The Top 10 Brewers Players Right Now: No. 6 Willy Adames

As we close in on the 2022 regular season, we continue the countdown of the top 10 Milwaukee Brewers players on the roster.

We’ve gone through the first four players on the list, with newcomer Hunter Renfroe at no. 10, third baseman Luis Urias at no. 9, setup man Devin Williams at no. 8, and second baseman Kolten Wong at no. 7.

Now we turn our attention to the no. 6 player on this list.

As we head into the 2022 season, which players make up the “top” of this roster? Here at Reviewing the Brew over the next few weeks we will rank the top 10 Brewers players right now one by one. Next up: Willy Adames.

Top 10 Brewers right now: No. 6 Willy Adames

Just missing out on the Top 5 is the Brewers starting shortstop Willy Adames, who brings flair, personality, and perhaps most importantly, production, to the Brewers lineup.

With the Crew struggling to find consistency with Luis Urias at shortstop early last season, David Stearns made a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, acquiring Adames in exchange for pitchers Drew Rasmussen and J.P. Feyereisen. Adames made his Brewers debut on May 22nd.

During the first month and a half of the season, the Brewers appeared lifeless and weren’t really having fun like they used to. The offense was struggling and the team was just below .500. Almost instantaneously, Willy Adames changed all of that.

Adames gave the Brewers energy in the clubhouse, provided consistent play at shortstop, and supplied massive production in the lineup.

Prior to the trade, Adames was hitting just .197 with the Rays. With the Brewers, Adames hit .285/.366/.521 with 20 home runs, 26 doubles, a 135 OPS+. The change of scenery did him good as he struggled to see the ball well in Tampa Bay and he became a fan favorite in Milwaukee very quickly.

Adames is everything the Brewers could’ve asked for and more. They’d long been searching for an answer at the shortstop position that would provide strong defense and be decently productive on offense. Orlando Arcia received a long leash, but just couldn’t get it done with the bat and then Luis Urias got his chance with a much shorter leash, until finally Stearns acquired Adames to settle the position once and for all.

There were many moments last season where Adames came up clutch and gave Milwaukee a big hit exactly when they needed it. His grand slam against the Cubs to put them up seven runs after falling behind seven runs in the first inning for the Crew’s first grand slam of the season is one of his more famous.

With a burgeoning star at shortstop in the 26 year old Adames, the Brewers are in great shape at a core position. The fact that Adames only comes in at number 6 on this countdown is a testament to the strength of the rest of the roster.

The Crew is expecting another great season from Adames in 2022 and having the full year in a Milwaukee uniform could improve his stats even more.