Breaking down the early struggles of Travis Shaw

Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty ImagesIf there was any player who seemed like a sure thing heading into the 2019 season, it was Travis Shaw. The third baseman belted 31 home runs to go along with an .862 OPS and a 120 wRC+ in his debut season in Milwaukee, and he followed that up with an equally productive campaign that featured 32 dingers, an .825 OPS, and a 119 wRC+. FanGraphs’ flavor of WAR valued him at 3.5 and 3.6 Wins Above Replacement in those two seasons, respectively.

However, baseball has a way of showing us that even the seemingly sure things aren’t actually that certain. We’re over a full month into the new season, and Shaw has slogged to a putrid .561 OPS and 48 wRC+. His fWAR…