Matt Garza
Chicago Cubs – No. 22
Starting pitcher
Born: (1983-11-26) November 26, 1983 (age 28) Selma, California
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 11, 2006 for the Minnesota Twins
Career statistics (through May 27, 2012)
Win-Loss record	54–57
Earned run average	3.85
Strikeouts	818
Teams
Minnesota Twins (2006–2007) Tampa Bay Rays (2008–2010) Chicago Cubs (2011–Present)
Career highlights and awards
ALCS MVP (2008) Pitched a no-hitter on July 26, 2010 against the Detroit Tigers. MLB Player of the Week

Matthew Scott Garza (born November 26, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball.

Early years[link]

Garza was born in Selma, California. He attended Washington Union High School and Fresno State.

Professional career[link]

Minnesota Twins[link]

He was the 25th pick in the first round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft, drafted by the Minnesota Twins.

Garza pitching for Minnesota Twins in 2006.

2006[link]

Entering 2006, Garza was ranked as the Minnesota Twins seventh-best prospect by Baseball America.^[1] He gained attention for rising through the ranks of the Twins' minor league system, starting the season at Single-A Fort Myers and ending at the major league level, pitching with the Double-A New Britain Rock Cats and the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings in between. Garza was a combined 14–4 at the three minor league levels in 2006, with a 1.99 ERA and 154 strikeouts in 135 ⅔ innings. He earned All-Star berths in the Single-A Florida State League and Double-A Eastern League. Backed by those numbers, Garza earned the USA Today Minor League Player of the Year Award for 2006, the second consecutive year in which a Twin won the award (in 2005, Garza's teammate Francisco Liriano was the winner).^[2] On August 8, Minnesota purchased Garza's contract, promoting him to the majors to replace the injured Liriano.^[3] Garza is one of a small number of players to advance through the minors and reach the major league level in a single season. On August 11, his major league debut, Garza allowed seven earned runs in 2 ⅔ innings to the Toronto Blue Jays.^[4] Garza earned his first win on August 23 against the Baltimore Orioles, allowing just one unearned run in six innings.^[5]

2007[link]

Entering 2007, Garza was rated as the top prospect in the Twins organization^[6] and the 21st-best prospect in Major League Baseball^[7] by Baseball America. Garza did not make the Twins rotation out of spring training, being assigned to Rochester instead. He was recalled to the Minnesota Twins on June 28 after being passed by other Twins pitching prospects such as Kevin Slowey and Scott Baker due to disagreements with the club over his pitch selection.^[8] He was selected to the 2007 All-Star Futures Game in San Francisco, but did not get to participate due to his call up to the major league club.^[9] On July 6, in a game against the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, Garza became the first Twins pitcher to bat in an American League game since Allan Anderson in 1989. Garza was put in the eight-spot when catcher Mike Redmond left the game after his head was cut by Jim Thome's bat on a backswing. Joe Mauer, the designated hitter for the game, replaced Redmond as the catcher, forcing Garza into the lineup. On July 29, Garza recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts in six innings against the Cleveland Indians.

Tampa Bay Rays[link]

2008[link]

After the 2007 season, the Twins traded Garza along with Jason Bartlett and Eduardo Morlan to the Tampa Bay Rays for Delmon Young, Jason Pridie, and Brendan Harris. Garza had a successful season with the Rays, going 11–9 while posting a 3.70 ERA. He also earned MVP honors for the ALCS in which he helped the Rays beat the Boston Red Sox by posting a 1.38 ERA in two starts, and earning the decisive victory in game 7 of the ALCS.

On June 26, he carried a perfect game through 6.0 innings against the Florida Marlins before giving up a leadoff home run in the seventh inning to Hanley Ramírez. That proved his only blemish as he won the complete game with 10 strikeouts and one walk.

2009[link]

As of the end of July 2009, opposing batters were hitting .222 against him, which was the second-lowest batting average in the league; he was just behind Edwin Jackson (.216), and was followed by Jarrod Washburn (.224) and Scott Feldman (.228; .217 as a starter).^[10]

In 2009 he had the lowest range factor of all starting major league pitchers (0.93).^[11]

2010[link]

Garza during his tenure with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2010 spring training.

