5/03/2024

2024 Topps Big League


The 2024 Topps Big League arrived in late March 2024. Now, it seems that the Topps company uses this product to replace the Topps Opening Day, which was normally released before the regular season started.

 

This product is a low priced one and it’s an entry-level product. It’s possible to find autographs in this set. However, it’s not so easy. In April, I went to a sports card shop and bought some hobby packs of the 2024 Topps Big League, trying to find something interesting.

 

This time, I saw a Sal Frelick rookie card. It’s an uncommon rainbow foil card. Although it’s uncommon, I don’t think it’s so rare. Nevertheless, for me, it’s a cool rookie card. While seeing this card, I began to think about Brewers’ rookies in 2023.

 

Stats (Hitting, Brewers, Rookies, 2023)

Player

G

H

HR

RBI

SB

BA

OPS

Brice Turang

137

88

6

34

26

.218

.585

Joey Wiemer

132

75

13

42

11

.204

.645

Andruw Monasterio

92

73

3

27

7

.259

.678

Blake Perkins

67

31

4

20

5

.217

.675

Sal Frelick

57

47

3

24

7

.246

.692

Garrett Mitchell

19

16

3

7

1

.246

.761

Jahmai Jones

7

2

0

3

1

.200

.573

 

Last season, Brice Turang and Joey Wiemer each played 130+ games for the Brewers. Turang made his MLB debut on March 30, 2023. He collected 88 hits and crushed 6 home runs in 2023. Moreover, he had 26 steals. Just a couple of days after Turang’s debut, Wiemer made it into the big leagues. Wiemer blasted 13 home runs in his rookie season. Meanwhile, Andruw Monasterio had 73 hits in 2023 and Blake Perkins collected 31 hits. Sal Frelick played 57 games for the Brewers last year, collecting 47 hits. When we look at the Brewers rookies’ hitting performance in 2023, among 5 rookies who played at least 50 games, none of them owned an OPS over .700.

 

Stats (Pitching, Brewers, Rookies, 2023)

Player

G

IP

W-L

SO

ERA

WHIP

Abner Uribe

32

30.2

1-0

39

1.76

1.17

Gus Varland

8

8.2

0-0

6

11.42

2.65

Tyson Miller

7

9.1

0-0

7

5.79

1.29

Clayton Andrews

4

3.1

0-1

4

27.00

3.60

Janson Junk

2

7.1

0-1

5

4.91

1.36

Ethan Small

2

4.0

0-0

6

11.25

2.75

Caleb Boushley

1

2.1

1-0

5

3.86

1.29

 

In addition, let’s look at the rookie pitchers’ performances. Abner Uribe made 32 relief appearances for the Brewers last season, posting a 1.76 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. Uribe was called up last summer and interestingly, he didn’t give up any home runs last season. Opponents’ batting average was only .154 against Uribe. Nonetheless, Gus Varland gave up 3 home runs over 8.2 innings and he was DFAed by the Brewers. Additionally, Tyson Miller allowed 2 home runs in 9.1 innings. Jason Junk tossed 7.1 innings for the Brewers and posted an ERA of 4.91. In 2023, among the Brewers rookie pitchers, Abner Uribe was the only one who tossed more than 10 innings.

 

Looking back at the 2023 season, the Brewers won the NL Central title. It wasn’t a bad season. Nonetheless, among the rookie players in the Brewers, Abner Uribe might be the only one that drew some fans’ attention.

 

Nevertheless, in 2024, things might change. In the off-season, the Brewers and Jackson Chourio agreed to an 8-year deal. Chourio is now 20 years old. And he just made his MLB debut on March 29. By far, Chourio hits .206/.257/.351 with 4 home runs and 13 RBI over 27 games. Chourio just began his career in the majors and the Brewers seem to be quite confident in his future. Furthermore, Oliver Dunn now hits .222/.269/.317 with 1 home run and 5 RBI over 24 games. Joey Ortiz slashes .266/.385/.406 with 1 home run and 8 RBI across 27 games. And Tyler Black just made it into the big leagues. At the same time, Bryan Hudson made 12 relief appearances for the Brewers and Tobias Myers made 2 starts. In the 2023 season, no Brewers rookie players received an NL Rookie of the Year voting. This season, will some of the Brewers rookie players receive the Rookie of the Year voting?

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