In 3+ seasons of use, 41 different players have served as the Brewers DH
For years, the designated hitter was a hot topic of conversation in MLB. The American League used it, but the National League stuck with pitchers batting. That began to change in 2020, when the DH saw universal usage during the pandemic-shortened season. After a season that was back to normal in 2021, the DH was officially added to the National League in 2022 under the new collective bargaining agreement. In the three-plus years that the DH has been used full time in the NL, the Brewers have used 41 different players as the DH.
DH by committee has been the standard strategy for the Brewers since the addition of it in the National League. While a few players have spent more time there than others, the Brewers have chosen to use it more as a partial day off. In these seasons with a full-time DH, here are the top 10 players in plate appearances as a DH:
- Andrew McCutchen (2022) – 82 Games, 360 PA
- Christian Yelich (2020, 22-24) – 64 Games, 281 PA
- Jesse Winker (2023) – 49 Games, 184 PA
- William Contreras (2023-24) – 36 Games, 154 PA
- Keston Hiura (2020, 22) – 36 Games, 141 PA
- Rowdy Tellez (2022-23) – 29 Games, 111 PA
- Mark Canha (2023) – 18 Games, 79 PA
- Ryan Braun (2020) – 16 Games, 67 PA
- Daniel Vogelbach (2020) – 16 Games, 58 PA
- Rhys Hoskins (2024) – 9 Games, 38 PA
On that list, the person with the most time as the DH was Andrew McCutchen. He played in 134 games for the Brewers in 2022, and 82 of those were played as the DH. Jesse Winker also served as a primary DH, but his impact was most limited with just 49 games at DH out of the 61 games that he played in. Beyond that, the DH position was handled as a position by committee.
McCutchen and Winker are the only two players that recorded more than 40 games at DH in a single season. However, if we use percent of games played as well, then Ryan Braun and Daniel Vogelbach from 2020 also are in the mix. Both played as DH in 26.67% of the Brewers games in 2020. Rhys Hoskins could also end up as a major contributor on this list by the end of the season. He’s started at first base in 11 games and as the DH in nine games. Hoskins leads the team as the DH this season, with Gary Sanchez playing there the second-most (seven games, 20 PA).
How well has this approach worked for the Brewers? There are a few different ways to look at it. So far this season, the Brewers are fifth in all of MLB with a 159 wRC+. However, we are still in small sample size territory there. If we look at the 2022 through 2024 seasons as a whole, the Brewers are 23rd in MLB with a 92 wRC+, putting them a little below MLB average. Adding in the 2020 season doesn’t help, with the Brewers posting an 83 wRC+ that season.
If it’s not working as a team, how about for the individual players? Do they see a benefit from days as the DH? This can really come down to the individual players. For example, let’s look at William Contreras. Here are his career splits between time at catcher and as the DH:
- As Catcher: .284/.368/.483, 133 wRC+
- As DH: .264/.325/.416, 102 wRC+
The numbers see a slight drop for Contreras, but overall, he still provides positive value to the lineup when serving as the designated hitter. In addition, catcher is a position that sees extra benefit from serving as the DH. Since the position is considered to be one of the most physically intensive positions, spending time as the DH allows the Brewers to get Contreras bat into the lineup in days that he’s not catching. If the alternative is a full day off or maybe a single PH appearance, that’s meant an extra 33 games from Contreras in 2023 and three extra games so far in 2024.
However, this doesn’t always end up being the case. Another player who has seen extra time as a DH to get days off from playing in the field is Christian Yelich. Between his time as an outfielder and time as a DH, the numbers aren’t as good for him. Here are his splits between his time in each outfield position and time as a DH.
- As LF: .283/.374/.436, 125 wRC+
- As CF: .289/.373/.460, 125 wRC+
- As RF: .322/.420/.655, 173 wRC+
- As DH: .233/.299/.378, 83 wRC+
While it is good to have a bat like Yelich’s in the lineup as much as possible, the numbers don’t back up his time as a DH as much. He has recorded better results in games where he’s playing the field compared to games where he’s playing as the DH. The advantage for him has been similar to Contreras; he gets time off, so the physical demands aren’t as high on him. With the Brewers overall struggles on offense in recent seasons, the drop to where Yelich is as a DH is not as hard to take. However, Yelich hasn’t been able to post the same results as he does in the outfield.
Adding the DH has been an adjustment period, and the Brewers have seen both the benefits and disadvantages of it. It’s removed the pitcher from lineups and helped extend the careers of some position players. The Brewers haven’t had the best results from the position so far, but early results in 2024 are promising. It’s a position the Brewers will have to maximize to have good success in the future.