The Brewers’ outfield is going to have a different flavor this year compared to 2022. Lorenzo Cain was released in June of last year, Andrew McCutchen reached free agency at season’s end and has since signed with the Pirates, while Hunter Renfroe was dealt to the Angels. That leaves room for some fresh faces to step up and take over. Let’s take a look at some of the options.
The Lock
Yelich, 31, is the one constant in the Milwaukee outfield picture, as his contract runs through 2028. He was one of the best players in the league in 2018 and 2019, winning National League Most Valuable Player in the first of those two seasons. In each of those two campaigns, he posted a wRC+ of 167 or higher, stole at least 22 bases and was worth 7.2 fWAR or more. His production has dropped off from those incredible heights over the past three years, but he’s still a solidly above-average player. Last year, he hit 14 home runs, stole 19 bases and walked in 13.1% of his plate appearances. That led to a .252/.355/.383 batting line, a 111 wRC+ and 2.3 fWAR.
His contract and past performance ensure that he’ll be part of the team on a regular basis, though he’ll likely serve as the designated hitter a few times, leaving plenty of outfield playing time for others. The last time he played the field in more than 115 games in a season was 2019. Since the club is invested in Yelich for the long haul, they’ll want to continue giving him the occasional breather to keep him healthy. Advanced defensive metrics are also split on his glovework, with Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average both grading him as subpar last year and for his career, while Ultimate Zone Rating is much more encouraged.
Short-Term Vets
Winker, 29, is looking for a bounce back after a down season. In 2020 and 2021 with the Reds, he hit 36 home runs and produced a batting line of .292/.392/.552. Of all the hitters in the league with at least 650 plate appearances in that stretch, his 145 wRC+ was one of the 10 best. His work was even stronger with the platoon advantage, as he hit righties to the tune of .321/.417/.619 for a 167 wRC+, with only Juan Soto and Bryce Harper ahead of him in that department. He was traded to the Mariners prior to 2022 but struggled, hitting just 14 home runs last year and slashing .219/.344/.344 overall for a wRC+ of 109.
The Brewers acquired him as part of the Kolten Wong trade and will hope that a second change of scenery will suit Winker better than the first. It’s possible that injuries played a role as Winker required left knee surgery and a second procedure to address a bulging disc in his neck in October, though Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times has also reported that Winker’s work habits were a concern in Seattle. Regardless of the cause, Milwaukee is considered to be a much more favorable offensive environment than Seattle, which should work in his favor.
It remains to be seen how much the Brewers want to rely on Winker as a defender. His glovework has generally been rated poorly in his career and his numbers declined in that department in 2022. That could have been impacted by his health situation, but it’s possible he spends more time as the DH than in the field. However, as mentioned, Yelich will likely see his share of time in the DH slot as well, which will likely require Winker to spend at least a bit of time in the field. Winker is slated for free agency at season’s end.
Anderson, 30 in May, is also looking for a bounceback like Winker. From 2018-20, he hit 42 home runs for the Marlins and produced a line of .266/.350/.436, 115 wRC+. But the past two seasons have seen injuries diminish his playing time and performance. He got into just 165 total games over 2021 and 2022, hitting .233/.321/.359 for a 93 wRC+. He was eligible for one more pass through arbitration but the Marlins non-tendered him instead, with Anderson then signing a one-year deal with the Brewers.
Anderson has a bit more time at third base in his career than the outfield, and he told reporters last month he expects to see more time at third base than in the outfield. Milwaukee has Luis Urías to man the hot corner, through. That should leave Anderson in the mix for some outfield time, perhaps in a platoon role. He hits from the right side while Yelich and Winker both his left-handed, as do some of the guys below him on this list. Anderson has modest reverse splits for his career but did hit lefties better last year. Defensively, in over 1,500 outfield innings, Anderson has a -8 OAA but 8 DRS and 9.3 UZR. Even though he was hurt last year, his arm strength was still considered to be in the 99th percentile by Statcast, which could serve him well at third base or in the outfield.
