As the season is coming to an end, the Milwaukee Brewers are primed to make a deep run in this year’s postseason in the chase to bring home their first world series. It has been a historic season for the Brewers, posting the very first 100-win campaign in franchise history.
They just recently clinched the first seed throughout the playoffs, the Brewers have had many stars shine bright. Some examples include Jackson Chourio, who leads the team in batting average (.283) and notched his third straight 20-20 season (24 home runs-22 stolen bases). Jake Bauers, who has had a career year where he leads the team in home runs (26), walks (93), on base percentage (.393), and slugging (.490), and Brice Turang, who is one hit shy of William Contreras with the most hits (150), leads the team in WAR (7.2, second behind Cub’s PCA in MLB), RBI’s (94), doubles (35), Total bases (251), games played (147), and total at-bats (565).
On the pitching side of things, Misiorowski has had a CY-Young caliber season with an astonishing 1.86 ERA, 247 strikeouts, 18 Quality Starts, 15 wins, a 6.1 WAR, and a .80 WHIP, which leads all brewers’ pitchers. Logan Henderson has become a solid second option behind “The Miz” with a 2.47 ERA, a .84 WHIP, and 11 Wins. For relief pitchers, DL Hall has been quietly an amazing bullpen option with a 1.96 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. Even with all the stars that have shined bright during our historic season, these six players are who I believe can make or break a world series run.
Offensive X-factors #1: Christian Yelich
The 2018 NL MVP is my top offensive x-factor this year as he has posted a stat line of a .236 batting average, 12 Home Runs, 102 hits, and 58 RBI’s. With someone who has struggled historically in the playoffs, especially since 2020. In the four years the Brewers have made the postseason since 2020 with Yelich in the lineup (missed in 2022 and didn’t play in 2024), Yelich is batting an abysmal .176 in 17 games (15 hits in 85 plate appearances), and batting 0-4 with runners in scoring position (GIDP, 2 groundouts, and a strikeout).
Since 2020, he went 3-22 or a .136 batting average, against the Braves. He is 3-15 or a .200 batting average and against the cubs. He is 5-19 or a .263 batting average which is respectable. The Brewers have not faced either Philadelphia or San Deigo in the playoffs after 2020 which means Yelich is batting .196 against potential matchups in the postseason.
He has yet to record an RBI since the 2018 postseason where he hit the only two home runs of his postseason career. If the Brewers want to get over the hump and into the world series this year, Yelich will need more production otherwise, he will be destined to hold us back or be a guaranteed out.
Offensive X-factor #2: Joey Ortiz
Is the switch from shortstop to third base a real improvement or will it be a shattered facade come October? That is the biggest question. Before the switch, he was batting .201 with 31 hits, two home runs and 19 RBIs in 73 games leading to some questions which is why Cooper Pratt was brought up to the big leagues.
Since the switch on July 4th, Joey Ortiz is batting a scorching .330 batting average with 61 hits, seven home runs and 27 RBIs in 59 games. He is one of the best third basemen in the entire league. Even with an elite skillset on defense, the question I wonder is how he will fare when the lights are brighter than ever before.
In his first two postseasons, he has batted an egregiously horrid 2-30 or a .067 batting average.
Starting pitcher X-factor #1: Robbert Gasser
With “The Miz” and Logan Henderson firmly taking game one and game two in the NLDS. The Brewers are in this limbo with who takes game three. If you asked me in the beginning of the year, Kyle Harrison would have been my answer with how he’s been pitching recently, I didn’t know who to put.
A beacon of light shined down on Robert Gasser, especially since August. He has eaten up innings and given up three runs or fewer In his last 10 out of 11 starts. Gasser doesn’t utilize the strikeout as much as other starting pitchers on this team but will eat innings up well.
For example, in his last start against the Baltimore Orioles, he went seven innings, giving up three hits, three walks and striking out three. Outside of two fluke games, he has been a solid third option for the Brewers this entire season and especially now when Dustin May (Hit and miss) and Kyle Harrison (been abysmal since August 31st).
Gasser is a much needed third option for this starting rotation especially with an elite defense that rarely makes mistakes. Gasser will be someone who can make or break a game but his stats show that he will most likely perform when the Brewers will need him the most.
