Milwaukee Brewers: 5 players who must improve down the stretch

SAN DIEGO, CA - MARCH 30: Ryan Braun #8 of the Milwaukee Brewers is congratulated by Christian Yelich #22 after hitting a three-run home run during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park on March 30, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /

6 of 6

1. Ryan Braun

Ryan Braun, the face of the franchise, is the player who needs to pick up his game more than anyone else on the roster. He’s getting paid the most on the team and should still have a little left in his tank at 34-years-old.

Unfortunately, Braun appears to have hit a huge cliff this season and has almost completely fallen off. He’s hitting .232 with a .278 on-base percentage, .423 slugging percentage and .701 OPS. All of those are career-lows for the six-time All-Star and former NL MVP*.

Because both Braun and Santana have struggled at the plate and aren’t the best defensively, Milwaukee has been relying on Eric Thames to play some right field lately. Well Thames has been a better option at the plate, his defense is questionable at best.

Milwaukee desperately needs Braun to step up and start showing up for some of these games. Not that they need him to be the .300 hitter he was at the prime of his career, but something closer to .260 would be nice. If Milwaukee is going to make any noise in the playoffs, they are going to need Braun to come through in a big way.

Home/Milwaukee Brewers