Every year, we hear the same line: This will finally be the season when the Milwaukee Brewers come back down to earth. And every year, they win the National League Central in convincing fashion.
But this might be their best work yet.
What Matt Arnold has done in constructing this Brewers roster has drawn widespread praise from baseball officials, with three prominent sources saying he’s currently the best executive in baseball. The job that Pat Murphy has done in maximizing the talent on the roster and pushing his players to extract the best out of them has him on track to win his third consecutive National League Manager of the Year award.
As the Brewers advance to the National League Championship Series, it’s become increasingly clear that this team is different. They have long been the underdog; now, they are the team that everyone is gunning for, because they have established themselves as the best and most complete team remaining in the postseason.
The Brewers have more ways to score than the home run
That’s been the biggest question mark surrounding the Brewers in recent years: a lack of slug. But they consistently put the ball in play and put tremendous pressure on teams with their aggressiveness on the base paths, with seven players stealing at least 11 bases this season (David Hamilton led the team with 30).
One prominent baseball source said recently: “In the most complimentary way, Milwaukee is a pain in the ass.”
It’s exactly how Murphy envisioned his team looking when he took over as manager. He wanted to be a hard-nosed, aggressive team, and he emphasized that multiple times in his introductory press conference. Through three seasons, the Brewers have been exactly that.
But they also do have the ability to hit the long ball. Jake Bauers led the team with 26 home runs this season, and the organization will face a very interesting qualifying offer decision for the free-agent-to-be. Jackson Chourio has emerged into a superstar, evidenced by his heroic game-winning hit in Game 2 against San Diego, and hit 25 home runs this season. Brice Turang, one of the most underrated players in baseball, hit 21 home runs this season with 100 RBI.
The Brewers have multiple ways to beat you. It’s headlined by their ability to put the ball in play, but don’t underestimate their ability to hit the home run.
Milwaukee’s elite pitching and bullpen gives it an edge
What Jacob Misiorowski has done this season is remarkable. It has blown away even the most optimistic people who have followed the right-hander for years. I check in with one baseball source after every Misiorowski start, and around midseason, I texted him: “I’ve run out of new things to say. This is nuts.”
Misiorowski gives the Brewers a massive edge in any game, and no matter the circumstances — whether Game 1 or a Game 7 — the organization will feel good about their chances with the right-hander on the mound. He’s that special.
Logan Henderson has also emerged into a vital piece in Milwaukee, and his 2.47 ERA in 18 starts has folks optimistic that he’ll be a mainstay in the rotation for years to come. The Brewers refused to include Henderson in a Tarik Skubal trade at the deadline. They say that sometimes the best deals are the ones you don’t make; this would be one of them.
Dustin May is someone that the team remains optimistic about and was eager to acquire at the trade deadline. Then there’s the bullpen, which has been its typical excellent self, featuring Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe, Antonio Senzatela, Aaron Ashby and DL Hall among others.
They registered 15 outs in Game 1 against San Diego. After the game, Ashby told reporters: “We trust every guy down there, we got each other’s backs. In the postseason, it’s going to be a lot of inherited runners.”
Murphy said: “All five relievers did a heck of a job.”
Which has become standard practice for these Brewers.
What could keep the Brewers out of the World Series?
Well, let’s start with the elephant in the room: the Los Angeles Dodgers. They have the most loaded roster in baseball history, and a rotation that features Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell. Then there’s a lineup with Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and others. That is a tall task for anyone, even the Brewers.
Let’s stick with Milwaukee. As mentioned before, the fact that they aren’t an elite home run-hitting team could impact them against the Dodgers. But perhaps the biggest question mark resides in the rotation, as May has not established himself as they thought he would with a 5.65 ERA in 10 starts. And the lack of real starting options after he, Misiorowski and Henderson is a real concern.
For years, the Brewers have been mainstays in October. They advanced to the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers and took it to seven games. While this roster is not perfect, it's darn close. And it sure feels like their best chance yet to finally break through.
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