Nobody saw Andrew Vaughn’s breakout coming when he was sent down by the Chicago White Sox and fighting for his career in the minor leagues earlier this season.

The Milwaukee Brewers didn’t see it either. Despite trading Aaron Civale straight up for Vaughn, he wasn’t even their first choice when they needed to call someone up to replace injured first baseman Rhys Hoskins.

I’d bet Vaughn himself wasn’t totally convinced he could hang in the big leagues anymore.

What he’s done since arriving in Milwaukee has been nothing short of remarkable.

He hit .308 with 46 RBIs, nine home runs, and an .869 OPS after the trade. In the postseason, his OPS has exploded to 1.126 with two home runs in 14 at-bats — including a three-run blast to tie Game 2 of the NLDS against the Cubs, and a solo shot that gave Milwaukee the lead in the deciding Game 5.

Andrew Vaughn has become a full-blown hero in Milwaukee. And while I’ve seen a lot of discourse online about what a bad look it is for the White Sox, I don’t believe Vaughn’s success is Chicago’s concern anymore.

Vaughn didn’t fail with the White Sox because they ruined him or because player development fell short.

He unraveled as the years went on because the weight of what he was supposed to be started to suffocate him.

The Brewers gave Vaughn what every struggling athlete begs for but rarely receives — a fresh start. Sometimes, that’s all it takes.

That’s almost word-for-word how former White Sox first baseman Gavin Sheets explained his own breakout in San Diego.

With the White Sox, Andrew Vaughn was the third overall pick. He wasn’t just supposed to be good; he was supposed to be the guy. The next great first baseman in a line that included José Abreu, Paul Konerko, and Frank Thomas.

There’s a lot of pressure in that, even for a Golden Spikes Award winner.

In Milwaukee, he’s playing with house money. He’s part of a team that literally calls themselves "The Average Joes." Among them, Vaughn is just a dude in the lineup. Not a savior. Not a franchise cornerstone. Not a free agent prize with a big contract. That kind of freedom can unlock a player who struggled with the mental side of the game.

Watching Andrew Vaughn play baseball in a Brewers uniform — especially this postseason — it’s obvious how much fun he’s having again.

That shouldn’t bother White Sox fans. It was out of the organization's hands and they gave him every opportunity to figure things out on the South Side.