Joey Ortiz Found Himself When the Brewers Needed It the Most

In a 162-game season, it’s hard for any one or two games to turn a team’s season in one direction or another. Still, July 7th had the chance to be a big day for the Milwaukee Brewers.

The team was in the middle of a stretch of 17 games in 16 days and had gone 6-4 leading into a road doubleheader against the Cardinals. Sweep the doubleheader, and they not only secure a series win against a rival, but they also guarantee a winning record during the brutal gauntlet of games.

Get swept in the series or split it and they have some work to do to achieve both goals, especially considering they ended the marathon with a road series in Pittsburgh heading into the All-Star break. For some reason, that exact type of series hadn’t gone well for the Brewers in the past.

Milwaukee was also looking for a little bit of extra offense in that moment. Though they’d won six of their previous ten games, they’d also scored three runs or fewer in five of them. Even with the pitching staff being one of MLB’s best, St. Louis’s 11th ranked offense wasn’t to be taking lightly and any extra runs would be welcomed.

On top of everything, three of the Brewers’ most talented hitters started the 17-game stretch cold. Jake Bauers, the team’s most consistent offensive threat all season, had just a 77 wRC+ over the previous 10 days while Christian Yelich (28) and William Contreras (11) had offense that was almost nonexistent.

So who would come to the rescue for the Brewers? Why that would be none other than Joey Ortiz.

Yes, you read that right. One of the worst hitters in all of MLB for the first three months of the season, Ortiz had begun to heat up a little at the beginning of the Brewers’ brutal stretch. In the doubleheader, he showed it was no fluke.

Ortiz would go 5-for-9 with a double, a homer, two runs scored, and two RBIs over the course of the doubleheader. The Brewers would go on to win both games and go 9-8 in the games going into the All-Star break. Many teams may have fared much worse.

But back to Ortiz. As it turned out, this didn’t end up being a quick little hot streak for the Brewers infielder. Since late June, he has been one of the top offensive players on the team and at a time where Milwaukee could’ve really used it.

Joey Ortiz Found Himself When the Brewers Needed It the Most

Ortiz finally rounding back into form was a long time coming. In fact, he’d been waiting to do so ever since the beginning of the 2025 season.

After an impressive rookie year with Milwaukee in 2024 following his trade there from the Baltimore Orioles, Ortiz had a sophomore season to forget – not so much in the field despite a change in position, but at the plate.

In 149 games last year, Ortiz slashed a woeful .230/.276/.317 with 18 doubles, seven homers, and 45 RBI. His strikeout rate was down, to 14.6%, but he also had just a 5.3% walk rate. His 67 wRC+ on the season ranked 143rd out of 145 qualified hitters.

As bad as that was, the beginning of 2026 was somehow even worse for Ortiz. Through the end of June and 70 games played, the infielder slashed an even lower .208/.286/.272 with a wRC+ down to 59. Only five players with at least 190 plate appearances at that point in the season had a lower wRC+.

Brewers fans began to wonder if the Ortiz they saw in 2024 was a one-hit wonder and if his spot on the roster might be in jeopardy, even with the elite defense he provided. And then, something clicked.

Since the start of July, Ortiz has been a completely different batter at the plate. In 45 games over that span, he’s slashing a very impressive .316/.362/.544 with seven doubles, three triples, six homers, and 21 RBI. His .907 OPS ranks ninth in MLB among players with at least 150 plate appearances since July 1.

Two big things happened with the Brewers around the time Ortiz started to get hot. On June 26, Milwaukee called up shortstop Cooper Pratt, a top five prospect on the team. When that happened, Ortiz was, for the most part, shifted over to third base.

Third base just happens to be where Ortiz played when he found success at the plate as a rookie for Milwaukee. But when longtime Brewer shortstop Willy Adames left for San Francisco in the offseason, Ortiz was tasked with manning the position the following season.

As smooth as Ortiz is in the field in general, one wouldn’t think a position change would have much of an effect on what the 28-year-old does at the plate. And yet, his differences in production over his career when playing at one position versus the other are pretty stark.

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
As SS	225	691	87	159	27	1	10	72	.230	.287	.315	.602
As 3B	167	522	69	132	28	9	15	72	.253	.327	.427	.754

Lately, though, it hasn’t mattered what position Ortiz has been playing. He shifted back to shortstop for a while when Pratt was on the IL in the middle of August and it clearly didn’t slow him down at the plate one bit.

And the rival Cubs got to see Ortiz’s resurgence firsthand on Tuesday night. Getting the start in game two of the four-game series in Chicago, he went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer that helped break the game open and let the Brewers tie the series with a 9-4 win.

Not every manager would’ve stuck with Ortiz long enough to get to this point. Elite defense can carry certain players a long way, especially with the Brewers whose team success relies partially on strong play in the field. But if your offense is a detriment to the lineup, sometimes your days become numbered.

That wasn’t the case with Ortiz, though, as the Brewers let him continue to work through his struggles at the plate. Now, that faith is paying off at a time where they really needed it.