Tuesday, May 19

CHICAGO -- The pieces are all there for the Brewers to make significant changes in the interest of offense. 

The question is when they will make a move. 

Going into Monday’s showdown at Wrigley Field, no team in the National League was getting less offensively from the left side of the infield this season. The Brewers were the only NL club without a single home run from a third baseman. They were one of two NL teams (with the Cardinals) with only one home run from a shortstop. Combine the positions, and no NL team had a lower OPS from the left side of the infield than the Brewers’ .565. Only Boston ranks lower.

Meanwhile, two of MLB Pipeline’s top prospects -- Jett Williams (Brewers' No. 3, overall No. 60) and Cooper Pratt (Brewers' No. 4, overall No. 66) -- have been on fire at Triple-A. The organization has a lot riding on both players after dealing ace pitcher Freddy Peralta in the January trade that landed Williams from the Mets and spending more than $50 million to lock up Pratt with a long-term extension in April, even though he’s yet to step foot in the big leagues. Pratt plays Major League-caliber defense at shortstop, which is critical because the incumbent, Joey Ortiz, has been delivering sensational defense. Williams can play second, third, short and the outfield. He has been playing mostly third base this season at Triple-A, and playing the position well, according to Brewers manager Pat Murphy.

But where is the tipping point between exercising patience with the players you know and taking a chance on the players you don’t know? When does a team know for sure that a prospect is ready?

Those are the questions Milwaukee officials have spent a lot of time on in recent days. 

“There is no answer to that,” Murphy said. “It’s a combination of so many things, [including] the needs of the Major League club. I used to think this: I used to think it’s the point where the player is just absolutely ticked, and he’s like, ‘What else do I have to [show]? This is ridiculous.’

“When he’s at that point, maybe he’s ready. That’s what I used to think. But now I’ve seen so many young guys come up and fit in pretty well, and do well. So for me, there is no really ‘right’ time. 

“They all can do it. All of those guys down there can come up here and contribute. It’s how consistent can they be? And how do they handle the mental stress? How do they handle joining a new group and fitting into the new group and understanding their role? All eyes on them. You guys [reporters] are talking to them all the time. It’s the new, shiny toy. 

“It’s a lot to handle. There’s no real way to know.” 

What the Brewers know for sure is they need more from Ortiz, third baseman Luis Rengifo and David Hamilton, who has played both positions on the left side of the infield. 

Here’s a snapshot of all of those players’ stats from April 25 through Sunday -- with the critical caveat that there is a big difference between the pitching in Triple-A and the big leagues:

Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold declined to weigh in on whether the club was considering any callups. Notably, he was just in Nashville last week to check in with the Sounds while his son, Tyler, was playing a baseball tournament in the area.

And he wasn’t just there to see Pratt and Williams. The Brewers are also high on outfield prospect Luis Lara and some of their young pitchers like recently promoted Tyson Hardin. 

So, the Brewers are looking at ways to improve the team from all angles. How would changes be received by the rest of the clubhouse? Would a callup play everyday or begin his career in a part-time role to maximize matchups? How would the players on the business end of a demotion handle that? What would it mean for the defense? What would it mean for the overall organizational depth? Ortiz and Hamilton are optionable, but Rengifo, who signed for $3.5 million, is out of Minor League options. 

The simple thing to say is, “Who cares about all that? Make a change!” But it’s a lot more complicated from the GM suite than from the press box or couch. Still, it’s safe to say that with each passing day, Brewers officials are asking many of the same questions fans are asking.

“The Major League team, as it sits, it has to get better,” Murphy said. “We have to continue to work and find our rhythm a little bit.” 

This seems worth knowing ahead of Jacob Misiorowski’s scheduled start on Tuesday: Who holds the Brewers' record for strikeouts in a game against the Cubs? 

A. Aaron Ashby

B. Corbin Burnes

C. Mike Fiers

D. Wily Peralta

Consider everything Arnold witnessed in just a couple of wild days with the Nashville Sounds. 

On Thursday, outfielder Jordyn Adams robbed a home run and doubled off a runner at first base for a remarkable, game-ending double play in a 6-5 win.

On Friday, the Sounds ran out of pitching because the Brewers had summoned Coleman Crow to Minneapolis and had Robert Gasser and Peter Strzelecki off-limits because they were about to be called up, too. So it fell to infielder Ethan Murray to pitch the 11th inning, with a diving catch from Lara that Arnold didn’t expect him to be able to reach. Then Murray delivered the game-winning hit. 

And early Saturday morning, two thieves broke into the Sounds’ clubhouse and stole more than a dozen gloves, including a number of custom models belonging to Pratt, who was said to be understandably devastated. Pratt had to borrow a glove for Sunday’s game.  

That story had a happy ending when the owner of a sports resale store became suspicious about the quality of merchandise the men had sold to his shop, saw the story of the theft and alerted police. 

On Sunday, the Sounds were walk-off winners once again, this time on an Eddys Leonard hit. It was their seventh straight victory. 

“What a crazy week,” Arnold said. 

B. Corbin Burnes struck out 15 Cubs batters in an Aug. 11, 2021, start at Wrigley Field, including one stretch in which Burnes tied an AL/NL record by striking out 10 consecutive batters. Burnes joined Tom Seaver and Aaron Nola in the record books, and the Brewers breezed to a 10-0 win.

To subscribe to Brewers Beat, visit this page and mark "Brewers Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Brewers or that they're checked as your favorite team.

View Online

© 2026 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Please review our Privacy Policy.

You (mlb-newsletters@mlb.com) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages or purchased a ticket from MLB. 

Please add info@marketing.mlbemail.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com, please unsubscribe or log in and manage your email subscriptions.

Postal Address: MLB.com, c/o MLB Advanced Media, L.P., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.