Andrew Vaughn is back in the mix for Milwaukee just in time for the NLDS, and his return could put him right in the middle of the Brewers’ Game 1 lineup against San Diego.
Vaughn, who missed the final week of the regular season while fighting a stomach bug, is down 10 pounds but cleared to play after being “full go,” according to manager Pat Murphy. Milwaukee opens the series Saturday at home, and the Padres have already said they’re starting left-hander Robbie Ray, a detail that points toward Vaughn getting the nod.
This season, he’s mostly been deployed against lefties in a platoon with Jake Bauers, so the matchup lines up well. The only real uncertainty is Game 2, where San Diego’s pitching choice could affect whether Vaughn stays in the lineup.
For the Brewers, just having Vaughn available matters. The 28-year-old first baseman hasn’t played since Sept. 19, and the team is set to release its postseason roster Saturday morning, though Vaughn is expected to be on it. Milwaukee enters October after winning its fourth straight NL Central title and posting a franchise-record 103 victories, with the bigger goal still ahead: the club’s first World Series championship.
Vaughn’s regular season was productive even if the raw totals dipped across the board. He hit .306 with a .390 on-base percentage, a .444 slugging percentage and an .834 OPS, all while logging career lows in games played, plate appearances and home runs.
Among Brewers with at least 30 at-bats, only one player topped him in those on-base and batting categories. His year started with a fractured left hamate bone on opening day, an injury that cost him 32 games before he returned in early May.
Once he was back, Vaughn caught fire. He hit .369 with 16 RBIs over his first 18 games and kept his batting average above .300 for much of the season.
The one area that never fully came around was power. He finished with six home runs in 104 games, far short of the 21 he hit in 2023, and Murphy’s platoon usage reflected that split with Bauers, who hit only .266 but led the Brewers with 26 homers.
The lefty-righty numbers show why Vaughn remains such a useful piece. Against left-handers, he hit .336 with a .421 on-base percentage and a .517 slugging percentage.
Against southpaw starters, he was even better, batting .345. But he wasn’t just a matchup bat; against right-handers, he still hit .285 in 79 games and launched four of his six homers.
Milwaukee’s version of Vaughn is a far cry from the one Chicago moved on from June 13, 2025, when the White Sox dealt him after he was hitting .189 in 48 games. The change of scenery revived him immediately. In 64 hames with the Brewers, he batted .308 with 46 RBIs and helped push Milwaukee to a 97-65 finish and the NL Central crown.
The postseason hasn’t been nearly as kind. A year after suiting up for a White Sox club that lost a record 121 games, Vaughn struggled in October, batting .154 in nine playoff games and going 0 for 12 as Milwaukee was swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL championship series. Now he gets another shot to change that story as the Brewers begin their run this weekend.
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