The Milwaukee Brewers have been one of the hottest teams in MLB over the last month of the season.
Momentum is something that the Milwaukee Brewers possess as we enter October baseball. Christian Yelich has garnered all of the headlines, and rightfully so, over the past month and continues to swing a hot bat. However, it’s Orlando Arcia‘s recent hot streak that has this fan base excited.
Arcia has long been regarded as one of the top defensive shortstops in MLB. Over the last few weeks, he has been providing an unexpected spark with the lumber and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
The 24-year-old showed during last season that he can handle Major League pitching hitting a solid .277 with 15 home runs while playing in 153 games. However, he struggled mightily with the bat for the majority of the 2018 season. Things were so bad for Arcia offensively that he found himself playing in Triple-A during this season.
Arcia hit a meager .197 through the end of June. He collected just 40 hits in 212 plate appearances during that time and provided almost zero value at the plate. With Milwaukee fighting for footing in the National League Arcia was sent to Colorado Springs where he stayed until he was recalled in late July.
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Although he hasn’t performed at anything close to an elite level, Arcia has shown marked improvements since his recall. Arcia has hit .290 through 154 plate appearances since that time and has become an integral part of the Milwaukee Brewers late-season success.
His bat has really heated up since the start of September. He has hit .329 since the calendar flipped to September and has been in the middle of some huge moments for the Crew. Nobody questions the impact he can have with the leather but it’s his bat that has helped Milwaukee reach the postseason for the first time since 2011.
Arcia has 10 hits in 22 plate appearances giving him a .455 batting average during his current seven-game hitting streak. The slick-fielding shortstop has provided a spark at the bottom of the Brewers batting order and has helped propel the team to their second NL Central division title and the top seed in this year’s playoffs.
With everything on the line during yesterday’s season finale against the Chicago Cubs, Arcia collected four hits and every one of them was critical in Milwaukee’s success. Arcia is quickly making fans forget about his woeful performance during the first half of this season.
If Milwaukee has eyes on a deep playoff run, they’ll need Arcia to continue to provide the spark this lineup needs. Although the Brewers bullpen is the key for this team’s success, Arcia continuing his hot streak will go a long way in helping the Crew make some noise in October.