Jul 27, 2020; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; A Milwaukee Brewers hat and glove on the dugout rail against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the tenth inning at PNC Park.Milwaukee won 6-5 in eleven innings. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Brewers Young Star Under Fire, Labeled Milwaukee's 'Worst Player'

Originally posted on Milwaukee Brewers on SI
By Zach Pressnell | Last updated Sep 23, 2025 11:00 AM ET

The Milwaukee Brewers have been one of the best teams in baseball all season. Their dominance began a few months ago, and they've hardly let up to this point.

The team is as well-rounded as you'll see this year, as their starting pitching, bullpen, defense, and lineup all have multiple stars. This is going to be a very hard team to knock out of the postseason if they can get and stay healthy this October.

Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller recently suggested that shortstop Joey Ortiz was the Brewers' worst player of the season, which is saying a lot for their franchise because Ortiz holds a positive WAR on the year.

Joey Ortiz under fire for his production in 2025

"In the field, Joey Ortiz has been solid, possibly in the mix for the Gold Glove among NL shortstops. And for the 72-game stretch from late-May into mid-August in which the Brewers had a .750 winning percentage, he was at least respectable at the plate," Miller wrote. "For the most part, though, Milwaukee has been burying Ortiz in the 9-hole, as he has been both considerably less productive than he was in 2024 and drastically worse at the dish than former shortstop Willy Adames was. That the Brewers' 'worst' player might win a Gold Glove, though, speaks volumes to the type of season they've had."

First of all, if the worst player on your team is going to be in consideration for the Gold Glove at shortstop, the franchise is in a great place. The Brewers don't have very many weak points on their roster, so it might be true that Ortiz is their worst every day player.

But that doesn't mean he's bad or a net-negative player. In fact, Ortiz brings a lot of value to Milwaukee. When he's hitting, the Brewers are one of the toughest teams to beat in baseball.

Either way, this isn't a huge knock on Ortiz. Somebody has the be the Brewers' "worst player" this year, and it happens to fall on him. He'd still be a productive player on every team in the league due to his Gold Glove-level defense.

This article first appeared on Milwaukee Brewers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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