The World Baseball Classic always throws a wrench into spring training. Chunks of teams leave camp for a couple of weeks to represent their countries, leaving those still in camp an opportunity for more playing time.

With few roster battles, the Milwaukee Brewers will be keeping a close eye on who capitalizes on those chances.

As a reminder: 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 news, not necessarily hardcore analysis.

The Crew saw its Cactus League record drop to 4-6 after beating the Chicago White Sox 5-2 Friday, then losing to the Cincinnati Reds 9-7 on Saturday and Kansas City Royals 3-1 on Sunday.

Who’s Hot? ?

Joey Ortiz: Every pessimistic fan’s whipping boy, the shortstop left camp for the WBC (Mexico) in a good frame of mind hitting-wise. Maybe it’s because of the new beard he is sporting. Whatever it is, Ortiz went 3-for-3 with a pair of runs scored against the White Sox, then had another hit in three trips against the Reds. That boosted his spring average to .412 (7-for-17). Considering he had .239 and .230 batting averages the past two years, that shows some promising signs, even if it’s just spring training.

Luis Rengifo: The probable starting third baseman bounced back from an 0-for-5 start to his spring by going 3-for-6 in two starts this weekend. That began with his first hit, a homer to right leading off the third inning, against White Sox right-hander Sean Burke, the surprise Opening Day starter last year. The switch-hitting Rengifo followed that up with an infield single that deflected off right-hander Tanner McDougal, who made it up to Double-A in 2025. Against the Royals, Rengifo led off the game with a line-drive single to left off left-hander Kris Bubic.

Luis Lara: I prefer giving the benefit of the doubt to the young prospects getting a shot in camp, especially guys who might be a couple years away. That’s why I didn’t want to knock Lara’s start to Cactus League play, in which he went 3-for-16. But in playing two of the three games this weekend, the switch-hitting outfielder went 3-for-5, with a first-pitch single against Bubic. Granted, the exit velocity was a whopping 58.8 mph and dribbled to the first baseman, but everything counts, right? That came after he went 2-for-2 against the Reds, with a ground-rule double in the sixth inning and a bunt single in the eighth. It was a confidence-boosting pair of games.

Who’s Not? ?

Jared Koenig: The durable left-handed reliever finally made his spring debut Saturday—and was rocked. Coming in to face the Reds’ 2-3-4 hitters, Koenig was tagged for four runs on three hits in one-third of an inning. Matt McLain greeted Koenig with a hard-hit single to left. Elly De La Cruz lined a double to right. After striking out Sal Stewart, Koenig walked Spencer Steer to load the bases. That brought up Blake Dunn, who has 49 games of MLB experience, and he hit a bases-clearing double down the left-field line. That was it for Koenig, who threw 14 of his 22 pitches for strikes.

William Contreras: While he notched hits in his last two games before joining Venezuela for the WBC, Contreras is off to a 3-for-14 (.214) start to his spring. It’s nothing to be concerned about with the catcher’s track record and something that could come around with the juices flowing in the WBC. He told MLB Network that he is healthy after offseason surgery to fix the broken middle finger on his catching hand, which was the primary concern coming into camp. The hits will come.

Gary Sánchez: Keeping it with the catchers, Sánchez has yet to get going, either. He went 1-for-6 while getting one start at catcher and another at designated hitter. That dropped his spring showing to 3-for-15 (.200). Sánchez’s spot on the roster is secure, as the No. 2 catcher who could get some DH time. He’ll probably see more time now, with Contreras out of camp.