Since the departure of Prince Fielder, first base has been a revolving door for the Brewers. This year has been no different. Earlier in the season, Keston Hiura, Travis Shaw, Daniel Vogelbach, and Jace Peterson received majority of the playing time at the position. Most recently it has been Rowdy Tellez at first base. Since joining the Brewers, he is having success at the plate.
Tellez was acquired from the Blue Jays in early July. The move was made shortly after Vogelbach was placed on the injured list. Many comparisons between the two were initially made. For instance, they both bat from the left hand side, have great power potential, and at times neither tends to hit for a very high batting average.
Tellez has been in a Brewers uniform for about one month now. In that time he has provided a much needed offensive spark. The big question is how sustainable is this success? Is this simply a short hot streak?
As a Brewer, Tellez is slashing .327/.429/.596/1.025. He has appeared in 20 games with just over 60 at bats in which he has 4 home runs and 13 RBI’s. His current OPS+ is 174. While this is not a huge sample size, he has put together stretches like this in the past.
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In 2018 and 2020, he posted well above career average numbers while logging more at bats than he currently has with the Brewers. His 2020 final slash line was .283/.346/.540/.886. He finished that season with an OPS+ of 140, eight home runs, and 23 RBI’s.
Based on his past performances, this shows that the potential is there for Tellez to remain productive throughout the remainder of this season. With just 54 games remaining in the regular season, Tellez could see close to 150-175 more plate appearances should he play every day.
An added benefit, should Tellez find himself in the lineup near everyday, is that this will allow trade deadline acquisition Eduardo Escobar to play third base more often. Third base is a position that Escobar is more familiar with when compared to first base. Having both players in the lineup may be in the Brewers best interest from a power standpoint. However, Luis Urias has provided a surprising amount of pop at the plate this year and also plays third base.
As for Tellez, should he continue to produce and lengthen the Brewers lineup, that would make two great pre trade deadline deals from David Stearns. The Willy Adames trade of course is the other transaction I am referencing too. At times Adames has played like a MVP candidate and has been a great addition to the team.
For now, the best thing to do is sit back and enjoy the offensive production. The Brewers had one of the best offensive months as team in July and Tellez played a big part in that. His production going forward will also impact the team greatly.
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