The Milwaukee Brewers were dead last in this area in 2023. That should change this season.

Turns out that one of the most difficult players to replace for the Milwaukee Brewers in recent years was... Hunter Renfroe?

After being among the top teams in offense from rightfielders in 2022, the Brewers never quite found anyone to seize the reins at the position in 2023 outside of a stretch of a couple weeks from Sal Frelick. While Renfroe himself didn't exactly have a year to remember, Milwaukee still found itself lacking in offense from the position for most of the year.

With a cast of young, talented outfielders forming the depth chart at the position, the Brewers have much higher hopes for 2024. Just like in center field, it's unclear how exactly the playing time will work itself out, but Frelick is likely to lead the charge with Joey Wiemer and Blake Perkins following right after.

Here are three observations about right field for the Brewers this year:

It can only go up for Milwaukee Brewers' rightfielders in 2024

It will almost be impossible for the Brewers to get worse production from their rightfielders in 2024 compared to last season.

They were dead last – by a healthy margin – in the majors in OPS from right field with a mark of .589 after slashing a paltry .199/.286/.303. Milwaukee finished 26 points of OPS behind the next-worse team and more than 150 points behind the league average.

It was only the third time in history over a full 162-game sample that a team batted under .200 with an OPS less than .600 from the position.

Here’s how the playing time broke down last year: Tyrone Taylor (51 games, .538 OPS), Brian Anderson (39, .614), Frelick (30, .680), Perkins (25, .524), Raimel Tapia (17, .554), Mark Canha (12, .655), Wiemer (13, .452), Owen Miller (2, 1.250), Jesse Winker (1, 1.000).

Gone are five of the nine players who appeared in right last year for the Brewers, including the two who led in plate appearances as a rightfielder and four of the top six.

That should bode well for the Brewers, who will likely lean primarily on some combination of Frelick, Wiemer and Perkins to handle the position when the season begins.

Sal Frelick is learning the infield, but outfield will still likely be his home

The top storyline of camp so for has been Frelick’s venture to the dirt, where he is taking reps and seeing game action at third and second base.

The Brewers certainly have some unknowns in the infield – How much will Brice Turang hit? Is Andruw Monasterio or Tyler Black or Joey Ortiz capable of taking the everyday third base job? – but let’s not ignore that the outfield has plenty of questions, as well.

While the Brewers’ hope is that the immense amount of talent ultimately leads to success in their young outfielders, the likes of Wiemer, Garrett Mitchell and Jackson Chourio are still largely unproven at the big-league level. Wiemer’s rookie season was rocky at the plate, Mitchell has battled injuries that have kept him off the field and Chourio has yet to step in the box in a major-league game.

Because of that, odds are that Frelick, who is arguably the most proven of the group but still slumped badly late last year, will still be needed in the outfield.

Frelick showed what he’s capable of immediately upon being called up last July before the league ultimately adjusted to him and he had just a .615 OPS in September/October.

It could also be possible that the thumb injury Frelick suffered in April and cost him two months was bothering him and limiting some of his power output.

Whether on the infield or posting up in the outfield, the Brewers will rely on a healthy Frelick heavily this summer.

Joey Wiemer still figures to get solid playing time

It was easy to forget while watching Wiemer patrol center field at a high level last year that he almost exclusively played right in the minors.

Mitchell’s torn labrum forced Wiemer into the everyday center field job in mid April, a spot he manned almost exclusively until August. With Mitchell healthy and back in the fold again this spring and Chourio firmly in the mix, as well, it would seem that the need for Wiemer in center on a regular basis would be diminished – though perhaps his defense was so strong there the Brewers would prefer him in center when he plays and move others around to different spots instead.

But even if Mitchell and Chourio soak up the playing time in center, there are still avenues for plenty of at bats for Wiemer because of his ability to hit lefties.

Wiemer batted .267/.298/.517 against southpaws last year, good for an OPS of .815. He notched an extra base hit once every 7.7 at bats. There’s a track record here for Wiemer, who crushed lefties in the minors, as well. He had a 1.108 OPS against them in 2021 and .803 in 2022.

With only two true right-handed outfielders in the mix, the Brewers are going to want Wiemer’s bat in there against lefties as much as possible until given a reason to do otherwise.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers hopeful for outfield production from Sal Frelick, Joey Wiemer