Caleb Durbin didn’t just turn a corner in June - he looked like a different hitter altogether.
That’s a sharp change from where things stood on May 23, when Durbin was sitting as the worst hitter in Major League Baseball. His 34 wRC+ was tracking toward one of the lowest marks ever for a qualified hitter, a pace that would have put him in the company of Matt Wallbeck in the strike-shortened 1994 season. In a full season, the last hitter to finish lower was Billy Hunter on the 1953 Saint Louis Browns.
At that point, the struggles were impossible to ignore. And while Boston Red Sox fans were looking at the Brewers’ side of the trade and seeing Kyle Harrison dealing to a 1.77 ERA in 45.2 innings, Durbin was still trying to find his footing.
That trade also sent David Hamilton and Andruw Monasterio to Milwaukee, and both have struggled offensively in 2026. Shane Drohan was another part of the deal, and he has settled in as an excellent swingman. Anthony Seigler was the final piece, and he was recently promoted to the Red Sox, where he already has 0.8 bWAR in 15 games.
But Durbin’s June has changed the conversation. Before June 10, he had only one home run.
Since then, he has hit seven, and he’s suddenly been one of the best hitters in the league. Add in 85th-percentile OAA and plus-10 DRS at third base, and the picture is pretty clear: Durbin has gone from a major concern to a player who looks transformed.
In Other News...
Brewers Fans Are Furious Over Another Brice Turang All-Star Twist
Brice Turang keeps finding himself on the wrong side of the All-Star conversation, and Brewers fans have every reason to be frustrated. The second baseman has been in the mix for the Midsummer Classic in each of the last three seasons, only to watch the attention drift elsewhere despite the kind of offensive and defensive production that usually earns a harder look.
For Milwaukee, the annoyance is bigger than one roster reveal. Turang has already been passed over before, including when MLB went with Luis Arraez as the National League backup second baseman in 2024, and the latest round of selections only sharpened the sense that fan voting and market size can shape the outcome as much as performance. It leaves Turang in the familiar spot of being good enough to belong in the discussion, yet still waiting for the break that gets him over the line. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers May Have Just Pulled Off Their Biggest Draft Steal Yet
The Brewers 2026 draft already has the look of a class built on both upside and timing, with Trey Ebel going 25th overall and Sawyer Strosnider following at No. 66. Strosnider, a left-handed hitting outfielder from TCU, entered the draft with plenty of helium after being ranked No. 22 by MLB Pipeline and No. 13 by Baseball America, and his appeal is obvious: power, speed and the kind of athletic profile clubs tend to chase early.
What makes his slide into Milwaukees lap so interesting is the way draft boards can bend around bonus-pool math, with teams juggling money as much as talent. For the Brewers, that creates the possibility of landing a player with first-round buzz in a spot where the value is supposed to be thinner, and it gives the front office another chance to turn a careful draft strategy into a real roster-building edge. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Red Sox Trade Just Took On A Whole New Meaning
The Brewers and Red Sox have already given this swap a second life, because the draft pick Milwaukee sent to Boston did not just disappear into the background. Boston used that selection on outfielder Owen Hull, adding another layer to a deal that has been under the microscope since the moment it was made, especially with both clubs trying to balance immediate roster needs against longer-term value.
For Milwaukee, the early read still leans in its favor based on how the players involved fit and perform, but the full judgment is not locked in yet. A trade like this can change fast when a draft choice turns into a prospect with real upside, and Hulls arrival in Boston gives the Red Sox at least one more way to argue that the deal is not finished being written. [Read more 🡒]