Fueled by competition, Joey Ortiz has transformed his season, solidifying his role in the Milwaukee Brewers' infield.
Joey Ortiz thought he might have been out of a job upon the arrival of Cooper Pratt, but the Milwaukee Brewers' infield and offense have gotten much better with these two in the lineup.
Each has dealt with a minor injury in recent weeks, but Ortiz just put up a four-RBI game, one that still wasn't enough to lead the Brewers to a come-from-behind victory.
After crushing a two-out, two-run homer for his seventh of the year, Ortiz has proven to manager Pat Murphy and the rest of the league he's an infielder worth keeping an eye on.
Between Jake Bauers and Andrew Vaughn at first, Brice Turang at second, Pratt at shortstop, and then David Hamilton and Ortiz at third, the Brewers infield is as good as it's ever been, but offensively, it's arguably never been better.
A closer look at Ortiz's numbers since Pratt's debut
For reference, Ortiz had a brutal .207 batting average in his first 170 plate appearances of the season. That number isn't too far off from the .239 it was in 2024 or the .230 it was last season, but still, there was a ton of work to be done for the Brewers not to make a major upgrade at a premium position.
Through those 170 plate appearances, Ortiz had just one home run, and while he had 14 RBIs, his OPS was a brutal .561. This is a kid who had a 2.6 WAR and .726 OPS in 2024, so his falloff is something the Brewers needed to take note of.
Thankfully, Ortiz's season has turned around in a big way. The 28-year-old used Pratt's MLB debut as motivation, and the Brewers' infield dilemma was solved in the blink of an eye.
Since Pratt's debut, Ortiz has had to split time with Hamilton, but the answer as to which of the two should start is more obvious than it ever has been.
Ortiz, in 142 plate appearances since Pratt's arrival, has a stellar .302 batting average. He's crushed six home runs to go along with 23 RBIs and a .860 OPS mark that could guide him to a career year.
As of Thursday, Aug. 20, Ortiz is slashing .252/.318/.383 with a .701 OPS. His 1.8 WAR is a major improvement from the 0.3 it was a year ago, and there are no signs of this heater slowing down anytime soon, which is music to the Brewers' ears.
