The Milwaukee Brewers have spent much of 2026 doing what they do best: winning as a team while plenty of the individual storylines drift under the national radar. Jacob Misiorowski has forced his way into the NL Cy Young conversation with what may be the greatest starting pitching season in franchise history, but he hasn’t been the only Brewer putting together a season that deserves a louder spotlight.
Jake Bauers has been right there too, even if it took MLB’s latest hitter power rankings to finally say so.
For much of the year, Bauers has been the kind of breakout slugger who keeps a first-place club moving. At age 30, he’s put up career highs across the board: 136 games played, 449 at-bats, 121 hits, 223 total bases, 26 home runs, 83 runs batted in, 90 walks, a .263 batting average, a .394 on-base percentage and a .497 slugging percentage.
The on-base number jumps off the page first. Bauers currently leads the National League among qualified hitters in OBP, and his OPS sits fourth in the league.
The deeper metrics back up the production, too. Baseball Savant has him in the upper tier of several offensive categories, including a 52.8% hard-hit rate, which ranks in the 95th percentile, a 14.1% barrel rate in the 92nd percentile and a 92.3 mph average exit velocity in the 91st percentile.
And if the full-season numbers weren’t enough, Bauers has been even sharper since the All-Star Break. Since the Midsummer Classic, he’s hit .273/.432/.474.
That’s the backdrop for the latest recognition from MLB, which on September 17, 2026, finally placed Bauers at No. 10 among the best hitters in baseball after leaving him out of the power rankings all year. The move gives a deserved nod to what has quietly been one of the most important bats in Milwaukee’s lineup.
Bauers’ value goes beyond the power. In Pat Murphy’s system, the Brewers have leaned on discipline, speed and the ability to keep the line moving, and Bauers fits that mold.
He’s stolen 11 bases this season and has shown plenty of comfort going first to third. But his biggest damage has come when the pressure is highest.
He’s launched eight three-run homers, and he owns a .974 OPS with runners in scoring position.
That kind of production matters even more with October approaching. Milwaukee hasn’t had a hitter this dependable in the biggest moments since Christian Yelich’s MVP season in 2018. Bauers has already flashed that postseason touch, delivering clutch home runs in each of the last two postseasons.
Now he gets another chance to do it on the biggest stage. With a resurgent season behind him and the playoffs ahead, Bauers has an opportunity to turn a strong year into something even louder - and to make sure the rest of baseball keeps his name in mind.
In Other News...
Brewers Turn To One Overlooked Trade Piece For Bullpen Help
The Brewers bullpen shuffle has quickly moved on from the headline part of the trade and toward the quieter one. After sending outfield prospect Jayden Fielder to Houston in the deal for Lance McCullers Jr. and Colton Gordon, Milwaukee has turned to Gordon as the arm it can actually use right now, promoting the left-hander from Triple-A to the major league roster and sending Garrett Stallings back down.
For a staff that can never really have enough usable innings, Gordon is being asked to help fill a practical need rather than a splashy one. McCullers was designated for assignment, leaving the Brewers to lean on the pitcher who came over with less fanfare but now has a clearer path to immediate bullpen work in Milwaukee. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Open A Bullpen Spot As Veteran Lefty Nears Uncertain Return
The Brewers cleared a bullpen opening by designating left-hander Rob Zastryzny for assignment, a roster move that underscores how tight the margins can get in late-season pitching decisions. Zastryzny has spent this season on the injured list with a trapezius strain and has not appeared in the majors in 2024, leaving Milwaukee to make a choice on a pitcher whose status has been uncertain for some time.
Because Zastryzny is out of options, the Brewers could not simply stash him back in the bullpen while they waited for more clarity on his return. Instead, they removed him from the roster, a sign the club is prioritizing immediate flexibility even as one veteran leftys path back to the active roster remains murky. [Read more 🡒]
Cristopher Sanchez Is At The Center Of A Heated Cy Young Debate
The National League Cy Young race has turned into one of those late-season arguments that can split even the most numbers-minded observers, and Jacob Misiorowski has found himself right in the middle of it for the Brewers. ESPN analyst Bradford Doolittles AXE metric has Philadelphias Cristopher Sanchez sitting atop the field, yet Doolittle himself leans toward Misiorowski when weighing the season as a whole.
For Milwaukee, it is the kind of debate worth tracking closely because it speaks to just how dominant Misiorowski has been in his first full run at this level. The statistical comparison with Sanchez has become the centerpiece of the conversation, but the bigger question is whether the Brewers right-hander has done enough beyond the model to make the award feel like his to lose. [Read more 🡒]