The Milwaukee Brewers are dealing with a serious depth problem on the left side of their infield. Cooper Pratt is out for a few more weeks with a hamstring strain. Joey Ortiz has been dealing with a neck/back injury. Those are the two top shortstops on the Crew’s depth chart.
The Brewers have a large number of infield prospects in their minor league system, including several in the upper levels. However, they have not called on any of them to this point since Cooper Pratt came up in June. When Pratt needed to go on the IL, the Brewers opted not to dip back into that farm system for more help, but instead signed free agent Ji-hwan Bae.
It was understandable that on such short notice, Bae might have been the only one who could get to Milwaukee in time for Sunday’s game.
Bae struggled defensively in his lone start so far. He dropped a couple of successful bunts in his Brewers debut, but it’s been mostly downhill since. With Ortiz also battling an injury, that’s left the Brewers a man down on the bench.
Pat Murphy has had to turn to Andrew Vaughn starting at third base, moving Brice Turang over to shortstop, and other creative solutions just to put a healthy lineup out there. Ortiz was able to make it back for the series finale against the Padres, but it’s become quite obvious there is still a problem in the infield with Pratt on the IL.
One solution the Brewers should turn to is right in their farm system with one of their top prospects and it’s not Jett Williams.
It’s Luke Adams.
Adams has a great combination of power and on-base ability that he has proven at Triple-A Nashville this year and he has been solid at third base defensively. His glovework there should be passable enough that the Brewers can feel comfortable putting him at the hot corner and have a chance to fortify this lineup a little bit more.
This season, Adams is hitting .260/.407/.544 with 16 homers, 35 walks, and 40 strikeouts with a .944 OPS.
Adams is Rule 5 eligible this winter and will need to be added to the 40 man roster anyway in a few months, especially since it’s highly likely they would want to protect him. Why not take this opportunity to get to see him in the big leagues for a little bit?
Jett Williams would have been the choice, but he’s been dealing with a wrist injury and on the same night that Pratt and Ortiz got injured, Williams also re-aggravated his wrist injury in Triple-A and has since been placed back on the IL.
Brock Wilken has been healthy, but is hitting just .177 with 12 homers and 118 strikeouts in 100 games. Tyler Black is not an option on the left side of the infield at this point, and that leaves Luke Adams as really the only viable option that can handle a position on the left side.
Adams is an on-base machine, which is what this offense could use more of right now. He also has plenty of over-the-fence power, which this Brewers offense also could use more of.
While he’s not a shortstop solution with Pratt on the IL, Adams can shore up this infield, shore up this offense, and maybe provide another spark here, because after this series in San Diego, it sure looks like they could use one.