Milwaukee Brewers: Best MLB Offense in Spring Training

In the grand scheme of things, Spring Training stats don’t matter; however, it’s fascinating to see what the Milwaukee Brewers have done thus far in 2017.

Even though there is no guarantee that success in March carries over to the regular season, the Milwaukee Brewers‘ offense is serving notice to the league in Arizona.

Statistics in the exhibition season are relatively meaningless as a predictive function. At the same time, one could argue it’s always better to see a player or team do well rather than struggle.

The Brewers are doing far better than “well” offensively. In fact, through March 19th, Milwaukee is the best club on the offensive side of the field by many measures. They certainly have a look, sound, and feel of an impressive group that could terrorize pitchers.

Quick reminder: Spring Training stats may have absolute zero value. Sometimes, it could indicate a positive trend. Either way, the numbers are there.

After their first 24 games, the Milwaukee Brewers are the MLB leaders in some offensive categories this spring, including:

Runs scored (156 – 6.5 per game)
Home Runs (37)
Walks (108 – 4.5 per game)
OPS (.908)
Slugging percentage (.520)
OBP (.388)
Batting average (.306)

Those are rather impressive, even if it is a small sample size in games that don’t count, sometimes against players who will never see a regular season contest. But again – it’s more comforting to see a club succeeding instead of struggling. If the whole team were at the bottom of the barrel, many would wonder if things would be horrible this season.

One nice part about the offensive output this spring is that many of the regulars have been mashing the baseball. Keon Broxton has a 1.226 OPS with a .737 slugging percentage.

Newcomer Travis Shaw boasts a 1.165 OPS with three home runs and four doubles. Catcher Manny Pina, part of a three-way battle for the position, has a .400 average and a 1.102 OPS. Korean League import Eric Thames has awoken in the past four contests (.545 AVG, HR, .643 OBP).

More from Dairyland Express

Sure, these types of gaudy numbers are not going to be repeatable come April, but they’re fun to look at in the meantime. Even the potential bench players have staked their claims at the dish.

Scooter Gennett owns a .419 OBP in the midst of learning some new positions. Will it translate to a part-time role and pinch-hitting job?

Jesus Aguilar, out of options and a relative unknown to Brewers fans until recently, appears to be the ideal right-handed, slugging, backup first baseman and power bat off the bench.

All Aguilar has done is blast four home runs in 36 at-bats. He has also shown plate discipline with seven walks while putting up a .512 OBP and .806 slugging percentage for a 1.317 OPS of his own.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Hernan Perez, seen as valuable role players in 2017, have also been on point. Each has three homers and an OPS better than 1.100 in limited action.

There is a dangerous mix of complementary pieces in the lineup: 1) Power and speed; 2) Youth and experience; 3) Lefties and righties. All of these components make for a consistent attack, able to avoid prolonged slumps and be exploited easily by their perceived weaknesses.

Even if all these fantastic numbers don’t correlate perfectly with regular season production, there could be something to all of this. Perhaps not on an individual by individual basis, but as a whole.

In the previous five years, it has been a mixed bag of how the top spring offenses performed during the regular season. Using OPS as the essential barometer, it was a 40-60 proposition in predictive substance.

For example, in both 2015 and 2016, four of the top 10 teams in OPS during the spring also finished in the top 10 in the regular season. The Detroit Tigers finished 3rd in the exhibition season and 4th during the year.

Back in 2014, the Colorado Rockies had the highest OPS during Spring Training and ended that regular season on top as well.

The 2015 New York Mets, Oakland A’s and Los Angeles Angels, ranked 1st, 2nd and 4th in spring OPS. They were then among the worst that season: 20th, 21st, and 24th respectively.

So, once more, it could mean something – or it may not. However, if you’ve been watching or listening to some games, you should recognize the high ceiling the team has on offense.

The Milwaukee Brewers have been scorching the ball of late. They have scored at least seven runs in 10 of their last 17 spring games. That includes a 13-run performance on Saturday and a 24-run outburst a week ago.

Of course, this has all been done mostly without Ryan Braun, who is still the Brewers best overall hitter. He recently made it clear Spring Training is something he could almost do without, though he still participates sparingly. Braun has just 12 plate appearances, netting him a home run, a double and 3 RBI.

Carrying it over into Milwaukee and other cold-weather cities will be the next challenge for everyone on the roster – even Braun.

Next: Do Milwaukee Bucks Want Greg Monroe to Opt In?

It might be a stretch to predict the Milwaukee Brewers will sit atop the offensive rankings by the end of 2017. Loosely speaking, however, they have a 40% chance of finishing in the top 10. That would be a terrific development and add a few wins to the club’s record this year.

Home/Milwaukee Brewers