3 Brewers players that fans are already losing patience with

The 2024 Milwaukee Brewers are a resilient group. We are a quarter of the way into the season now, and some trends have begun forming. Some of these are positive, and others not so much.

One of the positives is the Brewers' ability to win ballgames. The Brewers currently sit in first place, holding a record of 24-16. The strong performances from guys like William Contreras, Brice Turang, Christian Yelich, and others have helped carry this team. Just like every team, while some guys are playing well, some guys are not.

However, for some of these players that aren't hot at the plate, they are quickly losing the trust and patience of their fanbase as they try to get things figured out.

1. Jake Bauers

Bauers got off to an excruciatingly slow start offensively. Despite some recent success over the past week, he is still a bat that should not have to be relied upon everyday. In the last seven games, Bauers has a batting average of .400, which has inflated his season long average to .231 through his first 27 games. But this does not take away from his struggles chasing pitches this year. Bauers holds a K% of 37.5, which is 2nd most amongst qualified hitters on the Brewers this season. It is hard to understand what Murphy is seeing in Bauers to keep him in the lineup, as over the course of his career he has not been productive. According to Fangraphs, Bauers holds a defensive rating of -29.9 fielding and positional adjustment combined (above average). Offensively, his career rating is actually worse than his defense, with -31.8 offensive rating above average. The only positive to be taken away is in 2024, Bauers holds an offensive rating of 1.3 batting and base running combined above average. All things considered, fans have not been happy about the nearly every day role Bauers has held so far this season. It'll be interesting to see how his role changes as the season progresses and as the Brewers get healthy.

2. Blake Perkins

When the Brewers lost Garrett Mitchell to a broken finger at the end of spring training, they lost a key piece to their outfield. But when Christian Yelich went down 11 games into the season, they were forced into playing Blake Perkins everyday for 26 straight games. Perkins got off to an explosive start across his first 18 games, Perkins was hitting .313/.421/.500. And while his defense has been fantastic, recently he has gone into a slump at the dish. He is hitless in his last 23 plate appearances, reaching base via just a singular walk. He holds a batting average of .098 in his last 14 games. Perkins has a ton going for him still, as he leads the league with 50.5% squared up contact rate. While this is a peculiar stat, it is one of promise for Perkins who has shown the ability to square the ball up well when he makes contact. It is just a matter of making that contact that has given fans a reason to doubt. With the addition of Yelich back into the lineup over the past week, Perkins has been given a couple off days, which also might help him mentally.

3. Oliver Dunn

Dunn made the Opening Day roster on the last day of spring, due to Garrett Mitchell's finger injury. Since then, it has been a start to forget for the 26 year old rookie third basemen. Dunn is slashing just .225/.279/.338 to start his big league career, and his advanced stats don't get better. He leads the Brewers amongst qualified hitters with a 38.4 K% and also has the lowest BB% at just 5.8%. It has been tough at the batters box for Dunn thus far in his young major league career. But, his woes at the plate haven't deterred Brewers skipper Pat Murphy from playing him. Dunn has appeared in 32/40 games so far for the Brewers, which has left fans with little patience for him at the plate. Dunn is still very young and has been solid defensively, so there is still hope that he can figure it out at the plate. In 2023 while playing Double-A for the Phillies, Dunn hit 21 homers in 119 games, while holding solid numbers of .271/.396/.506. This is promising, as it shows the potential is there, some changes might just have to be made.

Ultimately, it is hard to be picky about the Brewers so far this season as they continue to overachieve. Milwaukee was not expected to be in playoff contention this year according to many experts, and a fourth of the way into the season, they sit in first place. So while fans may be complaining, there is not a whole lot you can argue with the way Murphy has managed his team.