Garza threw a no-hitter on July 26, 2010 at home against the Detroit Tigers, becoming the fifth pitcher that season to throw a no-hitter. It was also the first no-hitter thrown by a Tampa Bay Rays pitcher in the team's history.^[12] He faced the minimum 27 batters as the lone base runner, Brennan Boesch, who drew a 1-out second inning walk, was erased on a double play hit by Ryan Raburn in the next at-bat. Garza threw 120 pitches, 80 for strikes, and tallied six strikeouts.^[13] 101 of his pitches were fastballs.^[14]

Chicago Cubs[link]

2011[link]

On January 7, 2011, Garza was traded from the Rays to the Chicago Cubs as part of an eight-player deal. The Cubs sent outfielder Sam Fuld, and prospects Christopher Archer, Hak-Ju Lee, Brandon Guyer, and Robinson Chirinos to the Rays for Garza, outfielder Fernando Perez and minor league left-handed pitcher Zachary Rosscup.^[15][16] In spring training he led all pitchers in the major leagues in earned runs given up, with 25, in 21.2 innings.^[17]Garza finished the season with a 10-10 record and a 3.32 ERA.^[18]

Scouting[link]

Garza throws a 2-seam fastball that varies from 90–94 mph, as well as a 4-seam fastball that varies from 93–96 mph that can, on occasion, reach 98. His arsenal also includes a big, breaking curveball that he throws for 72–77 mph, a tight slider in the mid-high 80s, and a changeup he uses to fool hitters.^[19]

Rays' pitching coach Jim Hickey has commented that Garza has "the best stuff on the staff".^[20]

Personal life[link]

Matt Garza is married to his high school sweetheart; together they have three children.

As someone who has had to deal with teen pregnancy, Garza was invited to sit on a panel for The Candie's Foundation in New York City about combating teen pregnancy with Hayden Panettiere and Bristol Palin on May 6, 2009.^[21]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Matt Garza

	Biography portal
	Baseball portal

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• "Garza takes wild ride in stride" – Minnesota Public Radio
• No. 25 – MLN FAB50 Baseball 2006
• Video of Matt Garza warming up in the bullpen

Eric Sogard
Oakland Athletics – No. 28
Second baseman
Born: (1986-05-22) May 22, 1986 (age 26) Phoenix, Arizona
Bats: Left	Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 14, 2010 for the Oakland Athletics
Career statistics (through 2011 Season)
Batting average	.221
Home runs	2
Runs batted in	4
Teams
Oakland Athletics (2010-present)

Sogard bunting for the Lake Elsinore Storm, High-A affiliates of the San Diego Padres, in 2008.

Eric Sidney Sogard (born May 22, 1986) is an infielder for the Oakland Athletics. From Arizona State University, Sogard was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 2nd Round (81st overall) of the 2007 amateur draft. Sogard's father, Rudy, was also a collegiate baseball player and set the Home Run record for Depauw University in 1975 while playing third base. ^[1] He is one of the few baseball players to wear spectacles.

Education[link]

Sogard majored in Kinesology at the Arizona State University. He previously attended Thunderbird High School in Phoenix. Eric was the 2003 Arizona Republic's NW Valley H.S. Baseball Player of the Year, the Region Player of the Year, and 1st Team All State Shortstop. He repeated as All State Shortstop in 2004 and represented Arizona in the 2003 and 2004 Sunbelt Classic Baseball Series.

Eric broke numerous Thunderbird school batting records including highest Batting Average, On Base Percentage, and Slugging Percentage. In addition Eric was a star midfielder on Thunderbird's 2002 State Runner Up (21-2) Soccer Team. He received both academic and athletic scholarships from ASU.

Arizona State University in Tempe, Az. Eric was a two time 'All American' as a Sun Devil in 2006 and 2007, and was '1st Team All Pac 10' selection both years as well. He played many positions in '06, but stayed at 2B for ASU in '07.

Sogard finished with the 15th highest career batting average in A.S.U. Baseball history at .371. He is a member of the 'ASU All-Decade Team' of 2000-2009. 'E-Man' was also the 2007 'Pac 10 Defensive Player of the Year'.

In 2007 Eric was one of only a few ASU players ever to hit .400 for an entire season, with at least 100 hits. He was among Pac 10 leaders in On Base Percentage as well in 2006 and 2007.

