Top Three DH Options For The Milwaukee Brewers

With the major changes in sports across the world, baseball has seen its fair share of problems. The MLB and the MLB’s Player Association were involved in lengthy talks on how to take the 2020 season forward, given the pandemic changing the way sports are played. Fans are relieved as players return to training from July 1st, and the matches will commence at the end of July. 

The Milwaukee Brewers had earned one way into the league through a wild card opportunity, although they did lose to the champions, Washington Nationals. The Brewers are touted to benefit more than ever from this shortened season. The shortened season also brings with it some changes in gameplay rules. One of great importance is the Designated Hitter (DH) coming into the season, which will be applied universally. 

The reason this might be more in favor for them than almost any other team - they stood third in the league in the number of home runs hit (at 250). Not only have their pitchers proven to be worthy now, but their big hits have been consistent with their players. With a deep lineup of the team, the manager Craig Counsell has a variety of players to pick out of the roster for their upcoming matches. Who would be the three top picks for the DH for the Brewers? Here are our picks: 

1. Ryan Braun

He stands as the favorite to take up the DH spot, given that up until now, it seemed like he would have to split time at first place with Justin Smoak and the newly hired Avisail Garcia. Now that the DH rule has come in, Braun will no longer have to worry about splitting time. Although he is 36 years old, he has been given regular match days off by the management to help him keep up his form. 

The DH rule may just have extended Braun’s career, as he did acknowledge earlier this year that 2020 might be his last season. This DH rule works out very well in his favor as it means he can be a full-time DH and play the sole role of hitting with very minimal time spent on the field. With his hitting being his strong suit, this makes him the best pick for the role. 

2. Logan Morrison 

Prior to the Brewers, Morrison spent time in New York and Philadelphia’s teams. In the big league games, his total time spent playing was quite low and not enough to make an impact. However, he quickly showed the Brewers what he was capable of during spring training, right before matches were suspended this year. 

Although a non - roster invitee to the training who did not have too much hope of making it to the opening roster, the new rules change his odds of getting playing time on the plate. Despite not having an enthralling record with his number of hits annually, he does have some great seasons in his name. If he can channel that form again, he is guaranteed to see sometimes, split between the DH and first base. He makes for a great secondary choice as DH gave his recent season stats of over 38 home runs, just a few years ago. 

3. Jedd Gyorko

While he’s definitely no Braun, Gyorko is a solid choice given his consistency before injury caused his performance to slide. His pre-injury season in 2017 saw him record an impressive 20 home runs, and his 2016 stats were even more impressive at 30 home runs. These were his stats while playing for the St. Louis Cardinals. His role now seems to be multifaceted, as he is capable of playing a couple of positions decently well. But this generalist approach has left him without much bargaining power for any specific role. 

While he does seem to have more good days before the bat left in him (his career-high hard-hit rate is over 42%), his injuries have been a constant source of issues. He has seen lower playing time after his injuries which have lowered his stats considerably. Given the depth of the roster this season, he is more likely to be placed on the plate, where his skills are of the highest value. His exact position is likely to be in the third base. In the off chance, he is required to play any other position, the DH position might be well suited to him, as the defense has never been his strong suit.