Joey Ortiz’s season looked like it was drifting off course, and then it flipped fast.
By the end of June, through 70 games, the Brewers infielder was sitting on a brutal .208/.286/.272 line with a 59 wRC+. Only five players with at least 190 plate appearances were worse in that category at that point. For a while, Brewers fans had every reason to wonder whether the version of Ortiz they saw in 2024 was the real thing or just a flash.
That concern lingered even with his glove still carrying value. But since July 1, Ortiz has looked like a completely different hitter.
In 45 games over that stretch, he’s batting .316/.362/.544 with seven doubles, three triples, six homers and 21 RBI. His .907 OPS ranks ninth in MLB among players with at least 150 plate appearances since July 1.
The timing lines up with a couple of Brewers roster changes. On June 26, Milwaukee called up shortstop Cooper Pratt, one of the team’s top five prospects.
Ortiz then moved, for the most part, over to third base. That’s the position where he found success as a rookie, before being asked to handle shortstop after Willy Adames left for San Francisco in the offseason.
Even with Ortiz’s smooth defense, the idea that a position switch would affect his bat seems like a stretch. But his career splits tell a different story, with his offensive production looking much better at one position than the other.
What’s mattered lately, though, is that the bat has stayed hot no matter where he’s lined up. When Pratt landed on the IL in the middle of August, Ortiz moved back to shortstop for a spell, and his offense didn’t miss a beat.
The Cubs saw that version of him on Tuesday night. In game two of the four-game series in Chicago, Ortiz started and went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer that helped open things up in Milwaukee’s 9-4 win, a result that tied the series.
In Other News...
Former Brewers Reliever Gets Another Shot To Test Milwaukees Decision
Easton McGees path since leaving Milwaukee has been a quick reminder of how little room there is for relievers on the margins. The Brewers moved him to the Kansas City Royals in July after designating him for assignment, and McGee got a brief look in Kansas City before spending most of August at Triple-A, where the results did not go his way.
Now he is back on the Royals major league roster as a September call-up, giving him another chance to show he can stick in a big-league bullpen. For the Brewers, it is the sort of low-key roster wrinkle that still carries a little intrigue, because every return opportunity offers one more test of whether moving on was the right call. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers May Have Found The Tweak Antonio Senzatela Needed
Antonio Senzatela has already gone through one major reshape to extend his big-league career, moving from a starter to a reliever with the Rockies and finding better results with a cutter and four-seam fastball. Since coming over to Milwaukee, though, the Brewers have been looking at a different version of him, one built around a sinker-cutter mix that did not take off right away.
The latest wrinkle may be more about where he stands than what he throws. After shifting his pitching position on the mound, Senzatela started getting more out of the sinker, a small but meaningful adjustment for a pitcher trying to carve out a role in a new organization. For Milwaukee, it is the sort of detail worth tracking, because even modest gains can matter when a staff is searching for useful innings. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Deadline Gamble Is Turning Into An October Rotation Problem
The Brewers brought in Dustin May at the trade deadline hoping he would deepen a rotation that needed stability down the stretch, but the move has not played out the way they envisioned. Since arriving from the Cardinals, May has had trouble finding consistent footing, and the early returns have left Milwaukee still searching for dependable innings as the season heads toward its most important stretch.
Mays results in Milwaukee have been rough enough to raise bigger questions about what comes next, too. His overall season line sits at 6-9 with a 4.69 ERA, and with his fit in the organization looking increasingly uncertain, the Brewers do not appear likely to pick up their option to keep him for 2027. For a club that made the trade to solve a rotation issue, it is turning into another roster decision with no easy answer. [Read more 🡒]