Milwaukee Brewers demote Keon Broxton to find his stroke

Keon Broxton isn’t new to this situation, after he was optioned last summer to boost his confidence. The plan worked magnificently in 2016, but can it be repeated now, when the Milwaukee Brewers need it most?

Few players hitting .220 or worse could argue they deserve to be an everyday player on an MLB roster. Keon Broxton wasn’t an outlier, as the Milwaukee Brewers optioned him to Triple-A Saturday.

The outfielder was mired in a horrid 3-50 slump dating back to last month – he accumulated 21 strikeouts in that stretch. For a team that is trying to stay afloat in the National League playoff race, it was unacceptable. He also ranks second for the most strikeouts in baseball.

Broxton has been in this position before. Milwaukee optioned the 27-year-old in early July last year before bringing him back up at the end of the month.

Following his return to the big leagues, all he did was mash, raising his average from .125 to .242 by mid-September. He also showed off his wheels, swiping 16 bags across that time.

There are a multitude of streaky hitters in the league, and it seems like Broxton has joined the club this year.

April was miserable for the right-handed hitter, as he hit just .191 in the first month. But his bat heated up quickly, as he went on a solid stretch in May, hitting .289 with an .885 OPS. He hit subpar in June before slumping for most of this month.

Pitchers haven’t had to throw hard to stymie Broxton, they just need to throw off-speed stuff. The speedster has hit .158 against changeups, .125 against curveballs and .170 against sliders, per FanGraphs.

Broxton shouldn’t remain in Triple-A for long if his track record means anything.

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

He hasn’t hit worse than .250 during his stints there, and has showed off power at times. During his hot stretch last year, he clubbed eight homers, 11 doubles and seven triples in 47 games. So far in 2017, he’s notched just 30 total extra-base hits in 92 games at the major league level.

Broxton’s position looks similar to that of St. Louis Cardinals’ outfielder Randal Grichuk, who played in Triple-A for most of June. But Gricuk rebounded with a renewed power stroke, blasting seven home runs since his return, despite a paltry .217 average.

Both players are similar, though the Cardinal doesn’t possess as much speed, but don’t be surprised if Broxton’s power comes to life in the minors.

Losing Broxton doesn’t leave Milwaukee’s outfield empty. The Brewers still have several options, including Brett Phillips, who is poised to get the most starts in center, and prized prospect Lewis Brinson.

Whoever finds themselves in center field for Milwaukee, they will need to be more consistent. The Brewers’ center fielders rank last in average and second-to-last in on-base percentage.

Brinson and Phillips may not be the answers, although both have had small sample sizes to examine. Phillips has hit just .185 in 27 at-bats and Brinson has three hits in 31 at-bats during his time in the majors this season.

Next: Brewers have shown interest in Kinsler

One thing is for sure: if the Milwaukee Brewers hope to keep the Chicago Cubs at bay and remain atop the division, it will need a productive Keon Broxton. And time is running out.