During what is becoming the busiest trade season the Brewers have had in recent memory, the Milwaukee Brewers have now also traded for former Baltimore Orioles All-Star infielder Jonathan Schoop.
After a slow start to the 2018 season for the right-handed batter, Schoop has upped his average to .244 and his slugging to .447. His on-base percentage is still worrisome at a very low .273 due to his low walk rate and high strikeout rate.
Still, he is coming off of a season that saw him come in 12th in the AL MVP voting while posting a .293/.338/.503 hitting line to go with 32 homeruns and 105 RBIs. A change of scenery to a contending team could do him well.
He is also coming off of a week that saw him join Brewer outfielder Christian Yelich as the MLB players of the week (Schoop for the AL, Yelich for the NL). Last week he hit for a .379 average, posted five homeruns and drove in 13 runs. Schoop is also controlled through the 2019 season.
The traditional second baseman was actually brought up as a shortstop and you can expect him to be the starter with Travis Shaw at second and Mike Moustakas at third.
For a season and a half of Schoop, the Brewers had to give up Jonathan Villar in addition to their seventh-ranked prospect RHP Luis Ortiz and 18 year-old infielder Jean Carmona
This year at AA Biloxi, Ortiz has slightly improved after a rough 2017 season. Over 68 innings he has posted a 3.71 ERA while striking out slightly less than one batter per inning. He has also cut down on his walks per nine as well has his homeruns allowed per nine.
Carmona is largely unknown and is relatively a high-risk, high-reward kind of prospect. And of course fans know Villar as a breakout star in 2016 who showed increased control at the plate this season.
With the recent trades this past week it seems the Brewers and the front office are going all-in on the offense. A batting order of Lorenzo Cain, Christian Yelich, Ryan Braun (or Eric Thames), Jésus Aguilar, Mike Moustakas, Travis Shaw, Jonathan Schoop and Manny Pina should strike fear into any pitcher’s eyes come October.