2025 MVBrewers #4: Sal Frelick

SB Nation

In our closest voting result yet, outfielder Sal Frelick slots into the four-spot on our 2025 MVBrewers list. The BCB community voted for Frelick with nine votes in The Feed, barely outpacing Christian

Yelich, who received eight votes (FWIW, I was one of the nine who voted for Frelick). Jackson Chourio received three votes, while Quinn Priester and Caleb Durbin each got one vote.

Frelick, 25, turned in a career-best 3.0 bWAR season in 2025, while turning in career-best numbers at the plate. Across 142 games, he hit .288/.351/.405 (111 OPS+) with 12 homers, 63 RBIs, 76 runs, and 19 steals. He also did the impossible, improving his walk rate (7.4% in 2024 to 7.9% in 2025), his strikeout rate (14.9% in 2024 to 13.5% in 2025), his xBA (.246 in 2024 to .256 in 2025), and his batting average (.259 in 2024 to .288 in 2025).

All of that together means he’s developed much as the No. 2 player on this list, Brice Turang, has. He’s improved his offensive numbers while continuing to provide speed and great defense. After winning a Gold Glove in right field in 2024, Frelick was unable to repeat in 2025, as Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Padres took the award (and also picked up the Platinum Glove).

The former first-round pick out of Boston College has an interesting Baseball Savant page, in that there’s a ton of blue but also a ton of red. That blue isn’t necessarily a bad thing, in this case, as Frelick’s plate approach is geared toward contact and getting on base rather than power. While he ranks in the bottom 10% for xwOBA, xSLG, average exit velocity, barrel rate, hard-hit rate, and bat speed, he ranks in the top 10% on squared-up rate, whiff rate, and strikeout rate.

As mentioned above, he’s also elite in the field and on the basepaths. He ranked in the 90th percentile with six outs above average in 2025, and he also ranks in the top third of players in arm value and arm strength. His sprint speed of 29.3 mph ranks in the 94th percentile.

Not particularly known for his offensive prowess, Frelick’s best games at the plate included a three-hit day (including a homer) in an extra-innings loss to the Rockies at the end of June, a four-hit day in an extra-innings win over the Red Sox in May, and a three-hit day in an extra-innings win over the Cardinals in September. He had another four-hit day (including a double and a triple) against the Reds in early April, though the Crew lost that game 11-7.

Defensively, Frelick finished the season with 296 putouts and 10 assists, including a pair of double plays, which came against the Reds (in that same early April game mentioned above) and against the Red Sox (the day before the game mentioned above). Oh, and lest we forget the double play he started in Game 1 of the NLCS, which goes down as one of the craziest plays in MLB (let alone MLB playoff) history.

Another great season for Milwaukee’s youngsters. Let’s see if they can keep it going in 2026.

We’ll continue these rankings on Friday with our No. 5 player. To weigh in on the voting, visit The Feed. (Note: Voting for the next spot on our list will open on Tuesday morning.)