Today, let\u2019s put our optimist hats on. It\u2019s spring training, after all \u2014 the possibilities seem endless! I\u2019m going to go player-by-player through the position players likely to be on the major league team this season (with a few bonuses at the end) and think about what a season looks like for them if everything goes right. In some cases, it\u2019s a result, and in some cases, it\u2019s going to be a \u201cgoal,\u201d but these are all related to that central question: what if things go well?<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a hypothetical companion piece to this article about worst-case scenarios, but let\u2019s just say that everyone\u2019s entry is \u201cgets injured\u201d and not worry about it.<\/p>\n
William Contreras: Top three MVP?<\/p>\n
I originally wanted to ask if Contreras could be a top-five MVP candidate, but he\u2019s already done that \u2014 he finished fifth in 2024. So let\u2019s turn it a little bit higher. With Shohei Ohtani back to his fully-operational self, it\u2019s going to be difficult for non-Ohtani players to get into the top National League spot, but what about second or third?<\/p>\n
One of my bold predictions last year was that Contreras was going to get into that conversation, and I thought my reasoning was sound: the Brewers were likely to be good, I thought they would win the NL Central, and their best player should get some love in the MVP race.<\/p>\n
Well, Contreras started poorly last year, which pretty much killed any chance of that happening\u2026 but there was definitely some room at the top of the NL \u2014 Kyle Schwarber finished second in MVP voting and didn\u2019t even crack five WAR.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m going to stick to my reasoning, here: even if I don\u2019t think Contreras has much of a chance to actually win the MVP, if he has his best season (at age 28, typically the start of the baseball \u201cprime\u201d) and the Brewers again compete for \u201cbest team in the league\u201d status, it\u2019s not hard to envision a scenario where he finishes as high as second.<\/p>\n
Gary S\u00e1nchez: Have an ISO of at least .200<\/p>\n
From 2016-2021, S\u00e1nchez never had an isolated power (slugging minus batting average) number lower than .218. (For reference, Christian Yelich, who led the Brewers in homers in 2025, had a .188 ISO last season.) Since then, S\u00e1nchez\u2019s isolated power has dipped: numbers of .172, .171, and .187 surrounded a good 2023 season in which he had 19 homers in 75 games (and a .275 ISO).<\/p>\n
As the backup to one of the best catchers in the league on a team that has a more-or-less full-time DH, S\u00e1nchez is not likely to get very many opportunities this season, but if he can hit some tanks \u2014 which he\u2019s certainly still capable of \u2014 in his limited playing time, it will be a successful season for him.<\/p>\n
Andrew Vaughn and Jake Bauers: Show us that last season wasn\u2019t a fluke<\/p>\n
Andrew Vaughn\u2019s journey has been spoken about at length. He was an immensely talented prospect who reached the White Sox early and held his own\u2026 but whose progress stalled, and then went in reverse. He was sent to the minors in 2025, and his career looked to have reached a dead end. Then the Brewers traded for hi,m and he returned to the big leagues and performed as the player that everyone thought Andrew Vaughn would be in 2025 when he was drafted in 2019.<\/p>\n
Bauers doesn\u2019t have the same pedigree as Vaughn, but he was a top 100 prospect back in 2017 and 2018 who never really clicked in the majors. But last year, shortly before turning 30, Bauers seemed to figure something out. After an IL stint in July and August, Bauers hit .360\/.458\/.560 in 59 plate appearances from September first until the end of the season and, crucially, looked dangerous in the postseason. It\u2019s a tiny sample, but it somehow felt sustainable.<\/p>\n
The two sides of Milwaukee\u2019s 2026 first base platoon have a lot to prove. The samples of big production are small for both. A rational person would expect both to return closer to the production levels of earlier in their careers. But if these gains in production are real, and the Brewers can get a full season out of the sluggers they had at the end of last year, it would help answer the question of where Milwaukee\u2019s power will come from in 2026.<\/p>\n
