7 Unknown, Underpaid, or Underrated Stars Carrying First-Place Milwaukee Brewers

Unless you’re a Wisconsinite, you probably don’t know a heck of a lot about the Milwaukee Brewers. Most years, it wouldn’t really matter but this year, the Brewers are the best team in the National League. As of Sunday evening, Milwaukee has the best record and the most wins of all 15 teams in the National League. In fact, the Brewers’ 34 wins is four more than the team with the second-best mark, the Atlanta Braves (30).

If you’re like me, you’re wondering how in the world this happened.

Is Ryan Braun back on the juice and carrying the team? Nope, he’s hitting .228 this year with five homers.

Damn.

Did they bring back Stan Ross, again? Nope, he’s managing 3,000 Woks.

Oh.

The answer, unfortunately, is a boilerplate mix of pitching, hitting, and managerial direction. The cast? An unglamorous mix of veterans and young players that account for Major League Baseball’s fifth-lowest payroll ($93 million). And when you take into account that Ryan Braun’s $20-million contract is 21.43 percent of the team’s total salary — despite his pedestrian stats — their performance is even more impressive.

READ: 7 Most Notable Former Big Leaguers Playing Indy Ball in 2018

Here, we’re going to help you get acquainted with this mysterious, first-place roster up on Lake Michigan’s western shore — especially the guys truly unknown to the general public or severely underpaid.

(Salaries courtesy of Spotract. Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference.)

Christian Yelich, OF
2018 Salary: $7 million
2018 Slash Line: .305/.371/.467
2018 WAR: 1.3
2018 Lineup Spot: No.2 hitter

Yelich is one of the few guys that baseball fans know well. He came over from the Miami Marlins after Derek Jeter took over and started unloading contracts (and all their talent). While he will eventually be paid properly in the coming years, his deal this year is a total bargain. This season, Yelich has been the anchor of Milwaukee’s batting order from the No.2-hole, ranking 11th in the MLB in BABIP. As a lefty bat, he hits right-handed pitchers very well (.300 career average vs. RHP) but uniquely hits lefties well, too (.271 career average vs. LHP).

Jesús Aguilar, 1B
2018 Salary: $557k
2018 Slash Line: .325/.390/.595
2018 WAR: 1.2
2018 Lineup Spot: No.3 hitter

After going 10-for-58 in three years with the Indians (2014-16), he was promptly sent to pasture. Milwaukee picked him up off the scrap heap in 2017 and has wound up as a true diamond-in-the-rough acquisition. Last year, he posted an OPS of .837 with 16 homers in just 279 at-bats. This year, he’s on pace to have an even better year. Hitting in the No.3-hole, Aguilar has been on a tear through 126 at-bats. He’s got an OPS nearly 100-points higher than the next guy and the second-most home runs on the team (9). In his last two games (two Brewers’ victories), Aguilar has gone 5-for-8 with two homers and seven RBIs.

Travis Shaw, 3B
2018 Salary: $567k
2018 Slash Line: .267/.347/.543
2018 WAR: 2.5
2018 Lineup Spot: No.4 hitter

Some people may know Shaw from his days in Boston but he deserves to be a household name. He is active on Twitter but has less than 40k followers while Evan Longoria — another power-hitting NL third baseman — has almost 400k. Shaw blasted 31 dingers last year and drove in over 100 runs. This year, he’s on pace to put up 39 and 108. At less than $600 grand, he might be one of the best contracts in the league. Unfortunately, he’s due for a payday at the end of 2018. Per Reviewing The Brew, a deal similar to Matt Carpenter’s six-year, $52 million could be in the cards. At the moment, Shaw has the fifth-best WAR in the National League.

Jonathan Villar, 2B
2018 Salary: $2.5 million
2018 Slash Line: .274/.323/.356
2018 WAR: 0.5
2018 Lineup Spot: No.6 hitter

After a down year in 2017, the Brewers were able to avoid arbitration with Villar in the offseason with a very efficient one-year, $2.55 million deal. Villar has the ability to play almost anywhere on the field but has been the regular starter at second base this year. He’s responded with a bounce-back year at the plate while playing in 48 of Milwaukee’s 54 games. He’s raised his average 33 points over last year (.274 over .231) and his OBP 30 points (.323 over .293). Plus, Villar led the MLB in stolen bases two years ago and been efficient on the paths this year (8-for-9). Last year, he was just 23-for-31 on steal attempts.

Jeremy Jeffress, RP
2018 Salary: $1.7 million
2018 Stats: 28 IP, 0.32 ERA
2018 WAR: 1.9
2018 Decisions: 4-0, 3 saves, 7 holds

Despite off-the-field problems, Jeffress is one of the best relief pitchers in baseball. This year, some would say he’s the best relief pitcher in baseball. At less than $2 million per year, he’s also one of the best contracts. After all, another reliever who is used all over, Cleveland’s Andrew Miller, is bringing down $9 million per year. Right now, Jeffress leads the entire MLB in WPA (Win Probability Added).

Junior Guerra, SP
2018 Salary: $545k
2018 Stats: 48.1 IP, 2.98 ERA
2018 WAR: 1.0
2018 Decisions: 3-3 in 9 starts

Guerra has a salary like a young prospect but is anything but a spring chicken. In fact, the right-handed arm is actually 33-years old and has been in pro baseball since 2003. That’s not a misprint, by the way. Guerra was brought in by the Braves as a catcher before switching to the hill in 2006. From there, he was out of affiliated baseball completely by 2008 before popping up out of nowhere in 2015 with the White Sox. He made his MLB debut in 2015 but landed on waivers before getting picked up by Milwaukee. Then, even crazier, he had a stellar season in 2016 with the Brewers (9-3, 2.81 ERA in 20 starts) but immediately followed it with a crummy 2017 (5.12 ERA in 70.1 IP). This year, though, he’s back to the good Junior Guerra with a 2.98 ERA in 48.1 innings. At a minimum deal, that’s a steal.

Josh Hader, RP
2018 Salary: $556k
2018 Stats: 31.1 IP, 1.15 ERA
2018 WAR: 1.4
2018 Decisions: 2-0, 6 saves, 8 holds

This kid is going to be a star, there’s no doubt in my mind. He’s got all the star-pitcher qualities, you know, long hair with above-average stuff. Even though he’s the Brewers’ closer and a lefty, you see him out there and think of early Jacob deGrom or Tim Lincecum. Of course, that means he’s going to eventually get a big-money deal. At the moment, Hader trails his teammate, the aforementioned Jeremy Jeffress, in WPA among NL pitchers.

While the entire team is a surprise, these are the seven dudes who stick out, at least to me, as underrated, underpaid, or simply unheard of. With that said, from a salary standpoint, this season could be a perfect storm of above-average talent on affordable deals. I mean, you see what happened to the Royals after their team rose up the ranks: they either got paid or shipped out, and neither is great for winning when you’re dealing with mid-market franchises.

Here is the complete payroll for the Brewers, per Spotrac.