Career[link]

Arizona State University[link]

Until June 2007, Sogard played for the Arizona State Sun Devils, having been ranked as the number 7 high school prospect in the state of Arizona in 2004. He played for the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies scout teams in 2002 and '03 respectively.^[1]

San Diego Padres[link]

Sogard was the first Sun Devil to be selected in the 2007 Major League Draft, going in the second round, 81st overall, to the San Diego Padres.^[2] In 2008, Sogard was selected for the Topps' Class-A All-Star Team.^[3] In 2009, playing for the San Antonio Missions, Scout.com ranked him as one of the top hitting prospects in the Padres organization.^[4] Eric also was a 2009 AA Texas League Mid Season All Star at 2B/DH, and a 2011 AAA Pacific Coast League All Star at shortstop; with the highest fielding percentage in the league.

Oakland Athletics[link]

On January 16, 2010, Sogard was traded along with Kevin Kouzmanoff to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Scott Hairston and Aaron Cunningham.^[5] Sogard ended the 2010 season as one of Sacramento's more consistent players, earning a promotion to Oakland in September. On August 23, 2011, Sogard hit his first career home run off New York Yankees (And current Athletic) pitcher Bartolo Colon.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Eric Sogard

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)

Johnny Cueto
Cueto during Reds Spring Training 2008 in Sarasota, Florida
Cincinnati Reds – No. 47
Pitcher
Born: (1986-02-15) February 15, 1986 (age 26) San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 3, 2008 for the Cincinnati Reds
Career statistics (through April 28, 2012)
Win-Loss	45-38
Earned run average	3.69
Strikeouts	565
Teams
Cincinnati Reds (2008–present)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Johnny Cueto

Johnny Brent (Ortiz) Cueto [KWAY-toe] (born February 15, 1986 in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball.

Minor league career[link]

Cueto was in the Minor Leagues for three seasons, and has excelled at many levels, but really turned heads during the 2007 season. Cueto started his career for the Gulf Coast Reds of the Rookie Gulf Coast League, posting a 5.02 ERA, before being promoted to the High-A Sarasota Reds of the Florida State League, where he finished his 2005 season. Johnny has had progressively better seasons since. In 2006, Cueto was placed in Low A Dayton, blasting out of the gates, and posting a 2.61 ERA, and a 0.88 WHIP. While with Dayton, on May 13, 2006, he threw a rain shortened no-hitter against Wisconsin.^[1] He was later promoted back to Sarasota, where he finished his season for the second consecutive year. Poised for a breakout 2007, Cueto was placed, once again, in Sarasota. He pitched 14 games in Sarasota, before going on a hot streak, and advancing through three levels in one season. He burnt through AA Chattanooga, and AAA Louisville throughout the rest of his 2007 campaign.^[2] He was named the Reds' Minor League Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive season.^[3]

Major league career[link]

Rookie season (2008)[link]

Cueto made his Major League debut on April 3, 2008 for the Reds at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he carried a perfect game through five innings before surrendering a home run to Justin Upton in the top of the sixth inning. The home run was the only baserunner he allowed, striking out 10 in 7 innings. Cueto was credited with the win in his debut, as the Reds hung on to win 3–2. Cueto was the first Red since 1900 to throw ten strikeouts in his Major League debut. He was also the first MLB pitcher to have 10 strikeouts and 0 walks in his debut. He was the third in MLB history to have 10 strikeouts and give up only 1 hit.^[4] For the game, Cueto's ERA was 1.29 on 92 pitches. Despite his impressive debut, Cueto was inconsistent for the most part on the season. At the end of the 2008 campaign, he finished with a 9–14 record with an ERA of 4.81.

2009[link]

Cueto with the Reds in 2009.

Cueto started 2009 as the Reds #4 starter. Cueto's ERA was initially one of the best in the majors, leading the NL at one point at 2.17. His BB/9 lowered as the 2009 season progressed. He found the strike zone more often, resembling the 2008 performance of his teammate Edinson Volquez. On July 6, 2009, Cueto suffered the worst defeat in his young career. Taking the mound against the Phillies, he was shelled; Cueto allowed 9 earned runs on 5 hits, walking 3.^[5] To top it off, all this happened in the first inning, and Cueto was taken out of the game after only recording two outs. The Phillies scored 10 runs that inning.He would finish the season with a record of 11–11, and an ERA of 4.41.

2010[link]

Cueto started the 2010 season as the Reds' third starter. After getting off to an average start, Cueto delivered arguably his best performance since his debut on May 11, pitching a one hit shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He walked none and hit one batter, leading the Reds to a 9–0 victory.

