Milwaukee Brewers: Why is Eric Thames leading off?

Of all the options that Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell has, why would he choose Eric Thames? Counsell can turn to Jonathan Villar, Eric Sogard, or even Domingo Santana. What makes Thames a fit in the lead off spot?

Milwaukee Brewers slugger Eric Thames has suffered a power outage in the second half of the season. Since his 11-homer barrage in April, Thames has struggled to generate anything close to the same power. He has 23 home runs on the season, with only four since the All-Star Break.

Oddly enough, Thames has started four games atop the Brewers lineup. He has exactly three hits and one walk in 18 plate appearances with one run scored and one RBI. It’s a super small sample size,…