples, made his first All-Star game, and finished 11th in NL MVP voting. Brewers fans are probably already hoping Pittsburgh trades him away like some of their other top performing stars in recent seasons.

ST LOUIS, MO – SEPTEMBER 28: Nolan Arenado #28 of the St. Louis Cardinals rounds third base on his home run against the Milwaukee Brewers in the seventh inning at Busch Stadium on September 28, 2021 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

4. 3B Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies/St. Louis Cardinals

Third baseman extraordinaire Nolan Arenado had already done plenty of damage against Milwaukee as a member of the Rockies earlier in his career. So, imagine Brewers fans’ dismay when, prior to the 2021 season, he was traded to the rival Cardinals for not much more than a couple packs of baseball cards and a case of cheap beer.

Over the last five seasons, Arenado has slashed .302/.381/.604 across 37 games against the Brewers and has managed to strike out just 13.8% of the time. He also has the second least plate appearances (160) of any player in the last five years to hit double digit home runs (10) against the Crew.

Arenado’s overall resume speaks for itself. He has won a Gold Glove at third base in every single one of his nine seasons in the league, is a six-time All-Star, and has finished top eight in NL MVP voting five times. That’s exactly the type of player you don’t want to have added to your division.

Arenado did all he could against the Brewers during the Cardinals’ amazing September stretch, going 10-for-31 with a double and four homers in nine games versus the Crew that month. Luckily, Milwaukee was able to hold them off and ultimately secure the NL Central title.

5. SS/3B Eugenio Suarez, Cincinnati Reds

This one is less about the averages compared to the others on this list. Reds infielder Eugenio Suarez has a slash line of .245/.347/.516 over the last five years against the Brewers, not terrible by any means but not over-the-top amazing either.

No, this one is all about the long ball.

Suarez has been even more of a pest at hitting dingers against the Brewers than his previously mentioned teammate Jesse Winker. In fact, Suarez has hit 20 bombs against Milwaukee since the start of the 2017 season.

That is six more than the next closest Brewers opponents, fellow divisional foes Paul Goldschmidt and Kyle Schwarber. And just to add insult to injury, Suarez’s 12 doubles against Milwaukee in that same span rank as the fifth most of any opposing player.

Suarez’s reign of terror against the Brewers may be coming to an end, however, which would be in line with his overall downward trend. Last year he went just 5-for-55 against the Crew with a whopping 20 strikeouts. Naturally, though, two of those five hits were a double and a home run.

Next. Ranking the 5 Worst Contracts in Brewers History. dark

It’s hard not to respect what these guys have been able to do against the Brewers over the last five years. It still would be nice to see them have juuuust a little less success in the future, though.

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