{"id":658764,"date":"2026-04-02T12:57:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T12:57:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/658764\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T12:57:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T12:57:16","slug":"this-skill-is-why-the-brewers-love-joey-ortizs-defense-at-shortstop-brewers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/658764\/","title":{"rendered":"This Skill is Why the Brewers Love Joey Ortiz’s Defense at Shortstop – Brewers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tJoey Ortiz<\/a>\u2019s tenure with the Brewers has been filled with highs and lows, but there has been one constant. When given the opportunity\u2014and, in many cases, on their own\u2014coaches, teammates, and executives have raved about his defense, even as Ortiz\u2019s public-facing fielding metrics have been more mixed in their praise.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tDuring the Brewers\u2019 first homestand of the 2026 season, there was one play in particular that jumped out to Pat Murphy<\/a>. On Saturday, White Sox pinch-hitter Austin Hays<\/a> pulled a base hit toward the left-field line, away from a shaded Brandon Lockridge<\/a>. Lockridge initially misplayed the ball before throwing it in to Ortiz, who fired a strike to William Contreras<\/a> to nail Colson Montgomery<\/a> at the plate.\n<\/p>\n

\t\t9bb46f6e-9915db40-049f4d20-csvm-diamondgcp-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4<\/a><\/p>\n

\tLess than an hour later, Murphy was gushing over how Ortiz completed the play and his overall defensive prowess.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI don\u2019t remember a dude that played shortstop for us like that, that played so consistently. And his key is the way he can redirect the baseball,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s uncanny. He did it a bunch last year. He did it tonight. It just sticks out. Watch that play on film. Not too many shortstops make that play, and that\u2019s what separates him, I think.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\tEffectively redirecting the baseball is a product of what the Brewers believe is Ortiz\u2019s standout skill\u2014the one that makes his defense invaluable and explains why they\u2019ve been incredibly patient with his offense: body control.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Brewers say Ortiz has an elite understanding of how his body moves and how to use it. It makes him the most fluid and sure-handed defender in their infield, even if he\u2019s not the quickest or the most explosive<\/a>. It also enables him to complete acrobatic plays that take him into unnatural fielding positions\u2014plays that might not stand out to some range-focused algorithms, but are highly challenging to execute in reality.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cJoey Ortiz has elite body control,\u201d said third base and infield coach Matt Erickson<\/a>, who has been integral to Ortiz\u2019s development as a big-league shortstop. \u201cYou can argue the fact that he’s probably average when it comes to just raw foot speed and quickness, but when it comes to body control and anticipation, he’s as good as it gets.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\tOrtiz’s coordination is excellent. He can speed himself up and slow himself down with precision, allowing him to adjust to a ground ball that takes a bad hop or changes direction due to funky spin. His quick hands transfer the ball swiftly out of his glove, and he can make accurate throws from awkward throwing positions.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHe understands his legs in his throw,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cHe understands space and timing. It’s like a good shooter in basketball. It’s more than just technique; it’s the skill and the touch and the feel and the timing. He has it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\tDuring spring training in 2024, when Ortiz was new to the team, Murphy had an even more succinct (if somewhat more opaque) way of communicating the same thing. He immediately saw and praised the fact that Ortiz “is comfortable when the ball gets close to him.”\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThat body control helps Ortiz effectively relay a throw from the outfield to the plate, but it shows up more obviously on plays like the one he made the following afternoon. Ortiz made a sliding stop on a grounder in the hole between shortstop and third base. With his body still moving toward third, he quickly transferred the ball to his throwing hand and made a strong throw from his knees to Brice Turang<\/a>, who completed an impressive double play.\n<\/p>\n

\t\tfe69f051-b9a7-43f5-8816-2a09afc83e18.mp4<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\u201cThat play is never practiced,\u201d Erickson said. \u201cThat’s a gift that he has, and he made it look incredibly easy.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Brewers\u2019 strength and conditioning team helps players understand the aptitudes and weaknesses of their body type and runs them through workouts designed to improve their mobility. Body control can only be improved to a certain extent through coaching, though. Natural ability is a huge piece of the equation, and much of the development must come from the player himself learning through experience and awareness.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThey’re teaching you things, but I think it happens within you when you have that ability,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cI don’t think it’s innate, but I think it’s an ability that’s acquired and developed to be able to realize that I can do this quicker, or I can do this smoother and not lose any speed, or actually gain speed by doing it smoothly with my body in the right position. So it’s kind of a combination of all that. [Ortiz is] special, the way he does it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAs the Brewers discussed their infield arrangement last spring after the departure of Willy Adames<\/a>, shoulder soreness ultimately locked Turang into second base to start the regular season. Ortiz\u2019s body control was also a significant factor in the conversation, though, and is the reason he has since remained at short.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThere’s no doubt in my mind that Brice could be a really good shortstop and Joey can be a really good second baseman,\u201d Erickson said. \u201cBut because of their skill set, because of Joey’s glove confidence and body control, and his ability to catch the ball clean over and over in different fielding positions\u2014it\u2019s better than Brice\u2019s, in my opinion.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe more explosive and rangier infielder might often be viewed as the better overall defender and the best fit to play shortstop. Erickson sees it differently.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBrice\u2019s lateral range and quickness is much better than Joey\u2019s,\u201d he said, \u201cand I believe that lateral range is important at second in today’s game, because of the shifting rules, and when you’re holding a runner [with a right-handed batter hitting], you need a guy that can really cover ground. We have that guy, arguably the best in the game.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe fluidity and hand-eye coordination from Ortiz\u2019s body control, meanwhile, make a greater impact at shortstop. He may not cover as much ground as Turang, but he gloves the ball more consistently, transfers it faster, has a stronger throwing arm, and can react to the nuances of trickier plays at the position.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cYou have to catch the ball clean at shortstop, or you don’t have a play,\u201d Erickson said. \u201cYou don’t necessarily have to do that at second or at third all the time, and you can still get an out. At shortstop, you’ve got to have a clean catch. And I think Joey’s really good, definitely the best on our roster, at that.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Brewers believe he\u2019s still getting better at it, too. After another offseason of work, Erickson sees Ortiz using his body more efficiently than last year.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOut of spring training last year, there were certain things in the weight room that we thought he could improve on,\u201d Erickson said. \u201cThere was a maintenance to it last year during the season, and then there was a focus to it this offseason. And I really like where he came in in spring training, because you can noticeably see he\u2019s even better in some of those areas.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Brewers\u2019 infield could soon find itself in transition, particularly with the news of shortstop prospect Cooper Pratt<\/a>\u2019s extension and the ascension of Jesus Made<\/a> and Andrew Fischer<\/a> through the farm system. For now, though, Ortiz remains a valued linchpin of their infield defense.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe team believes in this dude,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cThey believe in him.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joey Ortiz\u2019s tenure with the Brewers has been filled with highs and lows, but there has been one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":658765,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2401],"tags":[5,136,3800,1513,47536,843,59,4280,4,6077],"class_list":{"0":"post-658764","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-milwaukee-brewers","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-brewers","10":"tag-brice-turang","11":"tag-joey-ortiz","12":"tag-matt-erickson","13":"tag-milwaukee","14":"tag-milwaukee-brewers","15":"tag-milwaukeebrewers","16":"tag-mlb","17":"tag-pat-murphy"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116335230595847122","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=658764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/658765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=658764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=658764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=658764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}