Joey Ortiz’s surging offensive production could be the difference for Brewers in October

An affable teammate and brilliant defender, Joey Ortiz's place on the Milwaukee Brewers was secured long ago. He embodies exactly what drives this team, doing all the "small things" right to help the Crew win on the margins. I mean, it's not every day that you see a player earn 1.4 FanGraphs' Wins Above Replacement while posting a 67 wRC+, but Ortiz accomplished that very feat last year.

Unfortunately, that backhanded compliment is the best way to describe what he brought to the table over the past few years. He can run the bases well and flash elite leather all he wants, but the frustrations of watching him take pointless at-bat after pointless at-bat have eaten into Ortiz's perceived value since the 2024 postseason.

Of course, the pendulum is finally starting to swing back in the other direction. The 28-year-old has been one of the best hitters in baseball since the All-Star break, posting a .954 OPS and 160 wRC+ that both rank in the top 10 among qualified hitters. Not only has that completely changed the conversation around the playing time on the roster -- David Hamilton has been moved into a full-time super utility role to accommodate the sweet-swinging Ortiz -- but it also lengthens the Brewers' lineup to an unprecedented level ahead of October.

Joey Ortiz's turnaround ensures that the Brewers will have zero black holes in their postseason lineup

I promise this is going to veer back into positive territory, but first, we need to establish that Ortiz historically has been a poor postseason hitter. He went 0-for-11 during the team's disastrous loss to the Mets in the 2024 Wild Card Round, and his 2025 encore (2-for-19 with two singles and three walks) was just as putrid.

That led to a lot of questions about both his long-term status with the Brewers and whether or not we should even expect the team's ninth-best player to be a productive regular (at least at the plate). In that latter regard, Ortiz's defense and baserunning made him quite valuable compared to the other "last kids picked" around the league, but it still made him a black hole at the bottom of Pat Murphy's lineup.

This year, though, no starter on the team has a wRC+ below 90. The only players likely to make the postseason roster who are below that mark -- David Hamilton (82 wRC+) and Sal Frelick (72) -- are still above where Ortiz was in 2025. Not only is there depth, but everyone taking regular at-bats is a genuine threat to either get on base or do some damage with the bat in their hands.

And again, with such a high floor, Ortiz doesn't have to carry the offense. He merely needs to keep the line moving while playing his usual brand of stellar defense. If he does keep his torrid second half streak alive into the playoffs, though, it's going to be nearly impossible for opposing pitchers to navigate this lineup.

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