Brice Turang: Combine the last two seasons into one monster<\/p>\n
In 2024, Brice Turang played Platinum-Glove-level defense and was one of the best baserunners in the league with 50 stolen bases in 56 attempts. In 2025, he leveled up at the plate and improved his power to a place that we didn\u2019t really think was possible, with 28 doubles, 18 homers, and a 124 wRC+\u2026 but his defense and baserunning both took a step back.<\/p>\n
What happens if you combine the offense of 2025 with the defense and baserunning of 2024?<\/p>\n
You get a legitimate MVP candidate<\/a>.<\/p>\n Joey Ortiz and Blake Perkins: Have a 90 wRC+<\/p>\n In 2024, Ortiz had a 105 wRC+. In 2025, it was 67. Given the quality of his glove, Ortiz does not have to offer much offensively in order to be a valuable player, but he needs to offer more than he did. A 90 wRC+ would still be quite a bit below 2024, but it would get him back into the realm of respectability; Ozzie Smith became a first-ballot Hall of Famer because of the quality of his glove. His career wRC+? 90. (For Ortiz, Monday\u2019s game<\/a> was a good start!)<\/p>\n Perkins is in very much the same boat. His ideal role is as a fourth outfielder, where he can hit from either side of the plate and be a defensive ace when he comes into the game. With Garrett Mitchell hurt last season, Perkins was a bit overexposed offensively, and the postseason made it clear that he was overmatched. But if he can figure out a way to hit a little bit, whether that\u2019s by hitting a few more homers (could he hit 10 in 400 plate appearances?) or trying to become a more effective slap hitter, he\u2019ll give himself more of a shot at getting important playing time.<\/p>\n Luis Rengifo: Hit at least 15 homers<\/p>\n Rengifo hit 17 homers in 2022 and 16 in 2023, but he\u2019s managed just 15 in 225 games since then. Getting that power back up (he needs to elevate the ball<\/a>) will go a long way toward re-establishing Rengifo as an offensive weapon; if he can\u2019t do that, he\u2019s unlikely to play good enough defense to justify his place on the team.<\/p>\n David Hamilton: Do the little things, and hit righties a little<\/p>\n I\u2019m not expecting a whole lot from Hamilton at the plate. Like Ortiz, he was pretty good there in 2024 and dreadful in 2025. I don\u2019t see a ton of upside for Hamilton, though using him strictly against right-handed pitching is a good place to start; his career OPS is 177 points higher versus righties. But he can do the veteran utility player thing and make himself a big part of the team by playing good defense, taking walks, and running the bases well.<\/p>\n Christian Yelich: Keep the back healthy and hit 30 homers<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to forget that even though he struggled with his back down the stretch (concerning!) and looked helpless in the postseason, Yelich managed to play in 150 games in 2025 and hit 29 homers, the third-highest total of his career. At 34, it\u2019s easy to imagine negative scenarios where Yelich\u2019s health and declining athleticism prevent him from producing reliably ever again. But if he can keep his back healthy, he\u2019s got a real shot at hitting 30 homers for the first time since his second-place MVP finish in 2019, and it would be huge for this power-starved team.<\/p>\n Jackson Chourio: Make The Leap<\/p>\n While it may have felt like 2025 was a mild disappointment for Chourio, whose overall production level was very much in line with his 2024 season, it is important to remember that he will still be one of the league\u2019s youngest players when he enters his age-22 season in 2026. His production to this point \u2014 6.0 WAR via Baseball Reference and 6.9 via FanGraphs \u2014 is in extremely rare air for a player his age.<\/p>\n Now, let\u2019s see the leap. There were glimpses in the postseason last year, when Chourio looked up to the moment even as the rest of the offense floundered around him. It\u2019s not difficult to see that Chourio can do things that not every other player can do; it\u2019s just a matter of those tools maturing into steady production.<\/p>\n