With the return of baseball, the writers at WSH have decided to make a series of articles dedicated to breaking down each position on the Milwaukee Brewers. When it comes to the shortstop position, the Brewers have nothing to worry about.
Sure, there is a pretty clear position battle right now. But even if both of your main two guys get hurt, you have a utility player and promising prospect ready to play every day for the team. Let’s break it down.
Orlando Arcia
Although he has been getting some looks and time at third base, one can assume that Arcia will be playing a lot of shortstop this year. He has been the Brewers go-to player at the position for almost five years.
When Milwaukee traded with San Diego and Luis Urias came to the Brewers, it suddenly brought competition for Arcia. Sadly in 2020, there wasn’t much of a position battle. Urias had Covid-19 and battled injuries. He ended up playing only 41 games and got a lot of looks at third base as well.
Urias has had a good Spring Training, but the job is Arcia’s to lose. Arcia signed a one-year, $2MM contract for this season, and has plenty to prove. Orlando is a .244 hitter but still a great defender, teammate and overall player. He is also clutch every single time the Brewers are in the playoffs. If Urias’ bat gets hot and Arcia’s does not, the position could be more of a platoon this year.
Luis Urias
The 2021 Luis Urias season will be very important. He was the main piece coming to the Milwaukee Brewers when they traded with the San Diego Padres. Injuries and a battle with Covid-19 brought setbacks last year, and a shortened season didn’t help.
He is expected to be the shortstop of the future, but Orlando Arcia will have something to say about that. Arcia will probably also get a few starts at third base, but his lack of experience there and lack of power at the plate might not help the team.
Urias has had an amazing Spring Training, which is good to see. As of March 27th, he has a .281 batting average, .879 OPS and .469 slugging. A full year healthy and playing in most games should help.
The Brewers and fans are excited to see the potential that Urias has.
Daniel Robertson
If you’ve been reading the other position breakdowns on WSH, you might have seen Robertson’s name a few times already. It appears he will be the Brewers’ go-to utility player to begin the 2021 season.
The former Tampa Bay Ray was a typical David Steans-type signings. A player who is looking for a breakout season with a another team and still relatively young. Robertson just turned 27. Before Milwaukee signed Travis Shaw, it was almost looking like Urias and Robertson would be splitting duties.
It appears Robertson has cemented a utility roster spot for Milwaukee. You can never have enough depth at infield. Daniel was once the top prospect for the Oakland Athletics, and could still have a chance to be a solid player if he bat heats up. He is a career .234 hitter.
He is the same type of player as Mark Mathias, but Mathias’s injury during spring means Robertson should make the roster. Robertson has experience at every infield position. He’s only played one game at first base and eight in the outfield, but he has 74 games at shortstop, 81 at third base and 109 at second.
Robertson is the walking definition of a utility infielder. And he should get some chances with Milwaukee. His ceiling will be as high as he makes it this year.
Brice Turang
It’s August of 2021. Daniel Robertson is at third base. Orlando Arcia is at shortstop. Luis Urias at second base. Chicago Cubs’ Javier Baez hits a shallow pop up. All three players collide and get injured. Who will step up at shortstop!?!?
Luckily for the Milwaukee, they have a young prospect who is almost Major League ready. He is the team’s top infield prospect. Within the next few years, the team will no longer have Arcia, Urias and Turang battling for the position. Turang has too high of a ceiling to keep all of those players.
Turang recently made Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects, and will only move up this year. When Appleton became Milwaukee’s alternate training site last year, Turang was the best hitter there.
Brice is expected to be an offensive upgrade over Urias/Arica, but is still a few years from the big leagues. But he is a talented young player that can be utilized this year if a worst-case scenario happens.
Milwaukee is set at the shortstop position this year, and this is a very good thing.
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