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Brewers Rookie Quickly Becoming Premier Third Baseman

Milwaukee Brewers rookie Joey Ortiz is quickly becoming one of the premier third basemen in Major League Baseball.

Ortiz, 25, was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles in a controversial, highly-publicized two-player offseason trade for pitching ace Corbin Burnes. The former 2019 fourth-round draft pick made his major league debut on April 27, 2023. Since the start of spring training with Milwaukee in February, he has continued to silence the critics and steadily thrive under the pressure. Whether delivering a game-changing hit or turning in a highlight-reel defensive play, he has developed into an All-Star caliber competitor.

He currently has a .288 batting average with 45 hits, including five home runs and 21 RBI through 55 games.

Brewers Rookie Joey Ortiz Quickly Becoming Star In Majors

Third Baseman Striving For Excellence

The Brewers rookie third baseman quickly emerged as the starter following an intriguing, hard-fought battle with Oliver Dunn. “He’s stepped up,” said Brewers first-year manager Pat Murphy, in an interview with Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. “We sent [Dunn] down because we’re going to play [Ortiz] against righties and lefties, and it wasn’t fair to ask a kid who hasn’t played [much] above Double-A to be a bench player or pinch-hit and stuff like that. So we thought we’d send him down and just go with Ortiz every day. ‘Tito,’ he’s embraced it.”

Ortiz was named National League Rookie of the Month for May. He finished with a .307 batting average with four home runs, becoming the seventh Brewer in franchise history to receive the honor. He joins the group of Ben Sheets, Scott Podsednik, Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Casey McGehee, and Keston Hiura.

Ortiz has feasted on the fastball this season, generating 26 hits, highlighted by five doubles and two homers, according to Baseball Savant. He has also excelled against the breaking ball, producing 13 hits with five doubles and two homers.

Ortiz went a season-best 3-for-4 with three RBI in Milwaukee’s 5-4 road loss to the Houston Astros on May 17. He finished just one hit short of the cycle, including a three-run homer in the top of the fourth inning.

“It’s definitely not something that I expected,” said Ortiz, of the honor in an interview with Brewers Live reporter Sophia Minnaert. “I’m just trying to do my best, do my job out there, and worrying about helping the team win. That’s really, honestly all that matters. The accolades are cool but I just want to do what I can to put the team in a good position.”

Rookie Developing Into Defensive Force

The Brewers rookie is quickly developing into a reliable defensive force. He has recorded 40 putouts with 82 assists, contributing to 10 double plays through 403 innings. In starting 45 games at third base, the fleet-footed 5-foot-9, 183-pound third baseman has committed only three errors while producing a .976 fielding percentage.

Ortiz has made quite an impression over the course of the first two months of the regular season for the National League Central-leading Brewers (36-26 overall). If the early success is any indication of things to come, his star could continue to rise in the weeks to come.

 

Photo Credit: © Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Jeff Hagenau

Jeff Hagenau

Jeff has been a sports writer in southeast Wisconsin for the past 27 years, covering at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. He graduated from Carroll University with a degree in journalism and covers the Milwaukee Brewers for Sports Events Guide.

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