Midweek Stock Report: Payton's place changed quickly
Every Wednesday, FOX Sports Wisconsin takes a look at which athletes' stock is trending up and whose is trending down.
In other words, who is making a meteoric rise, and who is quickly plummeting.
With that in mind, let's "take stock" of the current sports scene in Wisconsin, shall we?
Travis Shaw, Brewers third baseman
Shaw has made a good first impression. He was the first Brewers player to hit two doubles on an Opening Day in Milwaukee (and just the fourth overall), and his four doubles in his first two games are the most in franchise history in that short span. He also accounted for four of Milwaukee's 10 runs in the first two games (one run, three RBI).
Brent Suter, Brewers reliever
The upside to someone getting injured is it gives another player an opportunity. In Suter's case, he had been sent down to Triple-A before the season but with Milwaukee wanting to add a left-hander to the bullpen he never pitched in the minors before getting recalled to the Brewers. He quickly got into action, pitching two scoreless innings Tuesday while striking out two. Oh, and his entrance music is the theme to "Jurassic Park" -- how can you not love that?
Thon Maker, Bucks forward
Milwaukee's first-round pick is getting increased playing time -- he's had three of his top-five minutes played this past week -- and he's producing. Against Detroit, Maker had a career-high 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting. He followed that up with 11 points (5-of-7 shooting) vs. Dallas and pulled down a career-high seven rebounds at Oklahoma City.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks forward
Giannis had three double-doubles in four games last week -- he was one rebound shy of being 4 for 4 -- and twice came up one assist short of a triple-double.
Gary Payton II, Bucks guard
One minute you're playing in the D-League, the next averaging 19.5 minutes in two games for a playoff-bond team. That's exactly what happened to Payton, who was signed Sunday by Milwaukee and played later that day and then nearly 30 minutes on Tuesday in Oklahoma City. Payton's minutes will certainly decrease once Malcolm Brogdon returns, but he has time to make an impression to be on next year's club or at least be positioned nearby in Oshkosh, the home of Milwaukee's incoming D-League team.
Junior Guerra, Brewers pitcher
It's tough when the No. 1 starter goes down to injury. It's tougher when it happens on Opening Day. It's toughest when it occurs while batting. Milwaukee will now have to make do without last year's feel-good story for probably six weeks.
Terrence Jones, former Bucks forward
We'll always have those seven minutes. Which is more than we can say about Roy Hibbert.
Dave Heller is the author of the new book Ken Williams: A Slugger in Ruth's Shadow as well as Facing Ted Williams Players From the Golden Age of Baseball Recall the Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived and As Good As It Got: The 1944 St. Louis Browns
