The Absurd Rise of Jake Bauers for the Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers have combined a strong 78–48 record with the second-best rotation ERA in baseball at 3.41, despite numerous injuries. Early in the season, Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn were hurt at the same time, and Quinn Priester missed major-league action all season, while Brandon Woodruff’s year ended early with a shoulder injury; Kyle Harrison and Logan Henderson also spent time on the injured list. The article points to 30-year-old slugger Jake Bauers as the clearest example of the team’s next-man-up approach. It says Bauers has surged past previous personal highs, posting a slash line of .278/.387/.512 and an .899 OPS with 22 home runs and 72 RBIs through 113 games. His WAR is 2.8 versus a 0.6 career high before 2026, and his OPS+ is 146.