A pair of former Brewers and a Wisconsin native among those competing for a championship
The 2024 World Series is set to begin Friday evening in Los Angeles as the Dodgers take on the New York Yankees at Dodger Stadium. Among the players participating are a pair of former Brewers, a former Brewers draft pick, and a Wisconsin native.
Trent Grisham and Jake Cousins of the Yankees both played for the Brewers, with Grisham donning a Milwaukee uniform in 2019 and Cousins pitching for the Crew from 2021 to 2023. On the Los Angeles side, Brewers former 10th round pick Anthony Banda will come out of the bullpen for the Dodgers, while Kenosha native Gavin Lux will appear at second base for L.A. Here’s a bit more on each of these Wisconsin/Milwaukee connections.
Trent Grisham
Grisham is perhaps best known in Milwaukee for his costly error in the 2019 NL Wild Card Game against the Washington Nationals, who of course went on to win the World Series. Even so, he had an OK rookie campaign with the Crew, hitting .231/.328/.410 (90 OPS+) with six homers and 24 RBIs across 51 games.
Milwaukee’s first-round pick in 2015 (No. 15 overall), Grisham was traded to the Padres with Zach Davies that offseason in a deal that sent Eric Lauer and Luis Urias to the Brewers. Grisham was again involved in a trade last offseason, heading to the Yankees along with Juan Soto in exchange for Michael King, Kyle Higashioka, Randy Vásquez, Jhony Brito, and Drew Thorpe. In 76 regular season games with the Yankees, he hit .190/.290/.385 (90 OPS+) with nine homers and 31 RBIs. Grisham has been on the roster for both of New York’s postseason series thus far but hasn’t made an appearance.
Jake Cousins
Cousins, the cousin of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins, was a 20th-round pick by the Nationals in 2017 (No. 613 overall). He joined the Brewers organization in 2019 as a free agent, working his way up from the Arizona League to the majors, making his MLB debut with Milwaukee in June 2021. In parts of three seasons with the Brewers, Cousins made 51 appearances with a 3.08 ERA and 72 strikeouts across 52 2⁄3 innings.
The Astros claimed Cousins off waivers from Milwaukee in July 2023, though he never made an appearance for Houston. He signed with the White Sox in free agency last offseason before being traded to the Yankees just four days into the season. He made 37 appearances for New York this season with a 2.37 ERA and 52 strikeouts across 38 innings, including his first career save. He’s made three postseason appearances this year with less success, sporting a 6.75 ERA and six strikeouts over 2 2⁄3 innings.
Anthony Banda
Banda is probably the least well known of the four players on this list (at least among Brewers fans). Originally selected in the 33rd round of the 2011 draft by Arizona, the Brewers took Banda in the 10th round of the 2012 draft out of San Jacinto Junior College in 2012 (No. 335 overall). Banda spent a few years in the system before being traded to the Diamondbacks (guess they really wanted him) along with Mitch Haniger for Gerardo Parra at the deadline in 2014.
Banda ultimately made his MLB debut with the Diamondbacks in 2017. In parts of eight MLB seasons with the D-Backs, Rays, Mets, Pirates, Blue Jays, Yankees, Nationals, and Dodgers, Banda has made 138 career appearances (eight starts) with a 4.92 ERA and 159 strikeouts across 168 1⁄3 innings. This season has been the best of his career, as he sported a 3.08 ERA with 50 strikeouts across 49 2⁄3 innings with L.A. In six postseason appearances, he’s allowed one run over 5 2⁄3 innings (1.59 ERA) with seven strikeouts.
Gavin Lux
Lux is the lone player from Wisconsin in this year’s World Series, hailing from Kenosha, where he played high school baseball at Indian Trail before being taken with the 20th overall pick by the Dodgers in 2016. Lux hit .560 with six homers, 46 runs scored, and 23 steals his senior season, ultimately winning a ton of awards, including being named a MaxPreps All-American and Wisconsin’s Gatorade Player of the Year.
While he hasn’t quite lived up to his full potential, he’s already played five MLB seasons at age 26, batting .252/.326/.383 (96 OPS+) with 28 homers, 155 RBIs, 19 steals, and 194 runs over 412 career games. He led the NL with seven triples in 2022 while appearing all over the field, though he’s served as L.A.’s primary second baseman. In 139 games this season, Lux had an above-average offensive year, hitting .251/.320/.383 (101 OPS+) with a career-high 10 homers, 50 RBIs, five steals, and 59 runs. Lux figures to be the starting second baseman for most of the World Series, as he’s hit .208/.259/.333 with one homer, three RBIs, four runs, and five hits over 24 at-bats this postseason.