On August 12, Cueto was suspended 7 games for what Major League Baseball called "violent and aggressive actions." ^[6] During a bench-clearing brawl in the first inning of a game on August 10, Cueto, while being pinned to the backstop, began kicking wildly at various Cardinals, injuring Chris Carpenter and Jason LaRue.^{[7] [8]} Due to the injuries LaRue suffered in the brawl, he was forced into early retirement. Following the 2010 season, the Reds^[9] and Johnny Cueto agreed to a 4 year, $27 million contract.

2011[link]

Cueto began the season on the disabled list and returned on May 8. Since he missed a lot of starts from being on the disabled-list, he didn't become eligible for the ERA race until his start against the San Francisco Giants on July 31, where he pitched a 3 hit, complete game shutout. He then took the Major League Baseball lead with a 1.72 ERA. He lost eligibility, twice, due to lack of innings since, but retook the National League lead in ERA after throwing 7 innings of shutout ball against the Colorado Rockies on August 11. As the season progressed, Cueto began incorporating more and more of a turn to his windup. At the start of the season, his windup featured a conventional step, keeping his body pointed at third base before delivering to the plate. However, by late July, Cueto's torso faces second base and he pauses for a brief moment. Many people have compared this turn to Boston Red Sox great Luis Tiant's famous turn. As of August 25, he is tied with Jered Weaver for the best ERA in all of Major League Baseball at 2.03.

Cueto's bid for the ERA title and season came to end after he strained a muscle in his back on September 15, while pitching vs the Cubs. On September 20, the team decided to shut down Cueto for the year without risking further injury.^[10] Cueto finished the season with a 2.31 ERA in 156.0 innings - only 6 full innings short of qualifying for the ERA title.

2012[link]

Cueto started on Opening Day for the Reds against the Marlins, where he threw 7 shutout innings, giving up 3 hits while striking out 4. The Reds went on to win 4-0. Cueto went 1-2 at the plate, as well.^[11]

Background and influences[link]

Cueto's road to the majors has been a trying one because many teams were wary of his small stature. "Some told me I was too short, others thought I was in fact older than the age that appeared in my papers," said the right-handed fireballer. He is listed at 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) but some believe he is closer to 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m). However, rather than give into the criticism, Cueto looked to another undersized Dominican pitcher, Pedro Martínez, for inspiration. "Pedro has been my inspiration, the person for whom I decided to stop playing outfield to become a pitcher," Cueto said. "One of my biggest dreams is to be able to meet Pedro in person, shake his hand and tell him that he has been my hero and my role model."

Pitching style[link]

Cueto throws a variety of pitches, although his main ones are a four-seam fastball (91–95), two-seam fastball (92–95), and slider (81–86). He also has a changeup (82–84), curveball (78–80), and cut fastball (87–90). Cueto only throws his changeup to left-handed hitters, and he rarely uses his curveball at all. He often likes to use his slider with two strikes.^[12] Cueto's distinctive wind-up, which begins by spinning back towards second base so that his back faces the batter, has been compared to that of Luis Tiant.^[13]

World Baseball Classic[link]

Johnny Cueto participated in the 2009 World Baseball Classic for the Dominican Republic. He picked up a win for the Dominican Republic in Pool D, the 3rd game of the first round.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• The Book on Johnny Cueto from ScoutingBook.com
• Player Profile from MLB.com

Ryan Braun
Braun with the Brewers.
Milwaukee Brewers – No. 8
Left fielder
Born: (1983-11-17) November 17, 1983 (age 28) Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 25, 2007 for the Milwaukee Brewers
Career statistics (through May 29, 2012)
Batting average	.312
Home runs	175
Runs batted in	567
Slugging percentage	.566
Runs	540
Stolen bases	106
Teams
Milwaukee Brewers (2007–present)
Career highlights and awards
2011 NL MVP 4× NL All Star (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) 4× Silver Slugger Award, OF (2008–11) 2007 NL Rookie of the Year 2× NL slugging percentage leader (2007, 2011) 2009 NL hits leader 30-30 club Only player to hit 3 home runs in 1 game at Petco Park

Ryan Joseph Braun (born November 17, 1983, in Mission Hills, California) is an American right-handed Major League Baseball left fielder for the Milwaukee Brewers. A perennial standout, he was ranked No. 7 by the Sporting News in its 2012 list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball and is the reigning National League MVP.

