With the excitement of Milwaukee’s young prospects – Joey Wiemer, Brice Turang and Garrett Mitchell – and having Christian Yelich, Rowdy Tellez and Willy Adames in the Brewers lineup, other players can get overlooked. A couple of those low-key players have been huge boons for the Crew. Brian Anderson, Jesse Winker, and William Contreras have been steady and produced, helping Milwaukee to an 18-10 record as the calendar turns to May.
Brewers quietly got involved as a facilitator then added a big right handed bat in Contreras, an MLB quality reliever (Payamps) plus a potential high leverage backend reliever (Yeager) that won't require addition to the 40 Man Roster until next offseason.
Stealth by Matt Arnold
— MLBExecutiveBurner (@HotStoveintel) December 12, 2022
The young prospects for the Brewers have been streaky. You expect that with young players. Tellez and Adames have been good but a bit inconsistent. The steady players in for the Crew have been the offseason additions, particularly Contreras and Anderson. The Brewers acquired Winker for Kolten Wong, William Contreras as the facilitator in the Braves’ Sean Murphy trade, and signed Anderson to a cheap free-agent contract.
Brian Anderson
Anderson has come out in the Brewers lineup, barreling just about everything. The third baseman signed a 1-year, $3.5 million contract in the offseason to mainly play third base. He has fought through a couple of injury-riddled seasons, and those down years affected his value in the offseason. Anderson has hit under .250, driven in fewer than 30 runs the past two seasons, and hit just .222 in 2022. However, the Brewers saw something in Anderson, including the versatility to play other positions.
Brian Anderson has two home runs for the Brewers today. Dollar for dollar, at the plate and especially in the field, one of the best free agent pickups of the offseason.
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) April 23, 2023
When Luis Urias went down, it opened a spot for Wiemer after the season opener. The young guns and offseason additions have propelled the Brewers’ offense until recently, as Tellez is on a power surge.
Entering the year, the main players for the Brewers were expected to be Adames, Tellez, and Yelich. Anderson has come out of nowhere. He has a .255/.330/.459 slash line, leads the team with 25 hits, is tied for the team lead with 20 RBIs, and is tied for second in runs scored (16). His production has been pivotal in the Brewers’ hot start.
Brian Anderson has 10 RBI and 18 total bases through his first 5 games with the #Brewers.
Both are franchise records. pic.twitter.com/xy3exDcTUZ
— Brewers Stats (@BrewersStat) April 5, 2023
William Contreras
Contreras isn’t going to wow anyone looking at his counting stats. He has driven in seven runs, scored eight runs, and has just six extra-base hits. However, he leads the Brewers lineup in batting average (.295) and on-base percentage (.382). He has had a 10-game hitting streak and has been fantastic by all accounts with the pitching staff.
He’s also shown off his defensive chops and cannon arm. Teams are afraid to run on Contreras, despite rule changes to help baserunners.
The Brewers have caught 42% of would-be base stealers – tied for the best rate in baseball.
This William Contreras pop time was 1.94 from his knees.#ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/nVyd53dY5Q
— Dominic Cotroneo (@Dom_Cotroneo) April 25, 2023
Jesse Winker
Winker has produced early when available. Despite missing time with bronchitis, Winker has been productive, driving in 11 runs in just 53 at-bats. He isn’t hitting for power yet, but he is driving in runs. With Yelich getting on base at a solid clip, having a productive hitter behind him in the Brewers lineup is imperative, and Winker is delivering.
Jesse Winker delivers 💯#Brewers // #ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/b9CK0dqgUU
— Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) April 1, 2023
Offseason Additions Stabilizing Brewers lineup
Milwaukee’s offseason position player additions didn’t get many headlines. They have been fantastic for the Brewers lineup. though. Contreras looks like one of the elite two-way catchers in baseball. Anderson leads the team in hits. While his average isn’t great, Winker has delivered in big spots with clutch hitting. Add them to Yelich, Tellez, and Adames, and the Brewers lineup looks rejuvenated and one to fear.
If Milwaukee can stay healthy and gets a consistent offense to support its strong stable of pitchers, the Brewers can continue their winning ways and return to the postseason.
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