Jake Bauers DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Curt Hogg doesn't think that enough people are giving Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers a realistic shot at making the Opening Day roster in 2025. Rhys Hoskins shouldn't be seen as a lock for everyday playing time at first base, and Tyler Black's shaky defense will be under a microscope in spring training. The 29-year-old Bauers will be on a non-roster invite at spring training after re-signing to a minor-league deal this offseason. The left-handed hitter appeared in 116 games for the Brew Crew last year but hit only .199/.301/.361 with a below-average .662 OPS, 12 home runs, 43 RBI, a career-high 13 stolen bases and 45 runs scored in 346 trips to the plate. Bauers has a career strikeout rate over 30%, so he's not going to hit for average, but he his decent power/speed profile could be interesting if he makes a decent amount of starts at first base against right-handed pitching in 2025.

Milwaukee Brewers first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers and right-hander Bryse Wilson both cleared waivers on Monday and were outrighted to Triple-A Nashville. Both Bauers and Wilson were arbitration-eligible but will become free agents after being cast off the team's 40-man roster. Bauers matched his previous career-high of 12 home runs and also drove in 43 and stole a career-high 13 bases in 116 games in 2024 in his first year in Milwaukee, but he also hit just .199 with a .301 on-base percentage, .361 slugging percentage and below-average .662 OPS. He's now hit only .208 in five big-league seasons with five different teams. Wilson, 26, served as a swingman for Milwaukee this year, going 5-4 with a 4.04 ERA and 1.27 WHIP with a career-high 82 K's and 31 walks in 104 2/3 frames over his 34 outings (nine starts).

Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers delivered a clutch pinch-hit solo home run in the seventh inning of Game 3 in the Wild Card series against the New York Mets on Thursday. Bauers homer put the Crew in the lead, but unfortunately they could not hold on and ended up losing 4-2. Bauers finished the postseason 2-for-6 with a homer and an RBI. He will have a good chance to make the Brewers roster out of Spring Training next year if he remains with the team, but he would likely be a platoon option at best.