Why this year's Brewers will be different from all the others

The Milwaukee Brewers became the first MLB team to clinch their spot in the 2025 playoffs. This will be the fourth season in a five-year span in which Milwaukee has won 90-plus games. In will be their seventh postseason appearance in eight years. Few clubs are more consistently excellent, despite operating in a small market with a strict spending limit and far less star-power than your traditional October powerhouse.

The only issue? All this regular season success amounts to very little when the postseason ends with the same disappointment time after time. Milwaukee has advanced to the NLCS once in its last eight years — and that was all the way back in 2018. Next month, the Brewers will attempt to win their first series since that brief foray of pennant contention.

On paper, the Brewers are the team to beat. The presumed No. 1 overall seed, the most consistent winner in MLB since the All-Star break. Pat Murphy is going to win NL Manager of the Year. The Brewers are littered with up-and-coming stars to mitigate their lack of free agent pull. You don't need to sign free agent heavyweights when your farm system churns out impact plays en masse every season.

But given their track record of postseason flameouts, a lot of baseball fans are naturally skeptical of what the Brewers will actually accomplish this time around. Is anything different? We've seen the Brewers exceed expectations and even claim the best record in the league, but it almost always ends with a whimper against flashier teams with more household names. Are the 2025 Brewers trendsetters or trend followers?

Let's dive in.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.

Brewers have every reason to be confident heading into 2025 MLB Postseason

All the numbers paint Milwaukee as the best team this postseason. The Brewers are No. 2 in runs scored and No. 3 in ERA this season, the only MLB team in the top three for both.

Milwaukee's pitching staff might be the deepest in the National League when accounting for both the starting rotation and the bullpen. Once the playoffs arrive, one will feed into the other. Jacob Misiorowski has potentially lost his spot in the October rotation, but what happens when he gets to crank his stuff up in a bullpen gig? Probably good things.

Freddy Peralta continues to throw absolute gas under the radar. He should get Cy Young votes. Brandon Woodruff has been lights-out since returning from injury. Quinn Priester, with a 3.25 ERA through 22 starts, is one of the league's best breakout stories this season. Their weakest link might be Jose Quintana, a 14-year MLB vet with tons of postseason experience.

The five-man bullpen core of Abner Uribe, Jared Koenig, Aaron Ashby, Grant Anderson and Rob Zastryzny can go toe-to-toe with anyone. The Dodgers, Mets, Cubs, Padres – all these teams are littered with holes on the pitching front. Milwaukee has the personnel to slam the door on opponents once the postseason arrives.

What will spook some pundits, however, is the offense — even if Milwaukee, again, is No. 2 in runs scored among MLB teams this season. The Brewers just don't have a Juan Soto, a Shohei Ohtani, a Fernando Tatis Jr., a Kyle Schwarber. That leaves them vulnerable in the eyes of many.

Brewers' offense is built to sustain itself through October

But is Milwaukee actually vulnerable? Well, let's state the facts. The Brewers are 20th in home runs. This is not a team built around slugging. Instead, Milwaukee loads up the bases with smart swing decisions, methodically chipping away at the opponent. That is a strategy that does not always translate well to the postseason, which pitchers bring their A-game and a single swing of the bat can change the outcome of a series.

But this Brewers team has a lot of talent. A lot of young talent, burgeoning stars on the upswing of their careers. There isn't a complete power void either. Christian Yelich is on track to finish with 30-plus home runs. Andrew Vaughn and Rhys Hoskins can provide explosive results off the bench. Eight of nine regular starters in the Milwaukee lineup boast a wRC+ north of 100, which typically demarcates league-average hitting. Joey Ortiz (68 wRC+) can be easily replaced by Andruw Monasterio (130 wRC+) once October strikes.

Milwaukee's positive momentum is palpable. Isaac Collins and Caleb Durbin are both enjoying torried stretches, with both expected to receive NL Rookie of the Year votes. Brice Turang has come on strong this season, going from a Gold Glove winner with a weak bat to a genuine centerpiece in the lineup (... and a Gold Glove candidate). Chourio still isn't 22 yet, he's just scratching the surface of his vast potential. Yelich, meanwhile, is the stabilizing veteran — the big bopper who has been around the block more than a few times. He can lead by example, and with his voice in the locker room.

The Brewers' depth is unmatched. Practically the whole lineup operates with a level of discipline you won't find elsewhere in MLB. They play a smart, workmanlike brand of baseball, working deep into counts, keeping mistakes to a minimum, and taking a nontraditional route to high-scoring victories.

I'm not sure how you can watch the Brewers, see the smiles in the dugout and in the locker room, see how they approach the game and seize opportunities, capitalize on weaknesses, and not conclusion that... yeah. The Brewers are a real threat.

The World Series is never a guarantee. Postseason baseball is far too predictable. But if you're asking me to bet on whether or not Milwaukee advances to the NLCS and makes things interesting, I'm putting my money on 'yes.'