By now, Brewers fans should be used to this frustrating Jake Bauers reality

Jake Bauers is playing on a frequent basis for the Milwaukee Brewers right now, starting every game between Sept. 1-7, save for their Sept. 4 affair against the Philadelphia Phillies and left-handed starter Ranger Suárez.

He's earned that playing time, too, slashing .412/.474/.647 (214 wRC+) since the calendar flipped to September. That includes three consecutive multi-hit games in the Brewers' sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates over the weekend.

That has changed the dynamics of the team's first base situation in the final month of the season, with Rhys Hoskins looking blocked once he returns from his thumb injury (which looks like it will be sooner rather than later).

However, as Brewers fans know all too well, Bauer's hot streaks aren't meant to last.

Jake Bauers recovers from cold streak with torrid stretch in September

Look up the word "streaky" in the dictionary, and you're likely to find a headshot of Bauers staring back at you.

This isn't meant as a slight to the slugging first baseman; this is just who he is. His 215 wRC+ this month is a wild juxtaposition to the literal 14 wRC+ he posted in July, when slashed all of .087/.250/.087 in 28 plate appearances. Last month was even worse, as Bauers failed to notch even a single hit at the plate, though he only drew eight plate appearances in August.

Again, none of this is new to fans familiar with Bauers' game. His batting splits have always been confounding. For example, he’s been great on the road this year (129 wRC+), but terrible at home (65 wRC+). Last year, he was roughly the same player regardless of where he played.

His monthly splits tell a similar story. He posted a 127 wRC+ through April and May this year; that figure dropped below 40 from June-August. A similar thing occurred in 2024, when he was great in May (106 wRC+) and June (141 wRC+) and then was a below-average bat the rest of the way.

When things are bad for Bauers, his strikeout numbers tend to skyrocket. That's nothing new for struggling hitters, but Bauers has had three months this year where he's struck out in more than 32% of his plate appearances, and three months where he's struck out in less than 27%.

He's just a completely different hitter when he's seeing the ball well, and some variance will make it difficult to trust him in the big moments that the playoffs will bring.

Still, this current version of Bauers is more than capable of helping the Brewers make a deep postseason run. Milwaukee just has to hope that he doesn't cool off before October begins.