In no world did the Milwaukee Brewers expect Jake Bauers to be the home run leader as of Friday, July 10.

Bauers has been a one-man wrecking crew, and his highlight reel dive into third base further solidified his status as one of this team's biggest impact players.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy acknowledged that after the game, and for good reason. His slide may have gone viral, and for good reason, but this was yet another game where he proved his power is second to none. 

With just three games remaining before the All-Star break, Bauers has 17 homers which is four more than Brice Turang and Jackson Chourio have in second place. His 57 RBIs are a team high, and his .368 OBP is also the best on the team.

In 84 games played, Bauers is slashing .268/.368/.505 with a .873 OPS. To no surprise, all of those numbers are a career high. In some cases, it's not even close. Bauers has had 287 at-bats this season, but prior to 2026 the most he's had in a single year was 372. For reference, that came back in 2019. 

The 30-year-old sports a 1.9 WAR which is by far the highest in his seven-year big league career. Previously, it hasn't ever been over 1.0.

At this point in the season, Bauers already has five more home runs than his previous career high. Time and time again, the Brewers get the best out of struggling players. Here in 2026, look no further than Bauers.

"There’s bigger goals than my personal stat line for the year,” he said, according to MLB.com. “So I’m trying to keep my head down and stay focused on that.”

Bauers continued, "We’re not done yet. But I’ve just been impressed with the day-to-day in here. It doesn’t seem like anybody’s losing focus. You don’t hear much complaining about it. You know guys are tired, you know guys are a little bit banged-up, but on the day-to-day side of it, the preparation, you wouldn’t know it. That’s what I’m most proud of as far as the team goes.”

"You can’t find a player, Miz [Jacob Misiorowski], maybe... who has had a bigger impact,” Murphy said. “Bauers has had a huge impact this whole year, as well as Brice, as well as William [Contreras], as well as [Kyle] Harrison. They’re all deserving.”

With just three games remaining before the All-Star break, Bauers will look to stay red-hot and carry that momentum into mid-July and beyond.

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