'Jersey seems to fit like never before': Milwaukee Brewers sign a minor-league player named Brewer

A signing of a minor-league player who has very little MLB experience might not get most Milwaukee Brewers fans' attention at the end of November.

But Brewers general manager Matt Arnold might have found the perfect Brewer for the organization Tuesday — a player named Brewer.

The Brewers signed outfielder Brewer Hicklen to a minor-league contract. His first name is actually Charles and his middle name's Brewer.

But he goes by Brewer, making it seem like he was destined to be part of the organization.

He'll get an invitation to spring training with the Brewers in 2024, along with right-handed pitcher Easton McGee, who the team also signed Tuesday.

"He's really athletic," said Arnold, who like most everyone else chuckled at the seemingly perfect fit between player and franchise. "We like him a lot. He's really interesting. He has good tools and our scouts like him and thought he'd be worth bringing into camp and giving him a shot.

"And, obviously, the the name is helpful for us."

On Tuesday afternoon, Hicklen posted a video featuring his baseball journey that started as a youngster in Huntsville, Alabama, to his MLB debut two years ago.

"First chapter of a dream is accomplished," Hicklen said. "But it was short lived. Reality is there's a whole book to be written."

That next chapter gets to be written with the Brewers.

Hicklen was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the seventh round of the 2017 MLB draft and spent the majority of his time in the Kansas City Royals' minor-league system until he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in August.

"My journey's been long but it's been humbling and bittersweet," Hicklen said in his social media video.

He's looking forward to continuing the dream with the team that bears his name.

"This year the dream is the same but the jersey's different," said the 27-year-old Hicklen. "The jersey seems to fit me like never before. It's like it was destined to be. The jersey represents not only a city and team, but my name. I've always been part of the Brew Crew."

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Brewer Hicklen's stats

Hicklen made his MLB debut in May 2022 with the Kansas City Royals.

But his stay on the big-league team didn't last long. He had four at-bats in six games and didn't get a hit while striking out four times.

In the minors over six seasons and 577 games — there wasn't a 2020 season — he has a .262 average and an .829 OPS with 2,036 at-bats, 533 hits, 90 home runs, 317 RBI, 247 walks, 714 strikeouts and 186 stolen bases.

His best overall hitting season in which he displayed his power came in 2022 when he slugged 28 home runs and had 85 RBI and 119 hits, though he also struck out a career-high 202 times across 538 plate appearances in 130 games. His .850 OPS that season in Triple-A for the Omaha Storm Chasers was 70 percentage points higher than in 2021, when he was in Double-A with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.

Brewer Hicklen at UAB

Hicklen starred for the University of Alabama-Birmingham. And for a while, he was a rare two-sport athlete in Division I, playing football and baseball.

But when UAB eliminated its football program in 2014, he put his attention on the baseball program. He redshirted in 2015 due to an injury.

As a redshirt freshman for the baseball team, he earned Conference USA All-Freshman Team honors, only the 14th player in program history to earn that recognition. He led the team in several offensive categories.

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He returned to the football team in 2016 when the program was revived.

As a sophomore in 2017 with the baseball team, he was all-Conference USA second team. He again led the team in nearly every offensive category and had a team-high .328 batting average. He also led the conference with 17 stolen bases.

The Royals made him the 210th overall pick in 2017.

Now if the Brewers want to get even more serious with the synergy between team name and their players, we have a couple more players for them: Seth Beer, who's in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, and Logan O'Hoppe of the Los Angeles Angels.