Joey Ortiz (neck) returns to lineup Wednesday

Ortiz remains out for the third consecutive game due to a lingering neck issue. All indications are that he’s making progress and figures to be available off the bench in this one, if needed. It’ll be Brice Turang handling shortstop with Jihwan Bae getting a look at the keystone. It’s Turang’s first appearance at shortstop since the 2023 campaign.

Ortiz sits for the second straight contest after leaving Saturday’s game against the Twins with neck tightness. David Hamilton draws another start at shortstop in his absence. It’s possible he’ll require a trip to the injured list if he’s not ready to go in a couple days.

The Brewers have a pair of infielders battling minor injuries in Joey Ortiz (neck) and Cooper Pratt (hamstring), plus Jett Williams (wrist) shelved at Triple-A Nashville, so they’ll bring in some insurance to be on the safe side. Bae hit .257/.360/.368 with five homers, 32 RBI and 36 stolen bases in 371 plate appearances with the Mets at Triple-A Syracuse before opting out of his minor league deal.

Ortiz went 0-for-1 with a strikeout before exiting. The 28-year-old has been replaced by David Hamilton. Ortiz will likely undergo further evaluation to determine his status for Sunday and beyond.

Ortiz’s triple was a 343-foot fly to right that should have been caught, but it was a nice day regardless. All three of his balls in play were hard-hit, and he made a couple of nice plays at third. Ortiz finishes the three-game series 5-for-9 with a homer. He’s hit .338 with four homers and 13 RBI in his last 21 games, raising his OPS from .530 to .662.

The speedster was also caught stealing in his first rehab game since landing on the injured list on July 7th. Hamilton had been playing well before the injury, slashing .313/.353/.438 in his last 15 games with four RBI and four steals. With Joey Ortiz also starting to hit well, Hamilton’s imminent return could cut into Cooper Pratt’s playing time.

Even though Ortiz is not hitting the cover off of the ball, what’s notable about this is that the shortstop has narrowed his stance. According to Statcast, in July, his feet have been a little over 26 inches apart with a stance that’s three degrees open. In the first two months of the season, his stance had his feet 29 inches apart and was nine degrees open. Narrowing and closing off the stance slightly is also the change that the Brewers made with Brice Turang to help fuel his breakout, so it’s something to watch in the second half of the season.

Joey Ortiz gets the start at shortstop in this one. Pratt has gotten off to a better-than-expected start at the dish, hitting .368 (7-for-19) with two RBI and three steals in six games since being called up from Triple-A Nashville last week. There’s nothing in the 21-year-old top prospect’s minor-league track record to suggest he’ll be a highly impactful fantasy contributor right away, especially given how deep the shortstop position is, but he should provide some cheap speed in deeper mixed leagues.

Ortiz had a 395-foot homer and a 381-foot sac fly. Incredibly, the homer was his first since last July 19. He’d gone 85 straight games without one, even though he had seven in his first 95 games last year and 11 in 142 games in 2024. Ortiz is batting just .198/.260/.244 this season, and he really needs to pick it up if he expects to stick around much longer. The Brewers are having him split time with David Hamilton right now, and they’ll probably want to give Cooper Pratt a look at shortstop at some point.

David Hamilton will start at third base, with Joey Ortiz back in the lineup at shortstop. Despite playing regularly, Rengifo has struggled this season with the Brewers, and both he and Ortiz remain off fantasy radars.