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Milwaukee Brewers: Eric Thames return muddies already dirty water

By Benjamin Chase

MILWAUKEE, WI - APRIL 20: Eric Thames #7 of the Milwaukee Brewers warms up before the game against the Miami Marlins at Miller Park on April 20, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Eric Thames
MILWAUKEE, WI - APRIL 20: Eric Thames #7 of the Milwaukee Brewers warms up before the game against the Miami Marlins at Miller Park on April 20, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Eric Thames /
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CHICAGO, IL – APRIL 29: Ryan Braun #8 of the Milwaukee Brewers looks on before batting during a game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on April 29, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. The Cubs won 2-0. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Ryan Braun /

The Milwaukee Brewers will see the return of Eric Thames this week. With a corner outfield/first base situation that’s already incredibly full, how will they split up time?

The Milwaukee Brewers have 39 wins on the season, are a half-game out of first place, and they just topped the one million attendance mark on the season before June 15th. Returning one of the most powerful bats in their lineup shouldn’t be a BAD thing, should it?!

For the Milwaukee Brewers, the return of Eric Thames could be just that. The team activated Thames from the disabled list on Monday, but it makes for a messy situation for the first base/corner outfield situation.

Let’s start things off right, knowing that Christian Yelich will be starting each game that he is healthy. He’s not going to be a guy that they rest. Now we can explore the rest of the options…

Ryan Braun

The veteran of the group, Braun is 34, and he’s begun to see his bat slow. This season, he’s hitting .249/.305/.467 with 8 home runs and 6 stolen bases. He still can power a ball, but he just seems to either hit for a ton of power or nothing at all at this point as nearly half of his hits have been extra base hits, over roughly 40% for a career average.

Braun does still offer the ability to play the corner outfield and first base both and he brings the athleticism to steal a base when the team needs it, which isn’t common in the rest of the guys we’ll discuss. He also sees the ball very well from lefty pitchers, with more walks than strikeouts the last two seasons against lefty pitchers, in spite of his slowing bat.

So Far this season, Braun has played 13 games at first base and 32 in left field. Those 13 games at first base are the first 13 of his career.

Next: Righty masher

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