Controllable Guys With Some Experience
Taylor, 29, has been largely a part-time option for the Brewers in recent years but took on a larger role last year as Cain was gradually phased out. He got into 120 games in 2022 and provided enough power to overcome some lackluster work at the plate otherwise. He struck out in 25.2% of his plate appearances and drew walks at just a 5.4% clip, but he did hit 17 long balls in 405 plate appearances. The result was a .233/.286/.442 batting line and a wRC+ of 102.
That work at the plate was just above average but he was much stronger on the other side of the ball. He played all three outfield positions but mostly in center, earning 6 DRS, 6 OAA and 2.0 UZR overall. It wasn’t a superstar performance but was competent in enough areas to produce 2.1 fWAR on the year. He’s set to reach arbitration for the first time after this year and can be retained through the 2026 campaign.
Mitchell, 24, was only drafted in 2020 but has already cracked the majors. He hit .287/.377/.426 between Double-A and Triple-A last year for a wRC+ of 118. He was selected to the major league club in August and was somehow even better in the big leagues. He hit .311/.373/.459 for a wRC+ of 136 in his first 68 MLB plate appearances. That’s a small sample size, however, and he did strike out 41.2% of the time. His defensive work was also graded as above average and he stole eight bases in 28 games.
Mitchell is a real wild card in this bunch since his 2023 could seemingly go in many different ways. On the one hand, he’s shown impressive results in all facets of the game and could be an immediate center field solution, pushing Taylor into a corner role. On the other hand, he has played less than 50 games above Double-A, the strikeouts are a real concern and his .548 batting average on balls in play will require serious regression.
Bolt, 29, and Harrison, 27, are in a similar boat to each other. They have both posted some solid minor league numbers but struggled in the majors. They’re now both out of options and had to settle for minor league deals for 2023. Bolt has a career batting line of .156/.205/.266 while Harrison’s is .176/.253/.294. They’ll likely only get a shot if the club gets bit by the injury bug a few times. Neither has reached arbitration yet and could theoretically be retained well into the future if they carve out a role.
Infielders That Can Play Some Outfield
Brice Turang/Mike Brosseau/Keston Hiura
With Wong having been traded to the Mariners, the second base job is up for grabs. Turang is one of the club’s top prospects and had a strong season in Triple-A last year, making him the favorite to take the job at the keystone despite not having cracked the majors yet. He played a bit of center field in Triple-A last year but is primarily a middle infielder. Brosseau can play all over and will be in a super utility role, allowing the club to pencil him in for any regular that requires an off-day. Hiura’s not quite as versatile, having only played first base, second base and left field in his big league career so far. He has tremendous power but has struck out in 36% of his plate appearances thus far, which will make it hard for him to carve out meaningful playing time.
On The Cusp Of A Debut
Perkins, 26, has long been considered a glove-first player but his bat seemingly took a step forward last year. Splitting his time between Double-A and Triple-A in the Yankees’ system, he stole 21 bases, hit 15 home runs and slashed .246/.357/.456 for a wRC+ of 120. He wasn’t added to that club’s roster at any point but the Brewers were intrigued enough to sign him onto their 40-man roster in November. He’ll likely be in the minors waiting for an opportunity to get called up, but he should have a decent floor thanks to his defense and speed. If the power he showed last year was a real development, he could be a well-rounded contributor.
Frelick, 23 in April, was the club’s first round pick in the 2021 draft but has quickly climbed the minor league ladder. Last year, he went from High-A to Double-A to Triple-A, hitting .331/.403/.480 for a wRC+ of 137, stealing 24 bases in the process. He doesn’t have much power but he’s very tough to strikeout, hitting 11 home runs last year but getting punched out at just an 11.2% rate. He’s still not on the 40-man roster but he’s considered one of the club’s top prospects and could force his way into the picture soon.
Wiemer, 24 this weekend, is the inverse of Frelick with big power but strikeout concerns. He hit 21 home runs last year between Double-A and Triple-A but went down on strikes 26.8% of the time. The result was a .256/.336/.465 batting line and a 109 wRC+. Despite being a power hitter, he has sneaky speed, swiping 31 bags last year. Like Frelick, he’s not on the 40-man yet but is on the doorstep. Both he and Frelick are considered capable of playing center field.
