The Milwaukee Brewers have an off day today and begin a three game series with the Cleveland Guardians tomorrow. Currently, the Brewers are 38-36. It’s good for second in the NL Central. However, the division is not very good and it’s a division the Brewers should be winning and by a decent margin. While they have been hit with the injury bug especially in the starting rotation, it’s the offense that is struggling yet again. As an offense, the Brewers are 28th in batting average and 25th in strikeouts. They are statistically one of the worst offenses in baseball and have been for the last few years. If the Brewers want to get back and take control of this division, they need three players that will answer the bell and step up.
Willy Adames
There’s no doubt Willy Adames is the heart and soul of this team. When Adames is on, the entire team follows. He’s the energy on the field and in the dugout. You’ll see him as the player who puts the cheesehead on a player who hits a home run and is usually the first player to greet a teammate. He’s everything you want in a teammate and a person overall.
However, after hitting 31 home runs and driving in 98 last season, Adames has been one of the worst offensive players in the lineup most of the season and is doing it usually as the two or three hitter. I do think he’s still recovering from a scary concussion he suffered earlier this month. Who can blame him? Right now, Adames is hitting only .203 with 10 home runs and 29 RBI’s. His .285 on-base percentage is on pace to be the lowest of his career and second lowest batting average. He simply can’t be asked to be at the top of the order and have that low of production. It’s too important of a spot in the lineup and he needs to get it fixed the second half of the season.
Rowdy Tellez
Like Adames, Rowdy Tellez has been in a slump the last month or so. After starting out the season really well, Tellez is only hitting .220 with an on-base percentage of .293. His OPS of .706 is on pace for the second lowest in his career. Recently, we’ve seen Tellez visibly frustrated during some at bats. It seems like he’s missing a lot of pitching mistakes.
Tellez is usually the three or four hitter most nights. While he does lead the team with 12 home runs, it doesn’t do you much good when the batting average and on-base percentage are low. Tellez is a streaky hitter and if he can get hot, he can get extra base hits in bunches. I know the power is there for Tellez, but there needs to be more consistency in his spot of the lineup especially since he plays just about every day.
Jesse Winker
Winker had a down year with the Seattle Mariners last season. Before that, he spent his entire career with the Cincinnati Reds. Winker always seemed to be a Brewer killer and was always good at putting the ball in play. When you put the ball in play, good things happen and you’ll be rewarded for it.
Winker has dealt with injures and sickness this year too. It’s hard to get into a rhythm and routine when that happens. It could partially explain his .200 batting average and only one home run and 16 RBI’s. Moving forward, Winker is a bat the Brewers need. He has a good eye at the plate and usually a tough batter to strike out.
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