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3 Up and 3 Down: The First Inning of the Brewers Season

By Mike Wendlandt

SAN DIEGO, CA - MARCH 31: Eric Thames
SAN DIEGO, CA - MARCH 31: Eric Thames /
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ST LOUIS, MO – APRIL 11: Eric Thames
ST LOUIS, MO – APRIL 11: Eric Thames /

ONE UP: ERIC THAMES AND JONATHAN VILLAR BOUNCE BACK

For the past year, two of the most talked about Brewers as far as trade rumors go have been Eric Thames and Jonathan Villar.

Thames got off to an incredibly hot start last year with a .345 average and 11 homers in April before fading badly from May through August. And with the acquisitions of Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain, Thames has been a name that was talked about as more expendable with Ryan Braun playing more first base. But he’s been exceptional yet again in April, hitting his fifth home run Wednesday against the St. Louis Cardinals to go along with a .263 average despite a .217 BABIP.

Next to him on the diamond was the most disappointing player on the team last season in Jonathan Villar.

After his breakout 2016, leading the Majors in stolen bases, the speedster struggled with a move to second last year, showing marked inconsistency with his plate discipline (6.9 percent BB, 30.3 pecent K) and his glove (15 Errors).

This season, he’s off to a much better start, hitting .310 while stealing a couple of bases. He does have a .419 BABIP so far, so he could regress, but his patience has gotten much better, as he’s working the count and putting the ball in play more consistently.

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