Eric Thames Ties Milwaukee Brewers April Home Run Record

Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Eric Thames recorded his ninth and 10th home runs of the season Monday evening against the Cincinnati Reds, becoming just the second player in franchise history to total double-digit homers in April, per ESPN.com.

Thames has reached 10 home runs in just 21 games, becoming the fastest in Brewers history to reach the mark. He requires one more to break his current tie with Carlos Lee for most in team history the first month of the season and needs four more to tie Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez for the most home runs in April with 14.

After struggling to find his footing at the major league level early in his career, Thames made the decision to take try his hand in South Korea. The 30-year-old slugger spent his last three seasons there, smacking an average of 41 homers per year.

Milwaukee inked him to a three-year contract—with a fourth-year team option—prior to the 2017 campaign. While it's unlikely Thames will maintain his current pace, he's certainly paid early dividends on his reasonable $4 million 2017 salary.

The Brewers entered this season in what they considered to be a rebuilding year, but the club has managed to stay competitive with a 10-11 record thus far. Milwaukee has plenty of prospects in the pipeline, but the first to crack the bigs was shortstop Orlando Arcia. He's taken over the everyday role at the position this season while last year's shortstop, Jonathan Villar, has moved over to second base. The organization still sports names like Lewis Brinson and Josh Hader at the top of the prospect lists, both currently at the team's Triple-A Colorado Springs affiliate.

While the club may not be ready to compete for a postseason berth this season, Thames could be around long enough to witness and participate in a resurgence in Milwaukee.