Where has the season gone?
It’s hard to believe, but only six full weeks remain and by the final days of September the playoffs will have already begun.
Where the Milwaukee Brewers stand at that point is anybody’s guess.
They began their second and final West Coast trip with the best record in the major leagues, but injuries to several key players and a dreadful offense conspired to shrink what had been a commanding lead in the National League Central Division to their smallest advantage in over two months with the Chicago Cubs breathing down the Brewers’ necks.
Things won’t get any easier for Milwaukee, either, with seven games remaining against the Cubs (including four at Wrigley Field beginning Aug. 31) and then a three-city, nine-game trip from Sept. 15-24. In all, 16 of the Brewers’ final 25 games will be away from American Family Field.
There will be more starts to come for Jacob Misiorowski, as he attempts to seal up his first NL Cy Young Award and Milwaukee’s first since Corbin Burnes won it in 2021. And it will be interesting to follow the exploits of right-handers Dustin May and Antonio Senzatela and left-hander JoJo Romero, all of whom were acquired at the trade deadline in an attempt to gird the pitching staff for the battles ahead.
Star players such as Christian Yelich and William Contreras are going to need to step up their play offensively, young players such as Cooper Pratt and Luis Lara will be expected to contribute in their first playoff runs, and a rotation featuring neophytes such as Logan Henderson and Shane Drohan has to continue to deliver.
It’s going to be an interesting ride to say the least.
In the meantime, let’s hit on some of the hot topics in Part 1 of the Journal Sentinel’s Brewers mailbag. Check back Friday, Aug. 14 at jsonline.com/brewers for Part 2 looking at trade deadline fallout and prospects.
Christian Yelich and lineup questions
Christian Yelich apparently has awful timing on his swing. Looks fine but seems to swing over the top and beat the ball into the ground. It appears his load move is super long. Do the coaches suggest or insist on stance and pitch prep changes when a player is struggling and not breaking out with the same approach?
Todd Rosiak: I’m no hitting coach, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Believe me when I tell you that yes, there are myriad people working with Yelich to try and get him to a better place at the plate. Tons of video and time in the cages. And if you watch games regularly, you see that Yelich is among the players who most often tweaks his stance/approach at the plate. Just last week from game to game you could see him first drop his hands and almost rest his bat on his shoulders to the next game going back to holding his hands up high and away from his body as he has for most of his career. Yelich has a long track record of success and has come out of lengthy slumps before – look at his numbers from the first two months of last season before he ended up nearly hitting 30 homers while driving in more than 100 runs. No chance he gets to those levels this season, obviously, but there’s still plenty of time for him to become the impact hitter we’ve seen in the past. And no question, the Brewers need that version of Yelich to show up down the stretch – badly.
Why can’t Murphy sit Yelich for a couple weeks? Can’t play him for what he did in the past; it’s what he’s doing now.
Todd Rosiak: I get fans’ frustrations. But this simply will never happen. You’re basically suggesting the Brewers bench their $26 million man and waste a roster spot? Who replaces him in the lineup? Pat Murphy’s options are limited and he’s rightfully done what he can for now, which is move Yelich down in the order to try and take some of the pressure off of him and move those who are producing into the key spots. If Yelich can rediscover his stroke, then that gives Murphy and the Brewers more options.
To us fans, it seems odd Andrew Vaughn has to be used more. I know Jake Bauers has been a hot batter, but Vaughn has proven to be a valuable batter as well. Why has he spent so much time as a bench warmer?
Todd Rosiak: Vaughn has gotten into the mix more of late, albeit at third base with Joey Ortiz not feeling well physically and now Cooper Pratt on the injured list. And speaking of Ortiz, fans were wondering why he had been “in the cooler” as well before being sidelined. The easiest way to explain it is matchups – Murphy has a wealth of numbers at his disposal and they help determine who is likely to perform best against that night’s pitcher. And with Bauers being Milwaukee’s biggest offensive threat this season, he’s going to be in the lineup every game for a team that’s been scuffling for offense. When Bauers is feeling OK physically (remember he has a toe fracture and an abdominal issue) he can make the occasional appearance in right field as well, which opens up first base for Vaughn. Lineups are a daily puzzle with many parts.
Who is the emergency third catcher? We’ve seen William Contreras and Gary Sánchez used in the same game often. What happens when one is lifted and the other gets hurt?
Todd Rosiak: Luckily for the Brewers this situation hasn’t presented itself yet. Murphy said last week that Vaughn would actually be the emergency catcher with Sal Frelick on the injured list. Why Vaughn? “He’s a ballplayer,” as Murphy says.
Is it my imagination or does Luis Lara not communicate well with teammates on fly balls? There have been a number of near collisions and I fear a major injury or two if it continues.
