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The Milwaukee Brewers are having a great season. The Brewers have won their last seven games heading into the All-Star break, and now sit 1.0 games back in the National League Central division. With that, Milwaukee holds the top Wild Card spot in the NL by a healthy margin. However, if the team wants to remain where they are in the standings, there are some things they have to address before the MLB trade deadline.
As of right now, the Brewers are a very exciting team. Jacob Misiorowski was an All-Star after pitching less than 30 innings pitched since his debut. He is one of the most electrifying rookies in the MLB right now, and a perfect fit for the rotation. Freddy Peralta, Quinn Priester, Chad Patrick (optioned to Triple-A a few weeks ago), and Jose Quintana are all very good starting pitchers. Along with that, the bullpen has been solid all year. In fact, as a team, the Brewers are seventh in ERA, and fifth in opponent batting average.
At the plate, Milwaukee is 15th in batting average, 17th in OPS, and 23rd in home runs. The team needs to get better at the plate if they want to continue winning in the second half of the season. If there is a fatal flaw, it is at the plate.
What is the Brewers' fatal flaw?
As mentioned, the Brewers struggle at the plate a little bit. The two main positions the team struggles with is shortstop and left field. On the year, the Brewers are 29th in batting average from their shortstops, 29th in OPS, 29th in wRC+, and 26th in fWAR. Shortstop is the main positional struggle for the team, but there is plenty of time for them to fix it.
In left field, the team has a decent average. However, the power numbers are not there. They could put Christian Yelich in left field full time to fix the situation, but it does seem that he is going to be the DH moving forward. If the Brewers can find someone to provide a little bit more power in left field, they will be more successful.
How do the Brewers fix this issue?
The Brewers need to make some moves at the MLB trade deadline. There are some rumblings that the team is going to make a splash, though. One player that is being mentioned in trade discussions is Eugenio Suarez. He would add a true power bat to the lineup, and give the Brewers the home run hitter they need. Additionally, he can slot into the DH spot, third base, or first base. The slugger would be a great fir for the Brewers.
As for outfielders, there are not many options. Of course, the Brewers can target some outfielders that may not necessarily be on the trade block. However, everyone has a price, the Brewers just have to find it. Whether it is going after Steven Kwan from the Cleveland Guardians, or a lesser-known name, Milwaukee has the capital to get a deal done.
The Brewers are completely fine on the mound heading out of the All-Star break. If the postseason started today, their pitchers could win some games for them. However, until Milwaukee can address their lineup issues, they are not going to be true World Series contenders.
