Jesús Aguilar isn't sweating his current cold spell at the plate
LOS ANGELES - Jesús Aguilar was bound to come back to earth eventually.
After carrying the Milwaukee Brewers offense for the better part of two months, the slugging first baseman entered Monday's series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the throes of the worst slump of his brief major-league career.
Since the Brewers left Miami for Pittsburgh just prior to the all-star break, Aguilar is hitting just .128 with two home runs, six runs batted in and an OPS of .531.
After going 3 for 17 with a double and two RBI in four games in San Francisco to start the team's current road trip, Aguilar was out of the starting lineup with Eric Thames at first base against Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda.
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Weary legs at this point of season are commonplace across baseball. But Aguilar – as he's done throughout his Brewers tenure – refused to make excuses for his lack of production of late.
"Right now I’m not doing things the right way, the way I’m supposed to do it, but that’s baseball," he said. "That’s it. Day off, then I’ve got to keep going."
It's tough to quibble with anything Aguilar's done to this point – a .280 average, 25 homers, 73 RBI and an OPS of .938 coming into Monday -- and manager Craig Counsell was quick to point that out when asked about the the 28-year-old's recent struggles.
"Jesús went through a really magnificent two months," Counsell said. "He’s had a lull in probably the last 10 days or so, but that’s the baseball season for every single player. Things have changed for Jesús, too.
"A lot has happened in a short amount of time for him, and he’s handled everything wonderfully – kind of like it’s no big deal to him. But it’s changed for him, for sure, and I think he’s done a great job with that."
The second half of July has indeed been a whirlwind for Aguilar.
The craziness began on July 9 in Miami, at the outset of the Brewers' three-game series with the Marlins. After initially being snubbed in his bid for his first-ever All-Star Game appearance, the Brewers put on a full-court press to get him into the midsummer's classic via the MLB All-Star Final Vote.
Three days of stumping ultimately got Aguilar into the game for the National League. And he added an appearance in the Home Run Derby the night before the game to his docket, although he fell in the first round to Philadelphia's Rhys Hoskins despite entering as the top seed.
Aguilar admitted it was possible that all the excitement surrounding that week and him missing out on the valuable rest all other non-all-stars were able to take advantage of has come back to bite him a little bit.
"Maybe. Maybe," he said. "It was a lot of stuff before the All-Star Game and after. But I’ve got to go through it. I’ve got no choice. We’re really close in the standings, so we’ve got to keep pushing.
"It’s not just me. We’re a team."
Aguilar was quick to dismiss the notion that he's being pitched differently now that he's developed into one of the Brewers' most dangerous hitters.
"I’m missing pitches right in the middle. That’s all on me. That’s all me," he said. "But those things are going to happen. They pitch good, too. I’m not seeing anything different. I’m just missing my pitches."
Aguilar has already logged 40 more plate appearances through 95 games than he did last year in 133 games after supplanting Thames as the Brewers' starting first baseman in late April when Thames was lost to a thumb injury.
After having toiled in the minor leagues for the better part of nine years after being signed by the Cleveland Indians as a 17-year-old international free agent, it's going to take more than a prolonged dry spell at the plate to shake the native Venezuelan.
"Being in Triple-A for three years, it was tough. It kind of prepares you for things," he said. "But I’ve passed this test. Baseball is what it is – up and down, and right now I’m a little bit down. But we’re winning games, and that’s the most important thing."
Counsell has come to appreciate the stability Aguilar has provided since forcing his way onto the opening-day roster in 2017 after a dynamite spring training. Even back then, when he was platooning with Thames and serving as Milwaukee's top pinch-hitter, Aguilar was making his presence felt.
"He’s even-keeled. He’s very confident in his abilities," Counsell said. "For him, not much has changed; he’s just gotten a little bigger opportunity. I think he’s always believed he’s capable of this. And he’s not overly impressed with himself, I don’t think.
"He has not changed."
In addition to Aguilar, several other prominent Brewers regulars will be given a rest game during the series, Counsell said.
Aguilar, meanwhile, will be back in the lineup on Tuesday after driving in a run with a pinch-hit single in the eighth inning of Brewers' 5-2 victory on Monday.