Milwaukee Brewers: Solid Debuts for three 2020 Slump Stricken Players

Despite making the playoffs in 2020 for what is now a franchise-record three seasons in a row, last season wasn’t exactly a booming one for the Milwaukee Brewers—especially on offense.

In most major statistical categories, the Brewers ranked last or near last in the NL as many key players, including Christian Yelich, Keston Hiura, Omar Narvaez, and Avisail Garcia, all struggled at the plate.

However, as we look ahead to this season, there is plenty to be excited about. Fans are back in the stands, and both in the starting rotation and in the bullpen, the Milwaukee Brewers have some high-end talent. But for them to win the NL Central and make the playoffs, they’re going to need their offense to be a lot better—and that means bounce-back seasons.

Sunday was the Brewers’ first Spring Training game of the year, and it came with some promising offensive output from three of the aforementioned players above. Yelich didn’t play, but Hiura, Narvaez, and Garcia all had big days, going 4-8 as a group with two home runs and four RBIs.

Hiura was able to belt 13 home runs in 2020, but he struck out a league-high 85 times. He also hit just .212 with a .707 OPS and an OPS+ of 88–the league average is 100. On Sunday, however, Hiura hit a deep home run that gave the Crew an early lead—although it’s worth noting that he still struck out twice.

Narvaez’ 2020 season was the opposite of what the first four years of his big league career had been. His defense was much improved behind the plate, but he posted a slash line of just .176/.294.269 and an OPS+ of 53. His OPS+ during his first four seasons was 111.

But on Sunday, like Hiura, Narvaez found success, going 2-3 at the plate with a double.

To complete the trifecta, Garcia also had a solid Spring Training debut after a down 2020 season. Garcia hit .239 and posted a .659 OPS last year, both of which were way down from his career averages at that point of .273 and .751, respectively.

Hopefully, this opening Spring Training game is a sign of things to come, as Garcia went 1-2, while drawing a walk and hitting a home run.

Although this is a promising start for these three players, it would be foolish to put too much stock into these one game performances. With that said, it’s always nice to start off on the right foot, and for the Milwaukee Brewers to reach their full potential, they’ll need these three players to bounce back.