This player has quietly emerged as the Brewers' MVP in April

Before the start of the season, most Milwaukee Brewers fans would have likely picked one of Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio, or William Contreras to be the team's MVP. Some may have picked the team's ace, Freddy Peralta, or the reigning NL Platinum Glove Award winner, Brice Turang. Very few, if any, would have selected the team's 25-year-old right-fielder, Sal Frelick, who has logged just one full season in the big leagues in which he posted uninspiring offensive numbers.

However, Frelick has turned a corner this year, looking like a completely new player who is earning everyday at-bats regardless of the handedness of the opposing pitcher. Through the first month of the 2025 season, Frelick has been the team’s most consistent hitter, often appearing in the fifth spot in the order while providing the Gold Glove-level defense that he showed last year in right field.

The "Summer of Sal" has started early, as Frelick carries the offense through April

As Milwaukee began a West Coast swing this week with a series against the San Francisco Giants, recognition of Frelick's impressive start to the season is coming from all over. The Giants' TV broadcast referred to Frelick as "Milwaukee's best hitter", CBS Sports published an article calling for fantasy baseball players to add Frelick to their respective rosters, and Brewers fans have begun to dub this "The Summer of Sal" on various social media platforms.

Fans outside of Milwaukee may remember Frelick's debut on a national broadcast against the Braves in the summer of 2023, or maybe the huge home run he hit in the NL Wild Card series against the Mets last season.

But now, after bulking up over the offseason, Sal is off to a phenomenal start to the season. Even after a disappointing game last night, Frelick has reached base safely in 22 of the 23 games he has started this year, and is slashing .321/.412/.440. Not only is he getting hits, he has stolen seven bases and scored 12 runs through 23 games.

So how is he doing it? The 25 pounds of muscle certainly helps, but is more designed to help him keep up with the rigors of the marathon that is a 162-game season. There really hasn't been any drastic changes to his stance, technique, or anything else of note. He simply has grown and matured as a ball player.  This certainly lines up with his trajectory from his time in the minors, where he definitely took some time to adjust to the next level, but once he did, he excelled.

Awards aren't won in April, but Frelick might just be the current frontrunner for team MVP. The defense has always been there for Frelick, having won a Gold Glove in 2024, and now the offense seems to be catching up for the young outfielder. A .330+ batting average may be tough to keep up all season, but anything can happen in the "Summer of Sal."