Brewers Ranked 19th In Power Rankings, Need Willy Adames' Replacement To Step Up

The Milwaukee Brewers cruised to a National League Central division title last year thanks to a 93-win season. This came after they had traded Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles.

Fast forward to 2025 and they are off to a slow start. They are 20-22 and sit tied for third place in the NL Central, four games behind the first place Chicago Cubs.

They are certainly feeling the losses of Willy Adames and Devin Williams, even though both players have struggled with their new teams.

The Athletic ranked Milwaukee 18th in their latest power rankings and stated that they are going to need more from Joey Ortiz.

"One year ago, Joey Ortiz was setting MLB on fire, becoming the first Brewers player since 2019 to win MLB’s Rookie of the Month award. In 23 games, he batted .307/.391/.587 with four homers, one triple, seven doubles and 12 RBIs," Johnny Flores Jr. writes.

"Over the weekend, he snapped a 46-game streak without a homer. Those contributions have been worth minus-1.1 bWAR. Suffice it to say, Milwaukee would love the May 2024 version of Ortiz right about now."

Ortiz is struggling mightily at the plate. He has hit just one home run and is slashing .176/.233/.228 with a .461 OPS. Though he cooled off after May last season, he still proved to be a viable option at third base.

Now at shortstop, he hasn't lived up to expectations as the replacement for Adames. Milwaukee will need him to step up if they want to turn their season around.