The Milwaukee Brewers are one of four National League teams this year who separated themselves from the pack. Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Atlanta are the only other three National League teams with records currently over .500. With MLB All-Star voting underway and less than a handful of teams excelling there is a good chance that several Brew Crew players make the 2024 All-Star game. Here we provide arguments for seven of them.
Milwaukee Brewers All-Star case #1: William Contreras
William Contreras being elected to his second career All-Star game (2022 with ATL) shouldn’t take much convincing. The catcher has the third most RBI in the league (46), is sixth in batting average (.309), seventh in on-base percentage (.376), and eighth in on base plus slugging percentage (.851). Among qualified catchers Will Smith of the Dodgers has a higher on base plus slugging percentage and more home runs (nine) then Contreras (eight home runs) but otherwise Contreras is first in every other offensive category.
Milwaukee Brewers All-Star case #2: Willy Adames
28 year old Willy Adames is putting together a great first half of the season. He has the most RBI among shortstops in the National League (43), is second in doubles (17), tied for sixth in home runs (9), and is tied for the third most walks (29). His .736 OPS is not eye catching, but his ability to be a run producer while playing great defense at a premier position should put him in the running to be elected to his first career All-Star game.
Milwaukee Brewers All-Star case #3: Christian Yelich
When scrolling through National League outfielder statistics Christian Yelich has statistics that make you pause and look twice. His season slash line is .329/.409/.524 with six home runs, 29 RBI, and 10 stolen bases. The only thing working against him is that his sample size is significantly less than others for he missed time due to a back injury early on. However if he continues to swing a hot back through the month of June he could easily find himself back playing in the mid summer classic for the first time since 2019.
Milwaukee Brewers All-Star case #4: Brice Turang
There is no reason why Brice Turang shouldn’t be an All-Star this season and he should be in the running to be the starting second baseman for the National League. Milwaukee’s leadoff hitter has the highest batting average among qualified second baseman (.307), highest on-base percentage (.371), most stolen bases (23), and the third highest slugging percentage (.415). He may not have the RBI totals like Ketel Marte (35) or home runs like Nolan Gorman (14), but he excels in so many other offensive statistics while also being a gold glove candidate defensively.
Milwaukee Brewers All-Star case #5: Joey Oritz
Yes there is a legit case for the Brewers second baseman, shortstop, and third baseman to all be All-Stars this season. Rookie Joey Ortiz has run away with the third base job and was Major League Baseball’s rookie of the month in May. Ortiz has a season OPS of .865 and hardly ever swings and misses. Alec Bohm of the Phillies is the favorite to be the starting third baseman in the All-Star game but Ortiz should be in the running as a bench player.
That’s just absurd
→ https://t.co/ZGJNZU1cbn pic.twitter.com/udpLrLeAlM
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) June 8, 2024
Milwaukee Brewers All-Star case #6: Blake Perkins
Yeah, Blake Perkins is performing like an All-Star. The smooth gliding center fielder that robbed a home run and hit one in the same game is ranked fifth in the National League outfielder WAR this season. Sure he’s gone through slumps at the plate but he has a 104 OPS+ on the year and has stolen six bases. With the elite level of defense that he provides his offensive numbers are not bad for a guy who typically hits ninth in the batting order
so, uh, at what point does the All-Star chatter here start for the Brewers center fielder? pic.twitter.com/mYFx4a1xOU
— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) June 8, 2024
Milwaukee Brewers All-Star case #7: Bryan Hudson
Rookie reliever Bryan Hudson has been one of the best in the game this year. He has a 1.03 ERA on the season, nine holds, and has worked multiple innings in 14 out of 23 appearances. This year he has thrown 147 sweepers and allowed just two hits off of it (.051 batting average against). Pitchers cannot be voted into the All-Star game by fans but it’s fair to say that teams around the league have started taking notice of what he is doing.
Among the remainder of the Brewers bullpen Jared Koenig, Hoby Milner, and Trevor Megill are also all putting together nice seasons. However Hudson stands out the most and Megill has a smaller sample size of just 17 innings pitched this year that may hurt his case.
Phase one of MLB All-Star voting goes until June 27. You can cast your vote by clicking here.
Related: Former Milwaukee Brewers catcher with a .076 batting average comically receiving All-Star votes.
