Every fan wants to make judgments on the athletes who play for their team based on what they see in action. For MLB spring training, it is a bit more complicated.

Starting players, whether position players or pitchers, ease into their springs, playing minimal innings to begin and ramping up over a month. It is the other players, those fighting for jobs or prospects looking to get noticed or show they are ready for bigger roles, who take more of the at-bats and pitch more of the innings. And those come against players on other teams in similar situations.

For the Milwaukee Brewers, there are a few position battles going on, but room on the Opening Day roster is tight. There are fewer non-roster veteran players in camp this year due to a well-stocked farm system.

Don’t take anything too seriously in this recap. It is only spring training, where exhibition games often devolve into minor-league scrimmages. The information below is meant as basic information, not necessarily hardcore analysis.

This recap covers the Brewers’ first three Cactus League games. The Crew went 0-3, losing to the Cleveland Guardians’ split squad 9-6, then splitting up themselves Sunday for a 5-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox and a 7-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals.

Who’s Hot? 🔥

Tyler Black: Once a highly touted prospect, the first baseman-outfielder is now fighting for a role as other talent moves up the organization ladder. The 25-year-old left-handed hitter started twice, once at first and the other in left, going 2-for-5 with a walk and two stolen bases. Starting allows players to face other starters. Black grounded out vs. Guardians left-hander Joey Cantillo, then struck out against White Sox right-hander Mike Vasil, singled vs. right-hander Jordan Leasure, and flew out against right-hander Sean Burke.

Akil Baddoo: A candidate for a backup outfield job, Baddoo went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs. Baddoo started in left and hit third vs. the Guardians, getting a sacrifice fly in the first inning off Cantillo and striking out in the third vs. Connor Brogdon. Baddoo started in center against the White Sox, walking against Vasil and then homering on the first pitch Leasure threw, leading off the third inning.

Logan Henderson and Robert Gasser: With 23 pitchers throwing no more than one inning, it was tough to single out one pitcher. These are two of the top candidates for a starting role and started each of Sunday’s games. Henderson went against the White Sox, retiring Derek Hill on a sharp fly to center, getting Kyle Teel on a bouncer back to the mound, and getting Munetaka Murakami to fly out to right. He threw just 14 pitches, nine of which were strikes. Gasser also went just one inning against the Royals. Maikel Garcia singled to left, Jac Caglianone struck out, and Nick Loftin grounded into an inning-ending double play. Gasser threw seven strikes among his 11 pitches.

Who’s Not? 🧊

Brice Turang: After opening eyes with his late-season power surge, the former Platinum Glove-winning second baseman was selected to be on the U.S. roster for the World Baseball Classic. He is expected to be a backup there, so his plate appearances before leaving camp have a little more importance. In two games, Turang went 1-for-5 with a strikeout and a run scored. His spring started well, with a single off Cantillo on the fourth pitch of the first game. He stole second, went to third on a Jackson Chourio hit, and scored on Baddoo’s sac fly. But nothing to panic about here.

Luis Lara: Perhaps the Opening Day center fielder in a couple of years, Lara got a pair of starts in right field. He went 1-for-6 with two strikeouts. His lone hit was a grounded double to left off White Sox right-hander Luke Bell. This spring is more of getting a taste of where Lara needs to get to in order to join the major-league roster.

Carlos Rodriguez: With seven MLB appearances already on his ledger, Rodriguez remains an outside candidate to join the Opening Day rotation. His first game this spring was bumpy. Coming on after Henderson in the White Sox game, Austin Hays greeted him with a double and went to third on Lenyn Sosa‘s groundout. Curtis Mead had an RBI single, but Rodriguez struck out Branden Montgomery and Korey Lee. He had 15 strikes in his 23 pitches. Not a bad outing.