The Milwaukee Breweries are on a five-game winning streak and begin a three-game road series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday. They lead the National League Central Division with a record of 36-23, seven games ahead of St. Louis Cardinals. Craig Counsell’s Chicago Cubs are currently in third place, followed by the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds.
Milwaukee’s seven-game lead is the largest divisional lead in baseball. Both the Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers lead their divisions by six and a half games.
Even though it’s still early in the season, it’s been a total team effort to get to this point and lead the league. Veterans like Willy Adames and William Contreras have helped develop a never-give-up attitude in the bullpen, and it was shown on Sunday when both fought their way back into the Brewers lineup.
While the contributions of the veterans cannot be overstated, neither can the contributions of several rookies who made great strides throughout the season.
Third baseman Joey Ortiz of the Milwaukee Brewers has improved throughout the season
One of those rookies is third baseman Joey Ortiz, who has played in 52 of Milwaukee’s 59 games this season. Originally acquired by the Brewers in exchange for Corbin Burnes from the Baltimore Orioles, Ortiz did everything Milwaukee asked of him and more.
So far this season, Ortiz has played primarily third base, but has also made appearances at shortstop and second base. He is currently hitting .293/.391/.894 with five home runs and 21 RBI. So far, he has 12 doubles and two triples.
Ortiz not only batted consistently, but also batted consistently wherever manager Pat Murphy chose to put him in the batting order. It is usually found in the bottom third of the order; but he was recently moved into the leadoff spot when Milwaukee faced a left-handed starter.
Whenever Ortiz hits at the top of the batting order, he hits .300/.462/.500. He also performed well from eighth and ninth in the order, hitting .421/.511/.790 and .348/.375/.565 from those spots, respectively.
Third baseman Joey Ortiz of the Milwaukee Brewers is the National League Rookie of the Month for May
Earlier today, the Brewers shared on social media that Ortiz was selected as the National League Rookie of the Month:
A star is born ‼️ pic.twitter.com/OHVvp3QeGm
— Milwaukee Breweries (@Brewers) June 3, 2024
Ortiz is just the eighth Brewers player in history to win the Rookie of the Month Award, and the first to do so since Keston Hiura in 2019.
In May, Ortiz hit .307/.391/.587 with four home runs, 12 RBI and seven doubles. He also walked nine times compared to just 11 strikeouts.
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