Milwaukee Brewers: First Half Grades for the Infielders and Catchers

IF Owen Miller

When the Brewers traded for Owen Miller last offseason, it mostly seemed like a low-impact, good story about a Wisconsin native playing for his childhood team. Little did anyone know that he would actually end up being one of the team's more consistent offensive performers for much of 2023.

Miller has slashed .285/.331/.398 through 74 games, forcing manager Craig Counsell to put him in the lineup more often and winning playing time from some of his fellow utility infielders. He has also provided above average defense at multiple positions with a combined six outs above average and two defensive runs saved on the season.

Grade: A-

3B Mike Brosseau

After a strong 2022 season that saw him contribute as a solid backup infielder and pinch hitter extraordinaire, Mike Brosseau had every opportunity to become a more consistent contributor in 2023. Instead, he struggled just as badly, if not moreso, as the rest of the players on the team.

Brosseau slashed just .205/.256/.397 through 29 games. That saw him ultimately get demoted down to Triple-A Nashville and then designated for assignment altogether once the roster math started working against him. He ended up clearing waivers and is still a part of the Brewers organization.

Grade: D-

C Victor Caratini

The aforementioned William Contreras hasn't missed too many games behind this season. But when he has, Victor Caratini has been a more than capable backup, providing his own strong defense and improving quite a bit on his offensive numbers from last season.

On the year, Caratini is slashing .255/.346/.391 over 34 games, adding five homers and 17 RBI. That is a major improvement over 2022 where he slumped hard in the second half of the season and finished by slashing .199/.300/.342.

Grade: B+

Infielders with Incomplete Grades

Tyrone Taylor started the season on the injured list and has since returned there, having compiled only 29 games played in between. It wasn't a very good showing in that limited time as he slashed just .160/.179/.240 with three doubles and a homer.

On the other hand, a pleasant surprise this season has been rookie Andruw Monasterio, who was added to the 40-man roster midseason. He is slashing .278/.381/.389 in 26 games with 10 runs scored, though he slowed down a bit down the stretch.

Luis Urias struggled in his return from the injured list, slashing .149/.299/.236 in 26 games with just three extra base hits. He has since been optioned to Triple-A to try and get things going against some lesser competition.

Jon Singleton was a nice story, battling his way back to play in the majors for the first time since 2015, but he didn't hit well enough in his 11 games and is no longer with the team. Darin Ruf was brought in to DH when Luke Voit was released and was doing well in 11 games of his own before a knee injury knocked him out and will keep him out for a while. And at four games, Jahmai Jones is the newest member of the Brewers and is already famous for his first pitch, game-tying three-run double against the Cubs last week.

For a team that is seven games above .500 and a game back in the division, the infield and catching group (mostly the former) have provided less offensive production than one would expect. Hopefully that can change in the second half of the season.