Top Prospect That Could Show Up This Year
Chourio is arguably the most exciting of this whole bunch but he might require patience since he’s very young, still over a month away from his 19th birthday. Last year, despite being just 18 years old, he went through Low-A, High-A and Double-A, hitting 20 home runs and stealing 16 bases in 99 games. His .288/.342/.538 batting line resulted in a 135 wRC+ and he got strong reviews for his glovework in center field.
Based on those excellent results at such a young age, he’s now considered the #3 prospect in the league by Baseball America, #8 by MLB Pipeline and #5 at FanGraphs. Given his youth and the fact that he’s played just six Double-A games, he won’t be a solution for the Brewers in the short term. Even reaching the big leagues by the end of the season seems like a long shot, but it probably can’t be completely discounted given the tremendous talent he seems to possess.
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There’s a ton of young talent here, including about a half dozen plausible center fielders. That puts the Brewers in great shape for the long haul, though it might take some time to allow these guys to sort themselves out. Chourio isn’t close, while Wiemer, Frelick and Perkins still haven’t made it to the majors. Mitchell had a great debut but will need a longer stress test. Taylor should be solid for now but isn’t elite at anything and could be surpassed by the younger guys in time. Winker and Anderson will both be free agents after this year but it seems like the club could easily replace them from within.
In the future, it seems likely the Brewers will not only have a strong outfield but will likely have enough options to make trades that address other areas of the roster. We already saw one such move when they included Esteury Ruiz in the three-team deal that netted them William Contreras as their potential catcher of the future. Not all young players end up panning out as hoped, of course, but the quality and quantity both appear to be strong here. If the club can keep pace with the Cardinals in the division this year and there’s enough development from this group, perhaps the Brewers could be key players for deadline deals to help them push to return to the postseason after missing last year for the first time since 2017.
Perkins is garbage and Hiura CAN’T play outfield.
Especially with his arm, which struggles at 2nd.
Regardless, Milwaukee appears to be in great shape in the outfield over the next 3-5+ years at least. This year might be the worst of them as they wait for their youngsters to fully develop, but they have a lot of young talent that appears to ready for MLB contributions sooner than later.
Aaron Hicks available….maybe even with the pot sweetened by Josh Donaldson…..
(joke, friend, just a joke)
No, no, no joke at all… Aaron Hicks is available.
He meant that Hicks is the joke.
Actually, Donaldson and Hicks is a great idea.
The Brewers have a good young group of OFs coming up.
$26MM a year for Yelich is a killer. Winker sucks and Anderson isn’t much better. Ouch.
Frelick is Tony Gwynn like with the bat.
Blasphemy
I think you left out the word Junior. Because my bet is that he is much closer with the bat to Tony Gwynn Jr than Sr.
Jr never OPS 800 in his minors career aside from a short sample years after playing at ML level. All Frelick has done is bat 800+ OPS aside from small sample finishing 2021 at a higher level. 1 of only 2 top 100 prospects with a 70grade hit tool.
I didn’t say the guy would be exactly Junior in the majors. I said he would closer to Jr than Sr. The odds favor every prospect will be closer to a league average player than a Hall of Fame player. Sure a handful will become HOF players, but far fewer than will be league average or worse. Expecting anyone coming from the minors to be “Tony Gwynn like with the bat” is just asking for disappointment before the guy ever begins.
My guess is he ultimately lands somewhere between Tony Gwynn Sr. and Tony Gwynn Jr.
Yes, a safe bet Frelick ends up somewhere between a journeyman and a HOF outfielder.
So you expect Frelick to be closer to below average with the bat. Sr-131OPS+ Jr-71OPS+ 101OPS+ is the line above or below Frelick needs to be for closer to one or the other. You failed to remember how bad Jr was. If it wasn’t a 12+year ordeal I’d have said easy bet for me to chose which he’d be closer to.
Or a complete bust. I’m not sold on him for some reason.
Recency bias. Brewers don’t develop good hitters. Decade ago it was Brewers don’t develop good pitching. Hiura being a bust to this point. Mitchell has boom or bust written on him. Higher Kpct. Frelick is a safe bet for an easy 800+OPS. I’m enthusiastic on both. Both have speed on the bases theres more action going on in a game with them versus Renfroe, Taylor, and McCutchen.
