Milwaukee Brewers Should Lean on Hot Bat of Ryan Braun in Leadoff Spot

The Milwaukee Brewers have struggled from the leadoff spot all season, but at least for now, they should continue to lean on the hot bat of Ryan Braun.

Through the Milwaukee Brewers’ first 22 games, the offense has clearly struggled to get going. Their team batting average of .218 ranks 27th, their .669 OPS is 26th, and the 4.18 runs per game that they are scoring ranks 24th. Yet even with the overall poor performances at the plate, we’ve seen enough flashes from the Brewer bats that somehow, the teams sits at 11-11 on the season.

However, where we still haven’t seen much production is from the leadoff spot. Prior to Wednesday’s game against Minnesota, the Milwaukee Brewers leadoff hitters were slashing .176/.271/.235, which totals a .506 OPS. They also had just one home run with 11 walks to 17 strikeouts.

And it’s not like manager Craig Counsell isn’t switching things up to try to find some success. So far, we’ve seed Eric Sogard, Omar Narvaez, Avisail Garcia, Ryon Healy, Ben Gamel, and Brock Holt all bat leadoff this season and with little success, as illustrated above.

But hopefully, the tides are turning as Counsell and the Brewers may have found their leadoff hitter, at least for the time being, in Ryan Braun.

In Braun’s first two games after returning from the IL, he went hitless. Yet over the next three games, he would slash .308/.57/.462. Then on Wednesday evening in Minnesota, he would go 2-4 at the plate with a home run and two RBIs.

Prior to Braun batting leadoff against the Chicago Cubs this past Sunday, that was the first time since 2015 that he filled that role, and he had just four career at-bats when batting first. With Lorenzo Cain out of the picture this season, the Brewers are in desperate need of someone to find success in the leadoff spot, and at the moment, that appears to be Braun.

Now, Brauny is still going to need his days off, and while we hope that there aren’t any more IL stints this season, that is always a possibility. When and if those times come, Counsell will have to do what he’s done all season, which is plug and play to see what works.

We all know the importance of the leadoff hitter in the lineup, and while Braun doesn’t fit the traditional mold, over his last four games, his bat has been heating up. And for an offense that has struggled for most of this season, particularly from the leadoff spot, the Milwaukee Brewers should continue to ride the hot bat of Ryan Braun as long as they can.