What Brewers' best lineup looks like after Cooper Pratt's promotion

The Milwaukee Brewers' No. 4-ranked prospect,Cooper Pratt, is expected to make his Major League debut against the Cleveland Guardians tonight. His arrival at shortstop will hopefully provide a boost to the left side of the infield offense, while not sacrificing defense as Pratt is a former minor league Gold Glove Award winner at the position.

With Pratt expected to handle the majority of the playing time at shortstop moving forward, a reshuffling of Milwaukee's infield appears inevitable. The alignment that likely gives the Brewers their strongest offensive lineup would involve David Hamilton sliding over to third base. However, one of Joey Ortiz and Luis Rengifo will still be options, depending on who remains with the big-league club following the Brewers' upcoming corresponding roster move to clear space for Pratt on the 26-man roster.

With Pratt now in the mix, let's examine what the Brewers' optimal lineup could look like moving forward.

Following Cooper Pratt's promotion, this lineup gives the Milwaukee Brewers their best offensive lineup

Overall, Milwaukee's strongest lineup likely features a near-even split of five left-handed hitters and four right-handed bats. Because of that balance, alternating handedness throughout the batting order makes the most sense, as it limits opposing managers' ability to exploit platoon matchups with pitching substitutions late in games. With that in mind, here's what the Brewers' optimal lineup could look like.

Brewers best offensive lineup following Cooper Pratt's promotion

1. DH Christian Yelich (L)
2. LF Jackson Chourio (R)
3. 2B Brice Turang (L)
4. C William Contreras (C)
5. RF Jake Bauers (L)
6. 1B Andrew Vaughn (R)
7. CF Garrett Mitchell (L)
8. SS Cooper Pratt (R)
9. 3B David Hamilton (L)

The top half of this lineup isn't dramatically different from the configurations manager Pat Murphy has used since Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio, and Andrew Vaughn all returned from injury a little over a month ago. The biggest change is Jake Bauers establishing himself as Milwaukee's best offensive option in right field. With an emphasis on alternating left- and right-handed hitters throughout the order, Bauers slots in ahead of Vaughn, who has also been swinging a hot bat since returning to the lineup.

As the newcomer, Pratt naturally will start near the bottom of the batting order, slotting between left-handed hitters Garrett Mitchell and David Hamilton. While he isn't expected to provide a ton of home run power, Pratt brings plenty of value through his approach at the plate.

He consistently works deep counts, draws walks, and rarely strikes out, making him an ideal table-setter near the bottom of the lineup. If he can get on base regularly, he'll help turn the order over and create additional scoring opportunities for Milwaukee's top run producers.

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