How the Brewers went from afterthought to National League contender

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Milwaukee leaned on internal improvement and have emerged as a surprising contender in the National League

The Milwaukee Brewers were not expected to contend in 2024. They were hardly viewed as a threat in their own division. Now they possess the largest division lead in baseball, not just a mere ticket to the playoffs. Milwaukee is entrenched in a battle for the best record in baseball.

There is no shortage of credit to be spread around for the team’s ability to exceed expectations. Some of the criticism around the team comes from its spot in the relatively weaker National League Central. That shouldn’t cloud what has otherwise been a stellar campaign driven by an offense that took, as it might be called by some, “a quantum leap.”

The Brewers have benefited from strong performances against their division opponents, but they still boast a solid record against winning teams. They have worked to get to this point while dealing with an uncertain rotation and the loss of Christian Yelich, arguably their best offensive player.

Yet their collective offensive performance has uplifted their status from potential disappointment to a serious contender. Through some impressive team building and breakout youngsters, the Brewers shouldn’t be overlooked as October nears. Milwaukee might be known for solid defense and good pitching, but this year, their offense is a major factor in their quest for playoff success.

Yelich talked about the team’s expectations for themselves entering the season, according to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy, saying:

“I tried to tell you guys in Spring Training that we might surprise some people,” Yelich said. “I understand that the team, the names, the faces might be a little different than what everybody has been used to the last 5-6 years because we had a lot of young talent coming in with some veteran guys returning. In our eyes, we were still going to compete and still be a good team.”

Brice Turang’s electric start is one example that epitomizes their style of play. His defense is Gold-Glove caliber and he’s a threat on the bases, making plays happen both with his bat and his glove. He was widely touted by team personnel in the preseason for his potential to have a breakout season. Manager Pat Murphy predicted his “quantum leap,” and Turang lived up to that billing.

By the end of June, Turang was hitting .292 and entered into All-Star discussions. Turang was one of the poorest hitters in baseball last year, but through one offseason transformed into a player capable of being a catalyst for the lineup. His elite defense was valuable, but it’s his elevated offense, based on more consistent contact and great plate skills, that made him a keystone of the Brewers’ run.

As young players develop, they run into some struggles. Turang faced a slump of his own through the end of July and August, but the Brewers’ depth proved formidable in the face of difficulties. Just as Turang cooled off and Yelich was injured, the rest of the lineup pulled through.

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The growth of Jackson Chourio is the team’s most nationally acclaimed storyline. His sensational season didn’t come easily. The struggles that plagued Chourio came early in the season, which was to be expected for a player entering the season at just 20-years old. By June 1, Chourio seemed overmatched with a .210 batting average and a 27% strikeout rate. His improvement has been an inspiring development while filling up highlight reels as the Brewers garner more and more attention.

He’s nearly a lock to record a 20-20 season. Teammate Freddy Peralta discussed Chourio’s growing confidence:

“He believes that he is great. You can tell,” Peralta said. “I laugh all the time because when he does that kind of stuff, he comes back to me [and says], ‘You see how good I am?’ I don’t even know the answer to give, I just smile about it. He is believing that, and that is very important to us.

From the All-Star game to September, Chourio has slashed a wild .335/.375/.576 (162 wRC+) while taking on the mantle as the team’s spark plug. That’s a performance that even the Brewers couldn’t have expected when extending Chourio before he debuted in the majors. Risks like handing Chourio an everyday job from Opening Day and continued trust in Turang exhibit the team building it took to reach this stage.

The Brewers have assembled a young corps of players that gives the team the depth and talent necessary to contend for a title. Joey Ortiz, a key piece in the Corbin Burnes trade, is another example of a player representing some sense of uncertainty entering the season. Yet he continues to thrive with terrific defense and a mature plate approach unexpected for someone with such little experience in the majors. Garrett Mitchell, another budding keystone, has yet to surpass 100 total games played in the majors. He’s heating up in recent weeks after losing much of the season to injury.

The veterans in Milwaukee’s lineup are some of the few players recognized as star players that might be expected to constitute a World Series contender. Willy Adames and William Contreras are the keystones for a lineup that isn’t overly reliant on home runs. Both players rank as some of the most prolific home run hitters at their respective positions. Contreras was the All-Star Game starter at catcher and Adames just homered in five straight games.

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Those two have provided the structure necessary for the rest of the lineup to flourish with their consistent power production. Their presence, combined with the breakouts of players like Chourio and Turang, have led the Brewers to one of the most potent offenses in baseball. As a team, the Brewers struggled on their way to the 2023 playoffs with a 92 wRC+. That marked them as the 22nd best offense in baseball. One year later, they have climbed to a 107 wRC+ by the start of September which ranks them ninth.

The astute signing of Rhys Hoskins might have been one of the most underrated moves of the offseason. A team desperate for power, the Brewers were looking for a bounceback season for Hoskins after missing the entirety of 2023. He hasn’t quite reached the same levels of production he had in his years with Philadelphia, but he has slugged 22 home runs, the second-best total on the team.

This roster doesn’t have many of their top power sources from just a year ago, but they effectively replaced that production. Many of their youngsters play a role in their place among one of the best hitting teams in baseball, but the bench bats ensure they never miss out on their offensive ceiling in any matchup.

In 2023, the Brewers had seven hitters with at least 10 home runs. That list included Yelich, Adames, and Contreras, obviously players with a key role in this year’s team. But otherwise? Rowdy Tellez, Joey Wiemer, Carlos Santana, and Tyrone Taylor were the only other players to reach that mark. Those four players are no longer with the organization.

This year, the list of players with 10 home runs also includes Hoskins, Chourio, and Jake Bauers. Sitting just outside this list is catcher Gary Sanchez with nine home runs. In the case of Bauers and Sanchez, they aren’t everyday players for the Brewers, but they provide an impact off the bench. For Bauers, it’s his best season since his rookie year in 2018 with the Tampa Bay Rays. Sanchez is posting his best batting average since 2019 with the New York Yankees.

Bauers mentioned the importance of the all-around contributions from the lineup:

“We have a lot of guys in here who are committed to playing the right way,” Bauers said. “When you do that, you put yourself in situations to score extra runs, to get insurance runs when you need them. I think that’s what we’re doing, and I think that’s the mindset all year.”

It will be a challenge for the Brewers to prove that slugging isn’t the only way to a championship. If any team is built to do so, it’s this Milwaukee lineup. They have been one of the most consistent lineups in baseball this season due to their ability to manufacture rallies with impact players in every spot of the batting order.

Even some of the powerhouse teams in baseball, such as the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees, have battled with lackluster performance from their lineups outside of their superstars. As for the Brewers, they can post a lineup everyday with quality at every position. They aren’t just defensive stalwarts. This team continues to create runs, making them a threat to make go on a run this October.