The Crew’s staff are not at fault for Hiura. He’s bad and couldn’t take instruction. He made a subtle change last year that was working and then just dropped back into his bad habits.
The Crew NEVER had hitting prospects until the last 5 years and are waiting for that to come to fruition.
As they’ve become great at developing pitchers, they’ve tried to rely on signing established hitters. They made a huge mistake with Cain (everyone knew the last 3 years of that contract would be a burden), and most of the other bats they signed (Tellez being a notable exception).
They try to find lightning in a bottle with bounce backs and guys who never quite made it (even this year with Perkins).
This will be the first year they are trying to go with some of their own. We’ll see over the next few years.
Even when they had a top prospect, we all knew he was bad and traded him (Brinson, and last year Ruiz).
Or a bust.
In time Brewers will have Yelich (or maybe as the DH), Frelick, and Mitchell as the starters in OF possibly Taylor as Yelich DHs
Milwaukee needs a name change. Brewers are never going to win ANYTHING,,,
How about the Serial Killers or the Cannibals??
The Central is going to be a division for the taking this between the Cards, Crew and Cubs.
The Cardinals have a great offense but a paper thin rotation. The Brewers have a great top of the rotation but the offense is iffy and so is their relief corps. The Cubs have the high floor but low ceiling, choosing to use the Novocain approach to building a team.
Which all means, the Cardinals will be at the top again if for no other reason than they have two big guns in the middle of their order
The Brewers are a puzzle to me. A couple years ago, I thought they had all the pieces to compete for years to come. But now….
I think the Cardinals are the best team as far as talent is concerned but the Brewers have that high end talent in the staff and in my opinion are the best coached team in the division.
I really like the moves the Crew made this off-season with Willy’s younger brother. I think buying low on Winkler was a good move as well. Their offense will be deeper than it has been since Yelich was putting up mvp numbers
The Cardinals have a very good rotation, just not as good as the Brewers. They do have some question marks, but they also have excellent depth behind their Top 5, which is pretty much the opposite of “paper thin.”
The Cubs are most likely still at least a year away from contending.
We will see how good this rotation now they swapped out Molina for Contreras. Contreras is awful at managing pitchers.
In my opinion, the Cubs are more likely to compete this year than next. Stroman and Mancini can opt out, Hendricks, Bellinger and Happ are free agents. The could lose Gomes and Barnhart as well.
It’s one thing to rely on a rookie or two, but the Cubs, to compete in 2024 would be reliant on Mervis, PCA and either Canario (who will miss most of not all the season) or Davis producing at the ML level. Not to mention they will need to fill 2/5 the rotation and they are choosing not to leave the fifth starter slot open for Thompson/Wesneski/Alzolay etc to learn and develop.
So many “ifs” associated with these young teams—the Cubs, the Pirates and even the Reds
“If” all of these young players pan out in the next few years, it may be one helluva division at last
Here in Pittsburgh, we have to hope the balance of a few veteran signings to go along with Cruz, Hayes and apparently, Reynolds, will translate to 12 or 14 more wins.
Looking forward to seeing if the kids already here and those on the cusp are the real thing or just a lot of hype
The Brewers have a strong & deep rotation. Woodruff-Burnes-Peralta-Lauer-Miley-Ashby-Houser is as good a 7 deep as there is in the game. Health on the top 3 and this team can win like they did in ‘21.
Offense is better as long as Winker is healthy. Contreras improves the catching, and the teams 4 rookie potentials, Turang-Mitchell-Frelick-Wiemer won’t be counted on to have to contribute, but thru talent alone could force. Nashville loaded with talent gives the team tremendous depth they haven’t had from their farm in memory.
Sleeper team from the NL. Don’t anoint St Louis the central folks.
St. Louis and Chicago already have those nicknames sewed up.
Frelick is the real deal. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the power shows up after he has a chance to settle in.
Whoever wrote this knows nothing about the Brewers. Not even worth commenting
Why? Because he is being realistic??
