When the Milwaukee Brewers first acquired Owen Miller from the Cleveland Guardians in December of 2022, there were very few reasons for fans to be over-the-top excited about the move. After all, the utilityman had made it into 190 games for the Guardians across two years and failed to produce any output even close to league-average.
Miller, a native of Mequon, WI, grew up rooting for the Brewers and received the unique opportunity to play for his hometown team, something the vast majority of professional baseball players never get to do.
Nobody could’ve seen his offensive explosion coming and nobody (and I mean nobody) could’ve predicted that he would be the No. 1 most productive player on the Brewers around two months into the 2023 regular season.
Brewers riding the red-hot bat of Owen Miller to kick off 2023
For some background, Miller was a third-round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres. He never received a whole lot of love as he ascended through the minors, making it up to the No. 26 prospect in the Padres’ system in 2019 and No. 11 heading into 2020. That year, he was a part of the gigantic trade between San Diego and Cleveland that sent Austin Hedges, Josh Naylor and some prospects to the then-Indians for Mike Clevinger.
He continued to hit for average in Cleveland’s high-minors, just as he had with the Padres, even earning his first look in the big leagues. 190 games later, and he managed to hit a combined .231 with an OPS+ of just 77 and a bWAR of -0.8 as a member of the Guardians.
Now here we are, the 26-year-old has over 50 games under his belt as a Milwaukee Brewer and has easily been the team’s most productive hitter. Miller will never hit any more than 10 home runs a year, but a Brewers team who typically relies on the longball a bit more than is necessary is now looking for him to just do the little things right.
So far, so good.
In the first 51 games of his career on the Crew, Miller has done it all. On offense, he has 11 doubles and four home runs with 21 runs scored, 19 driven in, nine stolen bases and a .315 batting average. His OPS of .804 is above league-average and his 121 OPS+ puts him exactly 21 percent above an average MLB hitter this year.
Not to mention, he possesses the flexibility to bat anywhere in the lineup. As a matter of fact, the only spot in the order he hasn’t started a game at this year is third, which is typically reserved for one of the team’s power hitters. He leads off, he bats cleanup, he bats eighth, he does it all. This type of flexibility is crucial to any given club’s success, and it’s so important that he knows his role as the Brewers’ swiss army knife.
Oh, and the guy plays some pretty slick defense, too. While Miller is likely not ever going to win a Gold Glove Award for his defensive prowess, he has proven to be a valuable defender at virtually every position on the diamond. So far, he has started games at first base, second base, third base and both outfield corners. In the past, he has experience at shortstop as well, but his decent-but-not-great defensive range and arm strength suggests that he shouldn’t spend too much time at the position, maybe only in case of an emergency.
He’s hitting, he’s fielding, he’s stealing bases, he’s one of the most productive players on the 2023 Milwaukee Brewers. Owen Miller is not going to earn any MVP votes just yet, but for now, the Brewers should be absolutely thrilled with their “hometown hero” and his outstanding stretch of play for a club eyeing contention.
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