Milwaukee Brewers left-handed slugger Jake Bauers is in the midst of the best season of his career. His efforts in the batter's box have helped Milwaukee to MLB's best record so far in 2026.
Now in his seventh big-league season and third in Milwaukee, he has continued to improve his swing.
Across 102 games this year, Bauers has posted a .270 batting average, .375 on-base percentage, .878 OPS. He has also launched a career-high 20 home runs and 64 RBIs, which is impressive considering how much time is still left in the season.
For a player who was out of the league entirely in 2020 and 2022, this level of sustained success is remarkable.
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Unfortunately, Bauers' breakout season has hit a setback. He was scratched from the lineup ahead of Tuesday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates with abdominal soreness.
He will not be returning for Wednesday's matchup against Pittsburgh either, according to manager Pat Murphy.
Murphy revealed that Bauers will miss his second straight contest, though he is making progress, showing improvement and is considered only day-to-day (h/t Hunter Baumgardt of Fox Sports 920).
That is reassuring news given everything Bauers has provided this year. If he were to go down for an extended stretch, Andrew Vaughn would likely fill in at first base with Luis Lara stepping into the outfield on a more permanent basis.
The Brewers are getting closer to October, and the main priority right now is getting their best players healthy.
This season that definitely includes Bauers, whose production has been one of the driving forces behind Milwaukee's push for another deep postseason run.
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