The Brewers have struggled to find a competent first baseman throughout the decade. Not since then Prince Fielder in the early 2010s the club had a prominent role in this position for more than a season. No regular Milwaukee first baseman (by games played) has exceeded 1.0 WAR (per Baseball Reference) in a season since Eric Thames in 2019. The team has won the NL Central four of the last five years, but has shuffled in runners and cold corner platoon bats during that time.
Andrew Vaughn could be the answer. A mid-June trade from the White Sox appears to revive the former third round pick. Vaughn’s hard work took a hit in May, when he was demoted by Chicago after hitting .189 in the first two months of the season. The White Sox traded him to the Brewers Aaron Civalewhich says a lot about his value at that time.
Rhys Hoskins gave a thumbs up in early July, opening the door for Vaughn’s promotion. He joined a league club and quickly hit the ground running. Vaughn delivered a three-run homer Yoshinobu Yamamoto in his first at-bat with the Brewers. He went on to post a 1.157 OPS in July. After hitting five home runs in 48 games with the White Sox to start the season, Vaughn left the yard five times in his first 15 games with the Brewers.
Vaughn cooled off significantly in August, slashing .250/.320/.375. He managed only six extra-base hits in 29 games. The day off to begin in September seemed to work for Vaughn, as he warmed up to close out the season. The 27-year-old batted .368 with a .509 SLG in the final month of the campaign. His performance was enough to knock Hoskins out of the NLDS lineup. Vaughn had a strong series against the Cubs, hitting two homers and driving in four runs. He then went 0-for-12 in a four-game NLCS sweep by the Dodgers.
Despite the endless streak against LA, Vaughn heads into 2026 as the top candidate to hold down the Brewers’ first base. The team didn’t find the only option to partner with Hoskins, so Vaughn as well Jake Bauers they are only the first bottom of the list. A hunter William Contreras and the user Andrew Monasterio and have less experience in the position. It looks like Vaughn’s career will be lost, but he has a long MLB record of mediocrity. Here’s how first base could play out for Milwaukee in 2026…
Vaughn runs away with the job
The reason for Vaughn’s departure from Milwaukee could be as simple as switching places for a former draft pick on a struggling team. However, he has made some clear changes this past season. He’s always hit the ball hard (46.6% career rate), it just hasn’t translated into much production. The guy gets 60 power points as the soon-to-be Chicago prospect has never hit more than 21 home runs with the club.
Milwaukee was able to get Vaughn to turn his hard contact into better results in a number of ways. The young slugger posted career bests in drive rate (25.2%), strikeout rate (37.5%), and strikeout rate (18%) this past season. Those marks are still good about the league average, but they are a solid improvement over Vaughn’s previous career. He also ranked in the 85th percentile in launch angle sweet spot rate and in the 92nd percentile in square footage.
It wasn’t just batted balls, either. Vaughn has taken significant steps forward in terms of direction at the plate with Milwaukee. After hitting a career-worst 22.3% of the time with Chicago to open the year, he cut that number to 14.6% with the Brewers. He also increased his walk rate to 9.4%. Vaughn hasn’t had a walk rate higher than 7% since his rookie season in 2021.
There’s a chance July and September will be the “new” Vaughn, and he’ll be a high .800s OPS bet over the course of his career. The pedigree was evident, considering his stellar college career and the draft money invested in acquiring him. It only took five years and a new home to get good at it.
Vaughn backs off, but the show helps
Milwaukee’s case took a unique shape in 2025. The team did not have an OPS over .800 for a full season, but also had one everyday player with a mark below .700 (glove-first Joey Ortiz in.593). The result was a team that finished third in scoring behind only the Yankees and Dodgers. Isaac Collins against Kansas City, but the rest of the team should be back next season. Apart from seasonal additions, a certain combination of Bauers, Garrett Mitchellagain Blake Perkins he will replace Collins in the outfield.
An offensive support position would allow Vaughn to exist on the roster as a moderately productive piece. That’s what he really was in Chicago. He never really had a standout season, but his worst year with the team still resulted in a 93 wRC+. At the very least, he could form a strong team with Bauers in the beginning. Vaughn has been hitting lefties, even during his White Sox days. He has a career .787 OPS against southpaws, compared to .702 against righties.
This result has not deterred Milwaukee in the past, as they have been successful with respectable contributions from the likes of Hoskins, Rowdy Tellezagain Daniel Vogelbach. Vaughn is set to hit free agency after the 2027 season. Milwaukee can ride this out for a fair price and let him go when the time comes. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Vaughn to make $7.8MM in the settlement this year.
Tyler Blackcome down
Vaughn was last played in May this past season. Those problems returned a little in August with the Brewers. A player getting a move after moving from the basement to a competitive club, then returning to previous form, is certainly not an unheard of result.
Vaughn’s fire could lead to a renewed chance for the Blacks. The 25-year-old has put together solid results in the minors, but has played just 23 games in the majors. Black struggled in his 2024 start, then played in a handful of games with the Brewers this past season.
There are questions about Black’s ability to stay in contact at the highest level. He also may not be a long-term defensive fit at first (or elsewhere). It looks like Milwaukee needs to write off Black as a possibility before it’s too late. He is on the verge of one minor league option. He is still in his mid-20s. MLB.com had Black fourth among the Brewers prospects as recently as 2024. He had a 117 wRC+ in Triple-A that year. He’s proven enough to get an extended look at the big leagues.
If it’s not Black waiting in the wings, maybe it is Luke Adams? The 21-year-old reached Double-A at the end of last season. He posted a stellar 157 wRC+ across three minor league levels in 2025. Adams kept it going in the Arizona Fall League, posting a 1.039 OPS in 16 games. MLB.com has Adams No. 8 in Milwaukee’s rankings heading into next season. He could be next if Vaughn falters and Black doesn’t get the nod.
Photo courtesy of Benny Sieu, Imagn Images
