3 Brewers named to ESPN's Top 100 Players but one name surprisingly left out

ESPN today released their top 100 players in baseball that had been selected and ordered by seven MLB experts. Three Milwaukee Brewers players made the list but a certain player was surprisngly left off of the top 100 altogether.

The article suggests the experts were shown two players and decide who they thought was better and eventually got to an average as to who are the top 100 players. Former Brewer Corbin Burnes appears at No. 21 on the list with all but three teams having a player on the list.

Every year the top 100 lists are up for debate and that is shown just by the difference in publications and how they view certain players. With that out the way, let's take a look at the three Brewers' that have been named to ESPN's top 100 players in baseball.

3 Brewers' named to ESPN's Top 100 but one name surprisingly left out

No. 86 Willy Adames

The first Brewer to appear on the list is shortstop Willy Adames at No. 86. Despite rumors of a trade this offseason following Burnes being moved, Adames is set to remain on the team as the front office has quashed those rumors. Last season he hit 24 home runs and 80 RBIs with batting splits of .217/.310/.407 which was a down year by his standards.

Across his career he is a .250 hitter and you would expect him to push back up towards that along with hopefully adding a few more homers to accompany his good defensive skills. It is also a contract year for Adames so he is playing for his next deal and that may help towards his numbers jumping back up towards career average.

No. 96 - Christian Yelich

Christian Yelich is one of the regulars to make these sorts of lists and last season was his best year since 2019 where he won his second batting title. He registered 19 home runs and 28 stolen bases last season on good splits of .278/.370/.447. The past two seasons he has managed to get back to full health and that has helped with his numbers heading back up.

With the new look outfield and speed of Garrett Mitchell and potentially now Jackson Chourio should he make the Opening Day roster, Yelich will see more time in the DH spot and that will serve him and the Brewers well. He is still one of the best leadoff hitters in the game and he should hit similar in 2024 if not add a couple more home runs and stolen bases.

No. 99 - Devin Williams

Devin Williams is the final Brewer to make the list and only just. At No. 99 it does feel very low for Williams compared to the other relievers on the list. Former Brewer Josh Hader is the highest ranked at No. 61, the New York Mets' Edwin Diaz is at 71 and Emmanuel Clase is at 87. Williams had the best season of his career (apart from the shortened 2020 season) but this was also his first year as the team's closer and he was dominant.

2023 saw him finish with a 1.53 ERA and a batting average of just .129, which led the league and was the eighth lowest ever of any reliever with at least 50 innings pitched in a season. "The Airbender" is another to have been named in trade rumors but arbitration was avoided this offseason with him agreeing to a one-year, $7.25 million contract and a club option for next year so the hope is he stays in Wisconsin. One interesting stat from Dave Schoenfield in the article is "with three fewer hits, Williams would have broken that mark" in regards to the lowest ever average allowed so there is the potential we see history this season.

Snubbed - William Contreras

The big name from Milwaukee missing from the list is catcher William Contreras. It can easily be argued that he was the best offensive player for the Brewers last season as he finished with 17 home runs and 78 RBIs on batting slash line of .289/.367/.457. Those splits put him as the catcher with the best batting average and slugging percentage in the league last season. Adley Rutschman, Will Smith, J.T. Realmuto, Sean Murphy, Gabriel Moreno and Cal Raleigh all made the list for catchers and it can be argued Contreras should be higher than at least two of them and even higher than some of his teammates that made the list.

This season I would expect his averages to be similar but hopefully the homers and RBIs can jump a little bit as the offense looks to continue to improve. Expect him to still be high in the order and again be one of the best catchers in the National League.