When the first night game of the Cactus League happens, you know spring training is starting to wind down and Opening Day is right around the corner. That night game happened Thursday.
While wins and losses aren’t important in spring training, player performances are.
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 information, not necessarily hardcore analysis.
The Brewers are now 8-10 in Cactus League play, having lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 Monday, the Cincinnati Reds 6-3 Wednesday and the Cleveland Guardians 1-0 Thursday.
Who’s Hot? ?
The backup catcher, getting more playing time with William Contreras still at the World Baseball Classic, started all three games and went 3-for-6 in the last two. That included his first homer of the spring, a two-run shot against the Reds. Sánchez also doubled against the Reds. He is now hitting .267 (8-for-30) in the Cactus League. Sánchez will be around to start when Contreras gets a day off behind the plate and could see some time at designated hitter.
The infielder started twice at shortstop and went 2-for-5. Hamilton started slow this spring following the trade from the Boston Red Sox, going 2-for-12. But he has now hit safely in five of his last six games. He also swiped a pair of bases against the Dodgers, giving him a team-leading four this spring, all in the last six games. Defense will be most important for Hamilton, as he figures to be a late-inning replacement for Luis Rengifo at third base or pinch-hitting for shortstop Joey Ortiz.
After a disastrous first outing this spring, allowing four runs on three hits in one-third of an inning, the left-handed setup man has notched three consecutive scoreless appearances of one inning each. That has lowered his ERA from 108.00 after the first game to 10.80 after his inning against the Reds. He has allowed three hits over those last three outings, with no walks and three strikeouts. Most importantly, his average velocity was back up to 93.8 MPH Wednesday, after it sat closer to 92 in each of his first two appearances of the spring.
Who’s Not? ?
The spark plug right fielder is having a slow go of it thus far in Cactus League play. Frelick is 0-for-11 in his last three games and is just 4-for-28 (.143) on the spring campaign. Whatever the cause, he still has two weeks to shake it off and turn it around. And these are the games where players tend to lock in and continue the experiments that are working and eschew those that aren’t. Certainly, Frelick is one of the first to tell you that spring results don’t matter.
The left-hander only has another start or two to impress the Crew’s decision-makers into including him in the Opening Day rotation. He certainly didn’t do that in his start against the Reds, allowing four runs on five hits in 2⅔ innings. Gasser didn’t walk anyone and struck out three. He came back at the end of the 2025 season following Tommy John surgery in 2024, but has allowed seven runs over 6⅓ innings in three Cactus League games. The Brewers can afford to send Gasser to Triple-A to build his confidence.
You tend not to worry too much about veteran hitters getting ready for the regular season. They know when to turn it on as Opening Day approaches. But after going 2-for-2 in his first game this spring, Yelich has gone hitless in his last nine at-bats to drop his average to .182, although he has drawn three walks in those four games. Yelich has struck out in each of his last five at-bats.