May Recap: Who Propelled the Brewers in the Second Month of the Season?

With May in the books, the Brewers turn the calendar to June with a three-game lead atop the NL Central.

Although injuries piled up recently, as Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff, Willy Adames and Hunter Renfroe have all spent time on the injured list, the Crew battled their way to a 17-12 month.

Let’s recap the last month of baseball by looking at who propelled the Crew throughout May.

Tyrone Taylor

It’s been the Tyrone Taylor show lately in Milwaukee.

The Brewers outfielder had one of the hottest bats in MLB in May, as he compiled a torrid stretch in the latter half of the month. He capped it off with two homers on the same day during a doubleheader against the Cubs on Monday and followed it up with a three-RBI showing Tuesday evening.

This past month, Taylor ranked within the top-10 of the National League with six home runs, 21 RBI and a .256 ISO (isolated power). Impressively, most of this damage has been done over his last 13 games, as he’s batting .348 with 18 RBI – fourth most RBI in all of MLB over that span.

Even with Hunter Renfroe eligible to return from the injured list as early as June 3, the Brewers must find a way to play the hot hand. Taylor has made an emphatic case to do so with one of the most productive stretches in all of baseball throughout May.

Aaron Ashby

The ‘next man up’ mentality continued for the rotation when Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff landed on the injured list in recent weeks. Specifically, Aaron Ashby has proven more than capable of taking on a larger role in their absence.

A 12-strikeout performance in a win against the Cubs was the icing on the cake for Ashby’s month, one in which the 24-year-old tallied 12.52 strikeouts per nine innings, putting him second in MLB (min. 20 IP) in that span.

Ashby continued to do what he does best, forcing ground balls at a 61.8 percent clip to keep hitters at bay. Altogether, he posted a 2.74 ERA along with a 2.66 FIP (fielding independent pitching) last month.

As more opportunities come his way, Aaron Ashby has shown that he can be another brilliant arm in the Brewers rotation, especially when the Brewers need him most.

Keston Hiura

After a brief stint at Triple-A Nashville this past month, Keston Hiura made the most of his recent opportunities with the Big League Club.

Hiura seemingly found a semblance of the power stroke that made him a potent bat throughout the early stages of his career, logging four home runs in just 39 plate appearances in May. With his recent hot streak, there’s reason to be optimistic about the Brewers former top prospect.

Keston slashed .250/.385/.625 for the Crew this past month, along with a superb 179 wRC+ mark. Hiura’s showing prowess against righties to the tune of a 1.618 OPS, which gives him a chance to stay in the lineup for more opportunities as the season progresses.

With Hiura performing at the plate, and extraordinarily well against right-handed pitchers, his utilization figures to be an x-factor for the Brewers going forward.