Scott Paulus \ Milwaukee Brewers
Eric Thames takes a good look at his first home run as a Brewer on April 5 at Miller Park.
The Milwaukee Brewers are generating some early-season excitement — and not just in Wisconsin.
This has been a productive April, with two series wins over the Cincinnati Reds, a two-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays and a competitive series against longtime rivals the St. Louis Cardinals and World Series champion Chicago Cubs. Through April 25, the Brewers had hit more home runs (39) and RBIs (109) than any other team in baseball. They were tied for the Major League lead in doubles (42), tied for second in triples (6) and ranked third in runs scored (102). They also were playing .500 ball (11-11).
Not bad for an overhauled roster that looks nothing like the one in place when the Brewers ended the 2016 season with a 73-89 record, 30.5 games behind the Cubs. In fact, most of the guys who helped give Milwaukee its character over the past few years are gone: Jonathan Lucroy, Scooter Gennett, Will Smith, Chris Carter, Tyler Thornburg and Kirk Nieuwenhuis. And six-time All-Star and perpetually injured Ryan Braun likely will be traded before this season’s over.
Of course, we’ve seen all this before in recent years. Remember when the Brew Crew began the 2014 season 19-8 and stayed atop the NL Central for 150 straight games — only to close out the season 82-80 and in third place?
That was the last time the Brewers came within finishing 30 games out of first. But third-year manager Craig Counsell (hired to replace Ron Roenicke early in the 2015 season) and second-year general manager David Stearns each have established themselves as risk-takers when implementing change.
Exhibit A: First baseman Eric Thames, a guy who bounced around four MLB teams between 2011 and 2013 and then spent three years with the NC Dinos in Korea. He became a countrywide sensation overseas before the Brewers gave him a second chance in the majors. Four weeks into this season, he’s batting .371 and leading both the Crew and MLB in homers with 11.
“Clearly, he’s made adjustments,” Los Angeles Dodgers vice president Alex Anthopoulos, who as Toronto’s GM was the first team executive to let Thames go five years ago, told USA Today. “You’ve got to give a ton of credit to the Brewers.”
Despite all the positive numbers this young Brew Crew is posting, Milwaukee still shows signs of a team in transition, whiffing for 220 strikeouts.
It’s a long season, but early indications suggest the rebuilding process is starting to pay off.
