The Milwaukee Brewers promoted outfield prospect Sal Frelick to the majors for Saturday's game against the Atlanta Braves (MIL 4, ATL 3) and Frelick made an instant impact. The 2021 first-round pick went 3 for 3 in his MLB debut and drove in the game-tying run with a single in the bottom of the sixth inning, and the game-winning run with a sac fly in the bottom of the eighth. He also made two leaping catches at the wall in the top of the sixth.
Frelick is only the third player in Brewers history with three hits in his MLB debut, joining Sixto Lezcano in 1974 and Steve Bowling in 1976. It did not take long for the Legend of Sal to be born in Milwaukee:
"We're not getting production out of right field," Brewers manager Craig Counsell told MLB.com before Saturday's game. "We're going to try to get more production out of right field, and Sal's going to get a shot to give us that."
Frelick, 23, was the No. 15 selection in the 2021 draft by way of Boston College. He missed two months with a thumb injury earlier this year and hit .247/.333/.342 with two home runs and more walks (19) than strikeouts (18) in 40 Triple-A games before being called up. Milwaukee right fielders entered Saturday with a .183/.271/.275 batting line and minus-1.7 WAR, so it won't take much for Frelick to be an upgrade. The bar is pretty much on the floor.
CBS Sports ranked Frelick as the second-best prospect in the Milwaukee system entering the spring. Here's what we wrote at the time:
Frelick, Milwaukee's first-round pick in 2021, should make his big-league debut early in 2023. He's a speedy, contact-tailored hitter who walked more than he struck out last season in 46 games at Triple-A. Frelick has more pop than you'd expect from someone with his frame (he's listed at 5-foot-10, 180 pounds), but power is unlikely to ever be a big part of his game. By the time he makes it to the majors, Frelick could find himself in left field out of deference to either Garrett Mitchell, who debuted last season, or the aforementioned Chourio.
Mitchell, of course, suffered a shoulder injury earlier this season that could take him out of the equation for the rest of the year. The Brewers have instead been relying upon an outfield that includes veteran Christian Yelich, rookie Joey Wiemer, and a combination of Blake Perkins, Tyrone Taylor, and Raimel Tapia. Tapia was designated for assignment Saturday to clear a roster spot for Frelick.
Of those five players, Yelich is the only one with an OPS+ over 100; Tapia, Perkins, and Taylor occupy the opposite side of the spectrum, as each of the three entered Saturday in possession of an OPS+ below 75. Frelick's big debut will give him plenty more chances to stick in the outfield. He gave the Brewers a much-needed spark Saturday.
"I'm just really excited to show everyone the guy who they drafted two years ago," Frelick told MLB.com prior to his debut. "Kind of a little sparkplug, pesky at the plate, dirty uniform, stuff like that."