Braun was a two-time All American baseball player at the University of Miami, where he was named "National Freshman of the Year" by Baseball America in 2003. The Brewers drafted him in the first round (fifth overall) in the 2005 major league draft. He was the team's Minor League Player of the Year in 2006.

Braun has led the National League (NL) twice in slugging percentage (in 2007, while setting the major league rookie record, and 2011), twice in extra-base hits (2008 and 2011), and once in hits (2009). On defense, he led all major league outfielders in fielding percentage in 2008, led NL left fielders in fielding percentage twice (2009 and 2011), and led NL left fielders in range factor in 2009. His 128 home runs through 2010 were the 8th-most by any major leaguer ever through their first four seasons. Through 2011, he was third among all active ballplayers in career slugging percentage, and first among active left fielders in career fielding percentage.

Braun won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 2007. He was voted a starting All-Star and won the NL Outfielder Silver Slugger Award in each of the past four seasons (2008–11).

High school[link]

Braun was a four-year letterman on the Granada Hills High School baseball team, and three-year team captain and Most Valuable Player (MVP). He played shortstop, and pitched through his junior year. As a sophomore in 2000, he recorded the highest batting average of his prep career (.456), while posting a .654 on-base percentage (OBP). During his junior year, he hit .421, with a .668 OBP. Braun capped off his high school career by batting .451 as a senior, with an OBP of .675, and breaking the school record for career home runs with 25.^[1]

He was a two-time all-area selection by the Los Angeles Times, and a three-time choice by the Los Angeles Daily News. As a senior, Braun was rated the sixth-best shortstop prospect in the country by Team One Baseball, and among the top 100 overall prospects by Baseball America.^[2] He graduated in 2002, but went undrafted as he told teams that he intended to attend college.^[3][4]

Academically, he excelled as well, receiving only one B (in AP Chemistry).^[5][6]

College[link]

Offered scholarships by Stanford University and UC-Berkeley, he instead attended the University of Miami (on an academic scholarship, due to his high school grades).^[5] He chose Miami for its academics, its athletics, and its social scene, noting: "I think the girls were the deal closer on the recruiting trip."^[4][7]

There, Braun was named "National Freshman of the Year," as well as a first-team "Freshman All-American," by Baseball America in 2003, as well as first team All American by the Jewish Sports Review.^[8] He was also named first-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball.^[3] He clinched the awards by batting .364 with 76 runs batted in (RBIs) and 17 home runs. As a sophomore shortstop/designated hitter, Braun hit .335, slugged .606, and had 21 stolen bases.

During his junior year, his final and most successful at Miami, Braun batted .396 with 18 home runs, a .726 slugging percentage, 76 RBIs, and 23 stolen bases. He was ninth in slugging and 10th in RBIs in NCAA Division I, and was named to Baseball America's 2005 College All-American Team as the DH. He moved from shortstop to third base during the year. His performance earned Braun a spot as one of the finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, the most prestigious individual award in college baseball, and the Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Player of the Year award.^[3][9]

Minor leagues (2005–2007)[link]

The Milwaukee Brewers drafted Braun in the first round (fifth overall) in the 2005 major league draft as a third baseman, and he signed for $2.45 million.^[10]

Assigned to the Helena Brewers in the Advanced Rookie Pioneer League in 2005, Braun batted .341/.383/.585 in 10 games. He was then promoted to the West Virginia Power in the Class A South Atlantic League, where he hit .355/.396/.645, and was rated the fifth-best prospect in the league.^[11] His most memorable moment there was when he hit a walk-off grand slam to lead the Power into the playoffs.^[12] Following the 2005 season he was rated by Baseball America as the Brewers' Best Minor League Hitter for Average, the fifth-best prospect in the South Atlantic League, and the third-best prospect in the Brewers organization.