Nothing realistic about suggesting the Winker or Anderson will play OF.
Hey nice comment
“Tons of young talent” seems rather a lot. I mean, most teams could write the same piece if you simply disregard or discount all the discouraging parts. The only really exciting pieces are Frelick, who is great at what he does but limited and probably maxed out, and Chourio, who is forever away.
Once you succeed at AA, you are ready for trial. Chourio is a realistic option this season if brewers are contending.
Why, so they can lose him as a free agent sooner? The coffee needs to sit in the French press before you can sip it, whiffa
Chourio. Hmmm. So young. IMO, risky to move him up. Thought the Mets kinda rushed Alvarez last year. Regardless of Top Ten talent ranking, slow play it?
Labial-If the kid proves he can play, let him. You can always see how he does, and if he does well, extend him early. The Brewers need all the offense they can get.
Garrett Mitchell is going to be an awesome player, probably as soon as this year. I was very surprised he lasted so long the year he was drafted. At one point he was in the discussion for 1-1 that year. I would love for the Tigers to grab him but I expect Milwaukke knows what they got and would’t trade him. Future all star right there. Milwaukee has a solid group of OF prospects. Kudos
What was the purpose of trading Renfroe? Brewers seem like a team who could have really used his bat, and they traded him for what seems like a fairly mediocer return.
He’s now on his fifth team in five years, I’m getting the impression his skills aren’t worth it due to coaching/attitude.
Salary relief. They shed money and that’s the only reason to trade Wong and Renfroe.
Wong is gone so Urias can move to second for BA2. Turang could conceivably be a utility guy. Renfroe had a fine year, and has a good arm, but Wiemer is actually a better defender. Frelick might just claim rightfield this spring. Stolen bases will become more of a thing this year, too, so Mitchell, Frelick, and Wiemer offer way more than Renfroe there. And the rumors of Renfroe not being a “good clubhouse guy” have been around for a while.
Renfroe is still clearly the better player for now.. If they could’ve afforded to keep him, they would’ve done so.
Agree mostly, except I really don’t think the running game will return to what it was 20 or 30 years ago.
And people still ignore Taylor, who is a personal favorite of mine and a better defender than Weimer, and also a proven MLB hitter.
He’s better than anyone thinks.
And I personally believe Frelick will be the next Hiura. A bust.
wiemer profiles as a renfroe type with better speed, though probably still a season out. the brewers saw an opportunity to get three pitchers for renfroe (at least two of which should contribute this year) and salary relief… all in all, it was a ‘meh’ move, and for the second straight season, the brewers move on from a decent hitting RF. just not willing to go north of 10 mil for RF
It wasn’t that meh considering how bad the bullpen was last year.
It’s the main reason we fell a game short (and Hader blew several of them himself in just a 2 week period).
While I don’t disagree that the bullpen was bad last season, this move didn’t net us a lock down bullpen arm and it weakened our offense. That’s pretty “meh” to me.
Will probably be Yelich Taylor and Anderson in the outfield with Winker DHing against RHP. Mitchell or Perkins will likely make the club as the backup and the other will be in AAA to start. None of the other options are major league ready or productive enough to get a roster spot.
Frelick is readier (is that a word?) than Wiemer. But Joey is a good defensive outfielder with very good speed and a plus arm. He might show up this year.
I could see both come up this year but not making the club out of spring. They Brewers tend to ease rookies into the bigs and they could have them in AAA while the see how the big league options are doing.
It’s not a word.
He is more ready.
He just probably still won’t be very good or ready for MLB pitching.
I think there are holes in his approach and his strike zone that they will exploit like they did with Hiura.
Anderson will be mostly at 3rd and Perkins sucks
Anderson will not play OF this year. He’s the starter at 3B so Urias can play second.
Mitchell will start in CF.
Too bad Yelich’s performance dropped off after the ringworm.
He was great leading off last year and scored 100 runs.
Overpaid for that role, but it’s his until he’s gone.
I like Winker a lot as a hitter but as a fielder not so much. Will all the good prospects in the brewers, cubs and cards system it should be a fun season.
winker will primarily be the DH
Winker’s a nice player, but he hit 36 home runs in Cincinnati while playing in a Little League park. It would have been 22 anywhere else.
