Jake Bauers Has Shocked Brewers, Leads Team In Home Runs

The 30-year-old first baseman and outfielder is having a career year and has elevated the Milwaukee Brewers' offense.

Aug 22, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers right fielder Jake Bauers (9) celebrates with teammates after beating the Atlanta Braves at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Milwaukee Brewers always find a way to succeed, and this season is no different, as they have the best record in the league.

Milwaukee's offense has had one of the strongest lineups, scoring the fifth-most runs in the league. What makes that statistic even more impressive is the Brewers' lack of power in their lineup, as they have mashed only 120 home runs through 130 games, the lowest total in baseball.

Surprisingly, Milwaukee's biggest source of power this season has come from 30-year-old first baseman and outfielder Jake Bauers. Bauers is having the best season of his seven-year career, crushing 23 home runs, including one on Saturday, while driving in 74 runs, both of which are career highs. The Brewers' closest player to Bauers is Jackson Chourio, but he has only 17. It's even more shocking since Bauers had never hit more than 12 home runs in his career before this season.

Bauers has been Brewers' best source of offense

Aug 22, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers right fielder Jake Bauers (9) watches after hitting a two run home run in the third inning against the Atlanta Braves at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"Jake Bauers was a cheap power source for the Brewers in 2024 and 2025, but the club's small-market profile made him a non-tender candidate at the start of last offseason," Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter wrote on Saturday. "Instead, he returned on a $2.7 million salary in his second year of arbitration, and that has made him one of the biggest bargains of the year as he has been an anchor in the middle of the lineup for the first-place Brewers.

"The 30-year-old had never topped 12 home runs in a season prior to this year, and preseason projections had him eighth on the club with 12 homers and only 294 plate appearances. Rather than filling a part-time role, he has a 144 OPS+ with 22 home runs and 72 RBI over 461 plate appearances while spending much of the year penciled into the No. 3 and No. 4 spots in the batting order."

Bauers is setting himself up for a nice payday after this season. The 30-year-old will become an unrestricted free agent after this season and is done with arbitration. With how well he's performed this year, Bauers will surely draw attention on the open market and garner a more lucrative deal than his current one.

The Brewers are on track to reach the postseason for the eighth time in the past nine seasons, but if they want this season to end differently than last year, they will need players like Bauers to step up.