Brewers: 3 Surprise Hitters Who Performed Better Than Expected in 2023

Player #2: OF Tyrone Taylor

It has truly been a tale of two halves for Tyrone Taylor this season. After starting the season on the injured list with an elbow sprain, he returned to the Brewers' lineup on May 2nd. However, he greatly struggled to start the year, and his lingering elbow issue forced him back onto the injured list on June 3rd after a month of poor play.

From May 2nd to June 1st, Taylor was slashing just .160/.179/.240 for a .419 OPS and a wRC+ of 7 in 78 plate appearances. He was striking out at a 26.9% clip, and he was a shell of himself at the plate in the month of May. Not only was his playing time expected to be cut when he was nearing a second return from the injured list, but his roster spot felt as if it was in jeopardy as well.

However, since he returned to Milwaukee's lineup for the second time on July 14th, he has been incredibly valuable at the tail end of the Brewers' batting order.

Since July 14th, Taylor is slashing .274/.319/.548, yielding an .868 OPS to go along with a wRC+ of 130. Over that stretch, Taylor has racked up 26 RBIs on the backs of some impressive power hitting. He has launched eight homers to go with 11 doubles and one triple, giving him the highest isolated power (ISO) on the team at .274.

Taylor's approach has been noticeably different since returning to the lineup, as he is posting a strikeout rate of just 17.4% over that stretch. After putting up a -0.5 WAR in his first 27 games of the season, Taylor turned it around and has accumulated a WAR of 1.2 over his next 48 games, according to FanGraphs.

Tyrone Taylor's resurgence seemed improbable with the way his season started, and while it might have been unexpected, it certainly is not unappreciated for this Brewers offense. He has been a big contributor down the stretch for this offense, and he has gone from being a borderline fourth outfielder for the Brewers to being a viable starter in the second half of the season.