With their time in Arizona over and the Milwaukee Brewers returning to Wisconsin after more than a month of the desert warmth, it’s time to reflect on what took place over the last six weeks.
The biggest thing to note is that the Brewers appear to be pretty healthy going into Opening Day, which is Thursday at American Family Field against the Chicago White Sox. They’re dealing with injuries, to be sure, but they’re relatively few and minor, compared to other teams. Let’s take a look at what happened in Arizona, picking out one starting pitcher, one reliever and one hitter who had good and bad springs.
Who’s Hot? ?
If you have an OPS of more than 1.700, you are simply en fuego. Welcome to the world of Bauers this spring. The first baseman/left fielder put together a slash line of .471/.581/1.147. How does that happen? Bauers, who came to life late in the 2025 season to provide an unexpected spark, went 16-for-34 with 6 homers and 8 RBIs. He walked seven times and struck out seven times. His 16 hits tied him with Andrew Vaughn for the most on the Crew, while the half-dozen homers led the team, and his walks were tied for second-most. He and Vaughn will share time at first base in the early going.
Let the speculation continue. Of all of the Crew’s pitchers who made multiple starts this spring, Ashby performed the best. A stalwart of the bullpen in recent years, this spring has once again raised the specter of Ashby being part of the rotation. In four games, including two starts, Ashby had a 1.17 ERA over 7⅔ innings, walking five and striking out eight. Ashby could be in line for more of a hybrid role this season, perhaps piggybacking with Brandon Woodruff as the grizzled right-hander slowly builds up his velocity and endurance. Ashby’s versatility could be one of the most important aspects of the pitching staff this season.
Jacob Waguespeck
The skyscraping righty is one of those Brewers finds. Having spent 2022 and 2023 in Japan, he returned to the U.S. and joined the Tampa Bay Rays, pitching in an MLB game for the first time since 2020. But that only lasted four games, and he spent most of the year in the minors. That is also where he was most of 2025, when he dealt with injuries, a midseason release and then joining the Philadelphia Phillies. He latched on with the Crew this spring, and the 32-year-old turned in a 1.17 ERA in tying for the team lead with seven appearances. Waguespeck allowed three hits and two walks against seven strikeouts in 7⅔ innings to put himself in position to be a call-up this season.
Who’s Cold? ?
The center fielder had horrible numbers in camp, going 2-for-32 (.063/.189/.188) with 1 homer and 4 RBIs. On top of that, he struck out in 15 of the 30 at-bats in which he did not get a hit. Mitchell did draw a respectable five walks, at least. Even with those poor numbers, the 2020 first-round draft choice was given a spot on the Opening Day roster. Perhaps that’s because of the talent he’s shown (when healthy) in his three-plus seasons with the Crew. The obvious problem, though, is that Mitchell only played in 113 of 468 games from 2023-25. He flashes enormous potential when available, but various injuries have kept him from consistently showing his skills.
Figuring out why a pitcher struggles in spring training can be a futile effort. Sometimes a guy is working on a specific mechanical cue or tinkering with a grip to get things just right for the regular season. Is that what was going on with Patrick this spring? He capped Cactus League play by surrendering seven runs while reaching 87 pitches Sunday against the Chicago Cubs. As a caveat, Patrick was the only player from major-league camp who was left in Arizona as the team traveled back to Milwaukee. Still, he lasted just four innings, giving up six hits and two walks, while striking out four. It wasn’t his only poor statistical outing, as he gave up six runs in his previous start to finish Cactus League play with an 11.68 ERA, including 8 walks in 12⅓ innings.
We’ll give the 2023 ninth-round draft choice a mulligan, considering this was his first major-league camp experience. Even so, the 26-year-old left-hander has progressed through the system quickly, spending 2024 at High-A Wisconsin and 2025 at Double-A Biloxi, notching a 3.30 ERA in 44 appearances and 60 innings. Given a shot to make an impression this spring, Manfredi appeared in five games and allowed four runs over four innings. He walked five and struck out five. It will be something to work off of in 2026, but for a guy on the old side to still be considered a prospect, it wasn’t quite the springboard for which he might have hoped.