Braun began 2006 playing for the A-Advanced Brevard County Manatees. He earned a spot in the Florida State League All-Star game, and played in the All-Star Futures Game. He was rated the top third base prospect in the FSL, and Baseball America rated him the best batting prospect in the league. On June 21, Braun was promoted to the Class AA Huntsville Stars (Alabama) of the Southern League. In July he was voted the Brewers' Organizational Player of the Month, and at the end of the season he was voted the sixth-best prospect in the Southern League.^[13] Collectively between Class A and Class AA, Braun finished with a .289 average, 22 home runs, 77 RBIs, and 26 stolen bases. He received the 2006 Robin Yount Performance Award as the Milwaukee Brewers Minor League Player of the Year.^[14]

Later in 2006, in the Arizona Fall League he hit .326/.396/.641 in 92 at bats for the Scottsdale Scorpions.^[15] He led the AFL with 16 extra-base hits, tied for tops with 9 doubles, ranked second in slugging percentage and HR/AB ratio (1/15), tied for second in home runs (6), and tied for third in RBIs (25). He was rated one of the top three prospects in the league, and was voted to the AFL All-Prospects Team.^[15][16]

Baseball America rated Braun the Brewers' # 2 prospect for 2007.^[13] He began the year with the Nashville Sounds of the AAA Pacific Coast League. Before being called up to the majors in late May, in 113 at bats he led the PCL with a .726 slugging percentage while batting .354 (6th), with 10 home runs (T-2nd) and a .426 on base percentage (5th).^[17]

Major leagues (2007–Today)[link]

2007: Rookie of the Year[link]

The Brewers brought Braun to spring training in 2007.^[15] Their regular third baseman Corey Koskie was suffering from post-concussion syndrome, and missed the entire year.^[18] In 11 spring training games, Braun tied for 10th in the majors in home runs (5), and second in RBIs (15).^[19][20]

In 2007, Braun had what some sportswriters called one of the most dominant rookie seasons in baseball history.^[21] Called up on May 24 by the Brewers, he hit his first major league home run two nights later.^{[22][23][24][25]} Braun was voted the National League (NL) Rookie of the Month for June, ranking first in RBIs (21) and tied for first in home runs (6) among NL rookies that month. He also recorded a .716 slugging percentage and a .435 OBP.^[26] In July, Braun became the fastest in Brewer history to hit 10 major league home runs, doing so in his 38th game.^[27] He hit his 15th home run in the 50th game of his career, and his 20th in his 64th game, making him the fastest to those milestones since Albert Pujols in 2001. He was also the fastest to 20 homers in Brewers history.^[28][29] At month's end, he received his second consecutive NL Rookie of the Month Award, as well as his first NL Player of the Month Award (making him the first player to won both awards in the same month). He hit a league-leading 11 home runs, with 25 RBIs, while batting .345.^[30]

In mid-August, Yost moved Braun from third in the batting order to cleanup, switching him with Prince Fielder. The move was expected to allow Braun to steal more, as batting before Fielder was not conducive to him risking being thrown out on steal attempts. Additionally, successfully stealing a base would hypothetically allow opponents to intentionally walk Fielder and avoid pitching to him.^[31] At the end of the month, however, Yost reverted to his previous batting order.^[32] On August 26, Braun hit his 25th home run in his 82nd game, quicker than any major leaguer since Mark McGwire in 1987.^[33][34]

On September 9, the Brewers became the third team in major league history to start a game with three straight home runs, as Rickie Weeks, J. J. Hardy, and Braun homered in consecutive at bats. Braun said, "That was pretty cool. I was never part of something like that before."^[35] Braun's home run in that game also broke the Brewers rookie record for home runs (28).^[36] Braun hit his 30th homer in his 94th game, a pace no player had set to start a career since McGwire hit 30 in 84 games during 1986 and 1987.^[37]

Braun finished with an NL-leading .634 slugging percentage, a mark that set new all-time rookie and Brewers records.^[38][39] He was fifth in the league in at bats per home run (13.3) and OPS (1.004), tied for fifth in home runs (34), and eighth in batting average (.324) among hitters with at least 490 plate appearances.^[40] He led the Brewers in batting average and slugging percentage, and was second behind Fielder in home runs, runs (91), and RBIs (97), tied for second in triples (6), and third in OBP (.370) and steals (15), despite not having played in the first 48 games of the season.^[41] Braun obliterated the club rookie records of 28 home runs and 81 RBIs, set by Fielder in 2006.^[42]

Braun had considerable success against left-handed pitchers. He had the best batting average (.450), OBP (.516), and slugging percentage (.964) of any major league hitter with at least 125 plate appearances against lefties, and was tied for second in the majors in home runs (15).^[44][45] Braun credits his father with his success against lefties. "My dad is left-handed, so growing up, the majority of time, I took batting practice off of him."^[46]