Brewers prospect Dubon rides hot streak
The Milwaukee Brewers have dipped into their pool of players at Class AAA Colorado Springs plenty in the early going this season, and infielder Mauricio Dubon has been doing everything he can to get himself into the mix at the major-league level.
The 23-year-old entered Saturday on a 22-game hitting streak and had hit in 23 of 25 games overall for the Sky Sox. Over that span, Dubon is hitting .354 with eight doubles, two triples, four home runs, 17 runs batted in, 18 runs scored and five stolen bases to go along with a .958 OPS.
“They’re not cheap hits,” said Brewers outfielder Brett Phillips, who’s seen plenty of Dubon during his stints with Colorado Springs this season. “Everything’s finding barrel and he’s putting together impressive at-bats. A 22-game hitting streak speaks for itself.
“It’s impressive, what he’s doing. Hopefully he keeps it going. You always wish for everyone to get an opportunity to show what they can do up here.”
Dubon is hitting .343 overall and his 61 total bases are most on a Sky Sox team that features plenty of offensive talent. He’s played mostly shortstop but is also a capable second baseman who can play some third base in a pinch too.
If there’s any knock on what he’s done, it’s that he’s drawn only one walk in 110 plate appearances. Such an aggressive approach at the plate likely would lead to problems for him at the major-league level.
“For him, that’s obviously an area he’s still working through and working on,” said farm director Tom Flanagan. “But overall in the past, he might not have swung at some strikes when he had opportunities – he’d let some good pitches to hit go, whereas this year he’s not only swinging, he’s not missing.
“The walks haven’t shown yet, but his overall approach has been impacted positively. He’s looking for his pitch rather than defending the whole zone, so to speak.”
Dubon hit .333 in 12 Cactus League games for the Brewers this spring — his first experience in major-league camp — after hitting .274 with eight homers, 57 RBI and 38 stolen bases in 129 games split between Colorado Springs and Class AA Biloxi in his first season in the Milwaukee organization.
Dubon came to the Brewers from the Boston Red Sox in the 2016 off-season as part of the Travis Shaw-Tyler Thornburg trade.
The Brewers’ production at second base has been uneven, as primary starter Jonathan Villar has hit well enough (.277 entering Saturday) but ranks second on the team in errors and is again making mental mistakes on the bases.
Eric Sogard, whom the Brewers resigned in the off-season for $2.4 million, is hitting just .107, while Hernán Pérez, who made his seventh start there Saturday, was at .197 with three homers and five RBI.
Could Dubon eventually receive some serious consideration for his first major-league callup if the Brewers’ struggles at second base continue?
“I think he’s certainly a name that could be in the discussion with what he’s doing so far,” said Flanagan. “He still has areas that he’s working through – nothing that he doesn’t have the tools to overcome.”
Let’s get going: Despite his ongoing struggles at the plate that included a .167 on-base percentage and .161 slugging percentage, Sogard got a second consecutive start against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.
This one came at shortstop, as Orlando Arcia was being given a rest day.
“Sogie’s off to a slow start,” manager Craig Counsell said. “But we have a bunch of offensive players that are off to a slow start. The best way for them to get out of it is, to me, to get a couple days in a row to get some consistency in their at-bats.”