Starting Pitcher X-factor #2: Dustin May
Writing about making or breaking a game, Dustin May comes to mind as he has been a hit or miss pitcher with his short time with the Milwaukee Brewers. He has statistically been below average except on random occasion where he will pitch a gem. He has had four quality starts compared to five shortened or abysmal starts.
With the Brewers, he has an ERA of 4.67 which is not great but that is how he operated this entire year, including in St. Louis. I understand that everyone has fluke games, even the best of the best, but May’s entire season has fluctuated wildly. When he pitches a gem, he is able to strike out more than gasser and can eat up innings like gasser but with his instability on the mound, he will not be the third in rotation but rather fourth.
May does have postseason and world series experience but hasn’t pitched in the postseason since 2023. If May is throwing a Gem, the Brewers should be able to get over the hump with a solid four pitcher rotation, but because he would be fourth in the rotation come the NLCS, should we advance, he could start an elimination game for us which makes his role in the NLDS more interesting.
Relief Pitcher X-factor #1: DL Hall
DL Hall has had an underrated season for the Brewers, posting a 1.96 ERA in 46 games on 59.2 innings pitched, and has struck out 63. He has been mostly used this season when the Brewers are losing in games or are up by a lot of runs. So the leverage situation is typically low but recently he has been put in higher leverage situations.
Hall is a mix between strikeout utilization and in-play outs. His WHIP is 1.06, which is well above the average of 1.30. In his career, Hall has pitched 3.1 innings with six strikeouts in 2023 with the Orioles but hasn’t made an appearance in the postseason since then, mainly due to injuries.
With such a small sample size, I am curious to see how DL Hall will pitch as well as how he will be utilized but with him being healthy, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in a higher leverage situation as well as damage control when needed but hopefully the ladder won’t happen.
Relief pitcher X-factor #2: Aaron Ashby
When I hear Aaron Ashby’s name announced to come into a game, I hold my breath along with the 40,000 others at American Family Field and for good reason. He has blown the lead over 10 times this season. He has posted a 3.27 ERA in 73 games which would be considered above average but in the playoffs, he’s posted a 7.71 ERA, with 10 strikeouts and a WHIP of 2.79.
If we see Ashby in, I know everyone will be on the edge of their seat, just to make sure he doesn’t blow it because this season, he has the second most strikeouts by a relief pitcher with 110, only behind Mason Miller and has a K rate of 30.2% which is a high strikeout rate as the average is on 22%.
He feels similar to watching Dustin May in the sense that he will either throw a massive inning(s) depending on how he will be utilized or we will see a blown lead and potentially a blown postseason opportunity.
One Thing to watch for:
The battle for right field between Sal Frelick and Luis Lara. After Frelick went down with an injury, The Brewers called up Luis Lara and boy has he taken off. In 58 games, Lara has hit .251 while Frelick in 108 games has hit .236.
Lara has shown off as good of defense as Frelick while being faster and arguably more athletic. Frelick has the experience, but Lara has been playing better than Frelick has been. This is in simpler terms, experience vs youth. In this scenario, I would much rather see the right fielder who is hitting .251 and is arguably more athletic than the experienced right fielder.
The Question on everyone’s mind:
Can the Brewers win the world series? In my honest opinion, absolutely. They have the deepest team they have arguably ever had. They make very few errors and while they don’t rely on the long ball (home runs), they have players who can launch balls into the Milwaukee night.
This team is an offensive powerhouse, boasting game scores like 22-0 against the Seattle Mariners or 20-0 against the Cincinnati Reds. They are top five in stolen bases, thanks to players like David Hamilton or Jackson Chourio. So when they get on base, this team causes havoc for opposing pitchers and teams.
This team never quits, even when down, as 33 of our wins have come from behind. They are tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for best batting average. This is largely due to their 1,392 hits which are the most in the MLB.
They have the second most runs in baseball and have the best run-differential at +207, thanks to their stellar pitching. The Brewers are in the top three teams for strikeouts, saves, and ERA. This means they’re dangerous on both sides of the ball.
This team embodies the friendships between the players and with Pat Murphy at the helm, he has lit a fire under this team once again, even without the presence of pocket pancakes. This team has produced the cy-young frontrunner and potential coach of the year in Pat Murphy.
This is the third straight year which has never been done before. This team has a top three pitching staff, top three in offense (excluding home runs), and are top 10 fielding this year. This year is the best chance the Brewers have to win the world series and I know the city of Milwaukee and all Brewer fans around the world will back this team till the very last out.