Milwaukee Is a good hitters park as well. Winker I’m Seattle was a disaster waiting to happen.
With that said, i don’t think Winkler is going to hit like a middle of the order bat, probably more in the 20 range but he gets on base
That sounds like Winker should bat second in the order, I guess with Yelich third and Tellez at cleanup?
They’ll bat Yelich first. Unsure on 2 Winker there?. Adames 3rd. Tellez 4th. Contreras or Urias 5th. Anderson 7. Taylor 8. Mitchell 9.
I think they’ll try to avoid back-to-back lefties, so maybe switch Winker with Adames and Tellez with Contreras.
Yelich will lead off and Adames second (you want your best hitter there).
Probably Winker third and Tellez clean up with Taylor or Mitchell 5th. Maybe even Urias.
Could be a potent line up!
Forgot about Contreras. I agree for the most part but Adames 2nd and Winker 3rd.
Maybe Anderson moves down to the 6th because he gets on base more and Urias 7th.
Could be a potent line up….
You don’t put someone with Winker’s power in the 2 slot.
Adames. He has the best bat to ball skills on the team.
Yelich will lead off, as he did for the last 1/3 of the season successfully.
It’s his new role.
Forever.
Mitchell was the fastest player from home to 1st last year which helped him get several infield hits that pretty much everyone else in the league would have been out on. That speed is going to help his BABIP stay well above league average. So excited to see a full season of him.
Mitchell looks like a solid player. Taylor has been decent as well the issue moving forward is going to be health as far as Yelich, Winker and Anderson are concerned. With Mitchell in CF the Brewers can mix and match and cycle the other four players in the OF corners/DH.
You know your outfield is a disaster when these two, Bolt and Harrison, are mentioned pretty early in the article.
Early? They were the LAST mentioned besides Hiura and Brosseau among those who have made their MLB debuts.
The rest are all prospects who may not see a minute in the bigs this year.
Yelich goes from winning MVP/then taking second……to mediocre offensive player after the huge contract extension? Looks beyond suspicious. That gambit of production disparities was common in the 90s.
Well, he did shatter his knee into a million pieces in-between…
Yelich was drafted as a 1B, so when all the prospects are called up it will be Frelick in left, Chourio in center, Weimer in right, Mitchell can spell all 3 and Yeli becomes 1B/DH (Tellez will prolly cost too much by then).
Yelich should have been at first a couple years ago. Why would you list Mitchell as fourth OF when none of Frelick, Chourio, and Weimer have played any games in MLB. Mitchell at least is proven he can hit big league pitching. The other 3 are prospects until they prove otherwise.
My feeling is they will start the season with Taylor RF, Mitchell CF, Anderson 3B, and Urias 2B. If Mitchell flounders or they decide to platoon him w/Taylor, then Anderson RF, Urias 3B, and Toro or Turang 2B.
But, as always, the bat will play.
Urias won’t be moving back to 3rd under any circumstances. Toro is better there than 2nd and will play 3rd if the UNLIKELY scenario you suggest happens. Though I think they will stick with Mitchell or test out Frelick if GM fails, and Anderson will stay right where he belongs at 3rd.
I guess Brosseau can play 3B too. But that begs the question, who exactly makes the opening day 13? Can they carry Toro, Turang, and Brosseau? IDK…
Turang has ZERO chance of making the opening day roster. I personally think he will be a bust, but he’s going to be the first depth piece on the IF riding the option train if any of those guys you mentioned go down.
And the problem with Turang, as you put it above: the bat doesn’t play at the MLB level. He can probably be an elite defender, but I’d imagine his bat is no better than that of Jace Peterson. And that’s the peak he will reach with 4-5 years of experience.
I tried working out the 26-man and I came up with only a 3 man bench because we have too many bullpen arms that don’t have any options left! I had Mitchell starting in CF (probably won’t happen) and a bench of Hiura, Brosseau and Caratini. So unless we get rid of one of Houser, Payamps, Guerra, Wilson or Bush (or if we send Varland back to LA) our bench will be pretty thin.