Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick will endure an MRI at the moment after he left Friday’s recreation with a left hip harm. Whereas chasing a foul ball within the third inning of Milwaukee’s 8-4 win over the Mets, Frelick slammed into the wall down the precise discipline line, particularly touchdown inside a cutout space of the in any other case padded wall. Frelick was in a variety of discomfort as he gingerly left the sphere.
X-rays on Frelick’s hip “have been inconclusive,” Brewers supervisor Pat Murphy advised reporters (together with Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) following the sport. An MRI has been scheduled for this morning to find out the extent of Frelick’s harm, or what his standing could possibly be because the Brewers put together for the beginning of the NL wild card sequence on Tuesday.
The fifteenth general decide of the 2021 draft, Frelick made his MLB debut final season and moved into an on a regular basis function this yr, primarily because the Brewers’ common proper fielder. Frelick has additionally logged 184 innings in left discipline and 168 innings in heart, however his 776 innings in proper discipline have cemented him as one of many higher defensive outfielders in all of baseball. Regardless of the metric, Frelick’s work in proper discipline has been lauded by Defensive Runs Saved (+16), UZR/150 (16.6) and Outs Above Common (+6).
This wonderful glovework has saved Frelick within the lineup regardless of an absence of manufacturing on the plate. Whereas Frelick makes a variety of contact, he’s close to the underside of the league in laborious contact and barrel price, and he has solely an 86 wRC+ from a slash line of .259/.320/.335 over 524 plate appearances. Stealing 18 bases in 21 makes an attempt has boosted Frelick’s offensive worth to some extent, and naturally it isn’t uncommon for a second-year participant to wrestle in his first prolonged take a look at massive league pitching.
Milwaukee claimed the NL Central title even with out one main pressure of their outfield, as Christian Yelich underwent season-ending again surgical procedure in August. Star rookie Jackson Chourio has settled right into a groove because the on a regular basis left fielder, so if Frelick is unavailable for the NLWCS, the likeliest situation would see Chourio in left discipline, Blake Perkins in heart, and Garrett Mitchell in proper. Jake Bauers and utilitymen Andruw Monasterio and Isaac Collins present some additional depth, plus the likes of Brewer Hicklen or Vinny Capra could possibly be known as up from the minors.