Todd Rosiak: It’s quite simply a young player learning the ropes at the major league level in real time. Luckily the only collisions that have occurred so far have been between Lara and the outfield wall, with Lara walking away intact. Murphy has said he has intentionally kept Lara in right rather than moving him to center on occasion to get him as comfortable as possible and keep things simple. I’d expect things will settle down for Lara out there soon.
What are we going to do when Sal Frelick is healthy? He is not better than anyone we currently have, though Murphy loves him.
Todd Rosiak: My guess is he returns to being at least the semi-regular right fielder with Lara becoming the swing man. Brandon Lockridge, who has a minor league option remaining, then heads to Class AAA Nashville.
Let’s switch to pitching
Why does Jacob Misiorowski need so much rest?
Todd Rosiak: Because he’s never pitched more than 97⅓ innings as a professional (he’s currently at 133 through 22 starts), throws harder than any pitcher in the game ever and is the cornerstone of the Brewers franchise? Misiorowski was already showing signs of fatigue heading into the all-star break, leading to the team allowing him more rest between starts. Murphy said at that time an eye was being kept on September, with the implication being the wraps will come off at that point. While The Miz has had his ups and downs in the second half, he’s still largely dominated and is the runaway favorite to be named the Cy Young Award winner in the National League. It would be absolute malfeasance to not handle this pitching unicorn with the utmost care.
Why does Pat Murphy use his top three relievers in the same game? It would be wiser to use them in separate games to close if necessary, otherwise they are not available when needed.
Todd Rosiak: Because the objective is to win that night’s game. You worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.
From the first time I saw Brandon Sproat I thought of Jamey Wright. Both power sinker pitchers with really loose mechanics when their arms are behind them. How do the Brewers get him to refine the mechanics and tighten up all the movement to make his motion more repeatable?
Todd Rosiak: By continuing to coach him and let him pitch, as they are currently at Class AAA Nashville. Sproat can go down there with the pressure off and focus on whatever it is the Brewers have told him to focus on. Milwaukee still believes strongly in what Sproat brings to the table and that he will be a key future piece in the rotation. With Chris Hook and Jim Henderson running the “H&H Car Wash,” the chances appear good that Sproat will figure it out and become a contributor again.
When will Shane Drohan be sent down to the minors? The Brewers don’t have games to waste and every time Drohan pitches, something goes wrong.
Todd Rosiak: We must be watching different Shane Drohans. The Drohan I’ve been watching is 6-4 with a 3.87 earned run average and 93 strikeouts in 93 innings over 23 appearances and 13 starts as a rookie. That really doesn’t seem that bad to me. Is there a bad start mixed in there from time to time? Of course. But he gave a Milwaukee team that needed innings badly at least six in five of his six July starts and fell just shy the other time at 5⅔. And after his next start he’s likely to rank second on the Brewers behind Misiorowski in innings this season. Drohan is far, far, far from being a problem this team needs to worry about.
Odds and ends
What does the first base coach say to the runner after every pitch?
Todd Rosiak: Spencer Allen, who is in his first year in that role, is normally reminding baserunners about a pitcher’s pickoff move, quickness in throwing to the plate and game situation. He’s also the Brewers’ baserunning guru, so Allen undoubtedly is bringing up items in that vein as well.
Whatever happened to the hoopla surrounding torpedo bats? Do they really make a difference?
Todd Rosiak: Isn’t it funny how that all died down so quickly after that opening series last year against the New York Yankees? I’m not smart enough to know how much of a difference they make overall, but I do know that various Brewers players still have what are commonly referred to as “baby torpedoes” (torpedo shaped barrels, but more subtle) in their bat bags that they’ll bring out on occasion. I don’t believe that any Milwaukee players regularly use any form of torpedo bats, though.
What are they building in the right field upper deck at American Family Field?
Todd Rosiak: New workspace for the team’s baseball operations group, and it’s all complete from what I know. I was up there for the first time a few weeks ago and it’s impressive.
The Brewers had to play seven of 13 games against the Cubs in Chicago in the 2025 season and have to do the same this season. That could certainly make a big difference in potential tiebreaker scenarios. How does MLB determine who gets the extra game and shouldn’t it alternate years?
Todd Rosiak: You are correct, and isn’t it interesting the four-gamer this season comes down the stretch with both teams going all out for the NL Central crown? That’s exactly the type of drama MLB wants. Unfortunately, I don’t know what all goes into determining schedules on a yearly basis. I’m sure it would be a fascinating walkthrough if MLB ever divulged it, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that. I do know that next season the Brewers host the Cubs for four games at American Family Field, but that series is scheduled for May 17-20.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Should Yelich be benched? And what happened to torpedo bats? | Brewers mailbag
Reporting by Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
