Could Brewers’ Joey Wiemer jump into the NL Rookie of the Year race?

In 2007, 22-year-old Milwaukee Brewers rookie outfielder Ryan Braun won the National League Rookie of the Year with a .324 average with 34 home runs and 97 RBI in 113 games. He set the Brewers record for most extra-base hits by a rookie with 66 that season.

Fast forward to 2023 … another Milwaukee Brewers rookie outfielder is making a name for himself. Joey Wiemer has played in 61 of the Brewers first 63 games and has a batting average of .231 with eight home runs and 23 RBI. He has 20 extra-base hits and is one of nine rookies so far this season with 20 or more extra-base hits (through games of June 8).

While these numbers are nowhere near the stats Ryan Braun put up in his first season in Milwaukee, what has Brewers fans and the team excited about Wiemer is what he accomplished over the past nine games, from May 31-June 8; he has a nine-game hitting streak, is batting .452 in his last nine games with eight extra-base hits (five doubles and three home runs) and has nine RBIs.

Wiemer’s recent offensive onslaught has him on a pace for 52 extra-base hits for the season. That would be the third-most in team history behind Braun’s 66 in 2007 and Prince Fielder’s 64 in 2006. Here is a look at the Brewers rookies with 35 or more extra-base hits with the Brew Crew in their first season.

Most extra-base hits by Brewers rookies

66-Ryan Braun, 2007
64-Prince Fielder, 2006
52-Pedro Garcia, 1973
51-Nori Aoki, 2012
46-Scott Podsednik, 2003
45-Greg Vaughn, 1990
44-Bob Coluccio, 1973
44-Keston Hiura, 2019
41-Ronnie Belliard, 1999
37-Casey McGehee, 2009
37-Darrell Porter, 1973
36-Paul Molitor, 1978

Of the 12 players mentioned above, eight finished in the Top 10 for Rookie of the Year voting.

Braun’s 66 extra-base hits as a rookie are tied for 30th place all-time. The rookie record for most extra-base hits by a rookie is 89 by Hal Trosky in 1934. There have been six players who had 85 or more extra-base hits as a rookie: in addition to Trosky, Joe DiMaggio (88 in 1936), Albert Pujols (88 in 2001), Ted Williams (86 in 1939), Pete Alonso (85 in 2019) and Nomar Garciaparra (85 in 1997).

Wiemer has 20 of the 38 extra-base hits by Milwaukee Brewers rookies in 2023. The 38 extra-base hits by Brewers’ rookies is sixth most among teams this season. Boston Red Sox rookies have 47 extra-base hits to top the list followed by Oakland (46), the Dodgers and Cincinnati (each 43), San Francisco (39), Brewers (38) and Arizona (35).

It’s important to note that before Wiemer went on his nine-game tear, he was batting .187 with only 12 extra-base hits in his first 52 games. He has since raised his average 44 points and has upped his extra-base total from 12 to 20 in those nine games.

The Brewers are hopeful that they will see more offensively of what Wiemer has done over his last nine games versus what his stat line showed in his first 52 contests. If that happens, Wiemer could bring back fond memories of the rookie seasons Braun and Fielder put together in the last 20 years.