Part of a series of articles previewing the defensive performance of all 30 MLB teams by asking the question … are they good? We give an overview of team strengths, weaknesses, and other things to know, using Defensive Runs Saved and other stats as the basis for our evaluation. To see the full series, click here.
2025 Team Defensive Runs Saved Rank: 11th
Team Strengths
Second baseman Brice Turang wasn’t able to duplicate his 2023 or 2024 seasons when he saved 12 and 22 runs there, but he still had 7 Runs Saved in what we’d describe a down year (tied for 8th-most). David Hamilton, who figures to be a utility infielder, can play the position too. He had 8 Runs Saved at second base in a small sample (401 innings).
Most Defensive Runs Saved – 2nd Base – Last 3 Seasons
| Player | Runs Saved |
| Andrés Giménez | 51 |
| Brice Turang | 41 |
| Nico Hoerner | 32 |
| Marcus Semien | 31 |
The Brewers can put two very good outfielders on the field at any time and could have as many as three. Sal Frelick is coming off back-to-back seasons of 16 and 9 Runs Saved in right field. Garrett Mitchell has 10 Runs Saved in 113 career games in center field. Blake Perkins has good numbers in both center field and (in a smaller sample) right field. Jackson Chourio came out below average when asked to play center field last season but he was pretty good in the corners in his rookie year.
Most Defensive Runs Saved – Right Field – Last 2 Seasons
| Player | Runs Saved |
| Wilyer Abreu | 32 |
| Sal Frelick | 25 |
| Fernando Tatis Jr. | 15 |
Team Weaknesses
The corner infield slots could be problems. First baseman Andrew Vaughn had -4 Runs Saved there in each of the last two seasons. Newly acquired third baseman Luis Rengifo is a better fit at second base, but he’s not gonna get time there. He totaled -7 Runs Saved in 124 games there for the Angels the last two seasons.
Other Things To Know
Defensive Runs Saved thought more highly of Joey Ortiz as a third baseman in 2024 (8 Runs Saved) than it did as a shortstop in 2025 (-2 Runs Saved). We’ll allow for the possibility that Ortiz could fare better this season, given that he was among the best defensive shortstops by Baseball Savant’s suite of stats.
Catcher William Contreras is another one to keep an eye on. He had 5 and 6 Runs Saved in 2023 and 2024, respectively, but finished with 0 last year with a drop in pitch framing success.
Are the Brewers A Good Defensive Team?
Yes. Because outfields tend to rack up Runs Saved in large numbers (given how many potential extra base hits they can take away), they could end up among the overall Runs Saved leaders this season. That’s not to say they don’t have weaknesses.
