StaTuesday: Brewers' 2-year power surge a rarity
The Milwaukee Brewers looked a bit different back in 2016.
Ryan Braun, Junior Guerra and Jonathan Villar were the Brewers' most valuable players.
Braun and Chris Carter led the way on offense, hitting 30-plus home runs each. Milwaukee finished fourth in the division despite hitting 194 home runs, good for sixth in the National League.
Since then, the Brewers' offense has undergone quite the makeover, though their love for the long ball is unchanged.
This year, Milwaukee is just 1 1/2 games behind the division-leading Chicago Cubs, ranks second in the NL with 207 home runs and is the only team in the league with three 30-plus home run hitters, matching the Cleveland Indians, the only team in the American League to get there.
Milwaukee is the first team in nearly a decade to do it in back-to-back seasons, joining the Philadelphia Phillies, who had at least three players hit 30-plus home runs from 2007-09.
Several teams have had three 30-plus home run hitters over the past few seasons, but this hasn't been a particularly common feat in recent years. Just three teams total had three-plus players hit 30-plus home runs from 2010-15.
The 2016 season was the first to feature more than one such team since 2008.
| Year | Teams |
| 2018 | CLE, MIL |
| 2017 | MIL, CIN, COL |
| 2016 | BAL, BOS, SEA |
| 2015 | TOR |
| 2014 | |
| 2013 | |
| 2012 | LAA |
| 2011 | TEX |
| 2010 | |
| 2009 | PHI |
| 2008 | CHW, FLO, PHI |
| 2007 | CIN, PHI |
| 2006 | CHW |
| 2005 | NYY |
| 2004 | CHC, CHW, COL, NYY, STL |
| 2003 | ATL, NYY |
| 2002 | |
| 2001 | OAK |
| 2000 | LAA, TOR, HOU |
Back to the Brewers: Domingo Santana, Travis Shaw and Eric Thames each had 30-plus in 2017, while Shaw, Jesus Aguilar and Christian Yelich have 30-plus each this season.
Aguilar has slowed down in the second half, but still leads the way with 33 home runs, followed by Yelich, whose MVP resume seems to get better by the day, with 32, and Shaw with 31.
They've done it with an entirely new cast of sluggers. Of the Brewers players to hit 30-plus home runs over the past two seasons, all but one joined the organization within the past two years.
Back in 2016, Yelich was in Miami, Shaw was in Boston, Aguilar was in Triple-A (with Cleveland) and Eric Thames was in South Korea.
Of the players to power the Brewers over the last two years, only Santana -- who has just five homers in 208 at-bats this year -- was in Milwaukee before last season.
But despite the relative lack of continuity, the Brewers are the rare team to feature three or more such sluggers.
Barring an unprecedented power surge from Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts or Los Angeles Angels wunderkind Shohei Ohtani, center fielder Charlie Blackmon (27 home runs) and the Colorado Rockies are the only team with a shot at matching the Brewers this year.
And assuming the core stays intact, they'll have a shot at adding a third such season in 2019, or even a fourth 30-homer hitter.
Newcomer Mike Moustakas is on an expiring contract and has eight home runs since joining the Brewers, but 28 on the season.
Fellow deadline addition Jonathan Schoop hit 32 homers in 2017, the same season that Thames did it for the first time. Meanwhile, Braun, who currently has 16, has hit 30-plus home runs six times in 12 seasons.
That's significantly more uncommon.
Only 12 teams have ever had four 30-plus home run hitters.
