MILWAUKEE – The Brewers could have MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 overall prospect as soon as Wednesday, when Pittsburgh’s Konnor Griffin graduates from prospect status.
Jesús Made, who was sitting right behind Griffin in the rankings as of Tuesday night, is a shortstop. So is Luis Peña, who ranks 17th on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100. And Jett Williams, who ranks 39th. And Cooper Pratt, who ranks 48th and inked an eight-year, $50.75 million contract last month.
So to say there is pressure on Joey Ortiz to perform in the big leagues for the Brewers, and to quiet the noise about all of those shortstops charging up the organizational depth chart, is putting it mildly.
On Tuesday night, Ortiz entered the chat.
The slick-fielding, light-hitting shortstop hit his first home run of the season and just missed a second in the Brewers’ 6-4 win over the Padres at American Family Field, a welcome sight for a team hoping to get on a roll offensively now that they have all of their regulars off the injured list.
“We all know the reality of what’s in our organization, what’s to come,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said last week when the subject turned to Ortiz. “We all know that. We’re not going to shy away from that. But we’re not trying to create more than what’s there. Joey gives us the best chance to win today. He’s a tremendous defender and this team has averaged 90-some wins the last two years he’s been here, and he’s a big part of that.
“I love the kid. As long as he’s on our roster, I’m going to keep going with him as long as the situation calls for it.”
The Brewers love Ortiz’s defense but he’s been one of baseball’s least productive hitters this season, with a .181/.250/.193 slash line going into this series against San Diego and one extra-base hit -- a double -- in his first 94 plate appearances. By wRC+, a good all-around measure of offense that accounts for ballpark factors, Ortiz’s 30 ranked seventh-lowest of hitters with at least 75 plate appearances and indicated he was 70 percent below MLB average.
In other words, he was scuffling.
But Ortiz was a different hitter on Tuesday night, belting his first home run of the season with two outs and the bases empty in the third inning for a 1-0 Brewers lead, then nearly hitting a grand slam amid Milwaukee’s 10-batter, five-run rally against Padres right-hander Matt Waldron in the fourth.
Ortiz settled for a sacrifice fly to deep center in that inning and added a single in the sixth for his first multi-hit game of May.