The Milwaukee Brewers’ Best Player Is Their First Base Platoon
The Brewers have quietly assembled one of Major League Baseball's best first base platoons in Andrew Vaughn and Jake Bauers.
Looking to put the exclamation point on a sweep of the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on Wednesday, the Milwaukee Brewers led 3-1 in the top of the seventh inning when Jake Bauers stepped to the plate with runners on the corners.
As he has all season, Bauers put together a quality plate appearance, drawing a seven-pitch walk to load the bases. With left-hander Sam Moll on the mound, Andrew Vaughn grabbed a bat to pinch-hit for Garrett Mitchell.
Despite winning the first two games of the series, the Brewers entered Vaughn’s at-bat 0-for-19 with runners in scoring position. They desperately needed a clutch hit, and one of MLB’s best hitters against left-handed pitching was coming to the plate.
After working the count to 2-1, Vaughn ripped a bases-clearing double down the left-field line to extend Milwaukee’s lead to 6-1. That hit proved to be the difference.
Cincinnati answered with one run in the seventh and three more in the eighth, but the Brewers held on for a 6-5 victory to complete the sweep.
Those plate appearances perfectly illustrated the impact Bauers and Vaughn have had on the Brewers this season. Milwaukee’s 49-29 record and seven-game lead in the National League Central are due in no small part to the contributions the club has received from its two first basemen.
Stats were taken prior to play on June 25.
One of the Game’s Best Platoons
Among Brewers hitters with at least 130 plate appearances this season, nobody has been more productive than Milwaukee’s first base tandem.
Overall, Vaughn is slashing .351/.438/.532, leading the Brewers in OPS (.970), wOBA (.420), and wRC+ (171). Right behind him is Bauers, who is slashing .271/.377/.508 while ranking second on the club in OPS (.885), wOBA (.383), and wRC+ (145).
Vaughn fractured his left hamate on Opening Day and missed the first month of the season. Since returning on May 4, few hitters have been better, and Bauers has matched his production at the plate.
| Metric Since May 4 | Jake Bauers | Andrew Vaughn |
| BA | .296 (28th) | .355 (2nd) |
| OBP | .425 (5th) | .444 (1st) |
| SLG | .584 (11th) | .542 (15th) |
| OPS | 1.009 (5th) | .987 (8th) |
| wOBA | .434 (5th) | .427 (6th) |
| wRC+ | 180 (5th) | 175 (6th) |
The Brewers entered May 4 at 18-15, sitting fourth in the National League Central and outside of a playoff spot. Since then, they’ve gone 31-14 — the best record in baseball — with Vaughn and Bauers at the center of that turnaround.
Since Vaughn’s return, the Brewers have split the workload at first base relatively evenly. Bauers has made 20 starts at the position during that stretch, while Vaughn has made 25.
It’s not a strict platoon, as Vaughn will occasionally start against right-handed pitching. In those games, Bauers often slides to a corner outfield spot, allowing the Brewers to keep both bats in the lineup.
Against a left-handed starter, however, Vaughn is an automatic start. In his 55 plate appearances against lefties this season, Vaughn is slashing an absurd .467/.564/.800 with a 1.364 OPS, .567 wOBA, and 271 wRC+. Unsurprisingly, he leads MLB in every one of those categories except for slugging percentage, where he trails only Paul Goldschmidt (.818).
Bauers, meanwhile, is enjoying the best season of his career against right-handed pitching. In 205 plate appearances against righties, Bauers is slashing .277/.390/.538 with a .928 OPS (15th in MLB), 156 wRC+ (14th), and .398 wOBA (14th).
| JAke Bauers Stats vs RHP | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2021 | 2019 | 2018 |
| BA | .277 | .238 | .193 | .205 | .203 | .224 | .211 |
| OBP | .390 | 358 | .302 | .287 | .294 | .322 | .331 |
| SLG | .538 | .411 | .357 | .433 | .281 | .361 | .409 |
| OPS | .928 | .769 | .659 | .719 | .575 | .683 | .740 |
| wOBA | .398 | .339 | .294 | .308 | .261 | .299 | .323 |
| wRC+ | 156 | 119 | 88 | 95 | 66 | 84 | 107 |
The Brewers have spent years searching for consistent production at first base. The front office signed Rhys Hoskins ahead of the 2024 season hoping he would provide it, but his tenure in Milwaukee ultimately fell short of expectations. While he had productive stretches, his overall body of work left much to be desired.
That changed when Vaughn arrived in Milwaukee early last season. His improbable resurgence altered the trajectory of Milwaukee’s season, and he eventually supplanted Hoskins as the team’s everyday first baseman.
Few teams have received more production from first base than Milwaukee this season. Brewers first basemen have combined for a 153 wRC+, .912 OPS, .395 wOBA, and 2.7 fWAR. Each mark ranks third in baseball, only behind the Athletics and the Yankees, who are led by two of the game’s best first basemen in Nick Kurtz and Ben Rice.
Last season, Milwaukee got 3.6 fWAR from its first basemen, its highest total since 2017, when Eric Thames and Jesús Aguilar combined for 47 home runs. They are well on their way to outpace that mark in 2026.
What’s more, this year’s 153 wRC+ is the Brewers’ best mark at the position since 2011, when Prince Fielder played in every game at first base and finished third in NL MVP voting with a .981 OPS, 160 wRC+, and 38 home runs.
It’s been a long time since the Brewers have received this level of production from first base. They didn’t accomplish it through a blockbuster trade or a marquee free-agent signing. Instead, they relied on their ability to identify undervalued talent and develop it into one of baseball’s most productive platoons.
Final Thoughts
Since Andrew Vaughn made his Brewers debut on July 7, 2025, he ranks third among MLB first basemen (min. 350 PA) in wRC+ (152), OPS (.903), and wOBA (.389), while leading the position with a .322 batting average.
Over that same stretch, Jake Bauers ranks fourth in wRC+ (143) and wOBA (.378) and sixth in OPS (.870). Both players also rank among the top 10 in on-base percentage and slugging percentage, combining for 5.1 fWAR.
Bauers is making less than $3 million this season after signing a minor-league contract before the 2025 campaign. Vaughn, meanwhile, was acquired for Aaron Civale and cash considerations in a deal where the White Sox were simply looking to salvage whatever value they could from the former third-overall pick.
The Brewers didn’t invest heavily in the first base position. Instead, they identified two undervalued hitters, trusted their player development staff, and turned them into one of baseball’s most productive first-base tandems. It’s the latest example of why Milwaukee remains one of Major League Baseball’s premier organizations when it comes to player evaluation and talent development.
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Written by
Joey Peterson is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an editor for Just Baseball. Joey covers the Milwaukee Brewers, along with general MLB topics…