Who Will Get a Spot on the Brewers Division Series Roster Between Two Northern California Natives?
There is no doubt the Milwaukee Brewers have a lot going their way this season. They have run the table in the NL Central and secured the best record in the National League. As a result, they have a problem many teams around the league would love to have: who to place on their roster for the NL Division Series. A question they will have to answer is, who will be the right-handed-hitting counterpart to Jake Bauers at first base? Therefore, please enter stage right two leads, Rhys Hoskins and Andrew Vaughn.
Both leads are Northern California through and through. Aside from their professional careers, in which neither has played for the Giants or Athletics, their love for the game and baseball accomplishments have all happened on Northern California soil. Hoskins hails from Sacramento, graduated from Jesuit High School, and played college baseball at nearby Sacramento State. Vaughn is a Santa Rosa native, an alumnus of Maria Carrillo High School, and ended up on the baseball team at the University of California, Berkeley.
With the more experienced lead, Hoskins, it is an unfortunate pattern. He has been a force for the Brewers at various times. At the start of last season, he led the club in home runs. Early this season, his batting average was within striking distance of .300 for some time. By the end of May, he tallied a very respectable nine home runs and 34 runs batted in. However, in each of his two seasons with the Brewers, he has been injured and has not returned to the same form after injury.
The other lead, Vaughn, had a slow start with the Chicago White Sox and was optioned to Triple-A. Then, he was traded to the Brewers in mid-June and immediately sent back down to Milwaukee’s Triple-A team. His number was called in early July when Hoskins landed on the injured list with a thumb sprain. He found his comfort zone right away, blasting a home run in his first game, maybe because he was back in blue and gold, the same colors he wore in college. In 64 games with the Brewers, he flashed a .308 batting average to go along with nine home runs and 46 runs batted in.
On one hand, Hoskins’ calling card is his playoff experience, having been part of the Philadelphia Phillies team that reached the 2022 World Series, but lost in six games to the Houston Astros. On the other hand, where Vaughn might have the edge is his performance in the second half of the season. Both leads have something vital to offer for the Brewers’ playoff run. However, Vaughn’s on-field contributions will likely outweigh Hoskins’ veteran presence on the field.
