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A few Brewers stars did not fare so well in 1968 though.
Principle among them is leftfielder Antonio Puente.
While Puente remains a great defensive outfielder, his bat was cold most of the season and the absence of his usual HR production in the middle of the order may have been the deciding factor in the Brewers not taking the MGL title this season. Puente did still manage to finish 2nd among position players on the team in WAR and is still a valuable member of the team, but will need to bounce back at the plate in 1969 or risk losing some playing time to Pat Rondeau and young hitting specialist Andrew Kennedy.
Secondbaseman Tanner Yurek also took a big step backwards in 1968, after having somewhat broken out in 1967. Yurek is 3 years older than Puente and at age 27 does not have as much time to prove this season was a fluke, especially with Arturo Baca showing strong evidence of being ready to take over as the starter at that position.
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