The Milwaukee Brewers needed a win badly on Tuesday night. On a four-game losing streak, and with the Chicago Cubs gaining ground in the division, a prolonged slump to begin August could have had detrimental effects on the team’s postseason push in September.
Of course, Tuesday was also Major League Baseball’s trade deadline. Milwaukee made several key moves to improve their roster leading up to the 5:00 PM CST deadline, including trading for Carlos Santana and Mark Canha. But when the team needed players to step up offensively last night, three rookies, not midseason acquisitions, led the team to victory.
Andruw Monasterio Is an Underappreciated Rookie for the Milwaukee Brewers
Prior to and at the beginning of the season, the hype surrounding “The Freshmen” centered mainly on Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick, Brice Turang, and Joey Wiemer. And rightly so, as they are/were four of the Brewers’ top 10 prospects.
However, it has been rookie infielder Andruw Monasterio that has been the most consistent Brewers prospect this season. In 41 games, he is hitting .293/.374/.388 with a home run and 10 RBI while playing third base, second base, and short stop.
Last night, with two outs in the second inning, Monasterio delivered a RBI single to put the Brewers on the board first. Washington would quickly make his RBI single an afterthought as they scored three unanswered runs, leading to the heroics of Monasterio’s fellow rookies.
However, it is a perfect representation of his season thus far. While the bigger-named prospects get more attention, Monasterio just continues to do his job with little-to-no recognition.
Perhaps that needs to change.
Brice Turang and Joey Wiemer Come Up Big in the Fourth Inning
Both Brice Turang and Joey Wiemer have had their struggles at the plate this season. Turang was even sent back down to Triple-A Nashville at one point to help break out of an extended slump.
However, both have remained relatively steady fixtures in the Brewers’ lineup due to their defense. And while their defense has kept them in the lineup, it was their bats that propelled the team to a much needed win against Washington.
Hitting with two outs has been a struggle for every Brewers player this season. But Turang and Wiemer came up with back-to-back two-out two-RBI hits in the fourth inning to give the Brewers a 5-3 lead.
The Team Has Really Transformed
One really has to applaud the job that Matt Arnold, and David Stearns before him, have done to set the Brewers up for a prolonged period of success. Just look at the lineup from last night:
- Christian Yelich (2018 trade acquisition)
- William Contreras (2023 preseason trade acquisition)
- Carlos Santana (2023 trade deadline acquisition)
- Willy Adames (2021 in-season trade acquisition)
- Sal Frelick (rookie)
- Mark Canha (2023 trade deadline acquisition)
- Andruw Monasterio (rookie)
- Brice Turang (rookie)
- Joey Wiemer (rookie)
Four rookies, five trade acquisitions. Milwaukee is always criticized for not going after big-name free agents, but look at that lineup. This is the Brewers’ way. It is frustrating at times, and often fans see their favorite players sent away or signed with bigger markets.
But the small market Brewers need to find talent via trade and by developing their own prospects. Last night’s win proved that this model can work.
And hopefully it can continue to work well enough to return Milwaukee to the postseason for a shot at the World Series.
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