Home runs used to be the safest currency in October. Not this year. The postseason just delivered a full-on reminder that slugging can vanish fast when the pitching gets nasty enough.
The numbers tell the story. This was a postseason with a record fastball velocity of 96.1, up from 93.6 only 10 years ago, and it produced the lowest slugging mark in the 19 seasons of pitch tracking at .336. The rate of at-bats per home run also dropped by 35% from last year, falling to its lowest point in 12 years.
That kind of drought wasn’t random. Pitching was simply overwhelming. Teams were dealing with arms that were harder, sharper and deeper than ever, and the result was a postseason in which slugging cratered to a level the pitch-tracking era had never seen.
The Brewers were the clearest proof that October doesn’t have to be won with the long ball. Milwaukee finished last in the NL in home runs and 28th overall in the regular season, then rode speed, contact and opposite-field hitting all the way to the title.
As Jake Bauers put it about teams still chasing launch angle, “It doesn’t win any more. It may work once in a while.
But it’s not something that’s sustainable consistently with the way pitching is today. And when you rely on that kind of hitting, and it’s not working, you have nothing.
No other way to win a game.”
Milwaukee also had a major scheduling edge. The Brewers played 13 games across 18 days off, and manager Pat Murphy was able to keep leaning on his high-leverage relievers with the best stuff because the team knocked out the Padres and Dodgers in four games each. That rest mattered.
The postseason as a whole showed just how often teams were blanked by power. Clubs played more games without a homer this year, 39, and won more games without one, 12, than in any of the past 12 postseasons.
Milwaukee led that trend in style, going 5-0 in games in which it did not homer. With expanded playoffs, the Brewers became the first team to go 5-0 in homerless postseason games, topping the 1907 Cubs and 1922 Giants, who both went 4-0.
The shift wasn’t limited to October, either. Tampa Bay’s evolution under Kevin Cash and GM Erik Neander showed how teams are adjusting to the pitching landscape.
In Cash’s 12th year managing the Rays, the club leaned into a small-ball, contact-heavy, risk-taking identity that fit the moment. That was a change for an organization that had previously downplayed that style through its analytics-driven lens.
The contact spike was real. In 11 previous seasons under Cash, Tampa Bay had never finished in the top half of MLB in contact rate. This year, the Rays led the league.
That broader offensive shift sets up an interesting free-agent case in Brandon Lowe. Coming off a career-best season, he stands out as one of the more intriguing names on the market.
With Pittsburgh, Lowe posted corner-type power from second base in the manner of Jeff Kent, hitting 35 homers with 96 RBI, both career highs, while also improving defensively and logging a career-high 656 plate appearances. He may be the best left-handed bat available.
But age complicates the equation. Lowe will be 32 next season and turns 33 in July, and the middle infield is a rough place to buy the back end of a contract as the game gets younger.
Over the past eight seasons, only seven qualified middle infielders age 33 and older posted an OPS+ above 99. That’s less than half the number from each of the three eight-season windows before this one.
This year’s decline included Marcus Semien, Trevor Story, Xander Bogaerts, Dansby Swanson, Jake Cronenworth, Jeff McNeil and Trea Turner, all between 32 and 35 and all with an OPS+ of 90 or lower.
In Other News...
Pat Murphy Added Another Brewers Milestone To His Championship Legacy
Pat Murphy keeps adding to a Brewers run that already felt hard to top, and now his latest honor only deepens the standard he has set in Milwaukee. After guiding the club to a franchise-record 103 wins and a World Series title in 2026, Murphy was named the BBWAA National League Manager of the Year for the third straight season, a stretch of recognition that speaks to both the consistency of the team and the way he has shaped it.
The backdrop makes the award even more striking. Murphy spent much of the season managing through pain before undergoing hip replacement surgery, and he accepted the latest honor from a Milwaukee hospital bed. For a manager who has already helped deliver the biggest prize in franchise history, the milestone adds another layer to a legacy that keeps growing, even as the next chapter is still being written. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Are Already Facing A Familiar Bullpen Question Next Season
The Brewers spent part of their roster housekeeping this week making room for prospect protection, and the bullpen picture for next season is already starting to take shape around that move. Milwaukee has long leaned on a flexible relief mix, and the front office appears headed right back to that model, with optionable arms expected to cycle through the staff as the club manages workloads over the course of the year.
That approach also leaves the door open for reinforcements from Triple-A or outside the organization, which is where the next layer of intrigue comes in. Garrett Stallings and Colton Gordon are among the names in the mix for those shuttle roles, giving the Brewers a few internal possibilities as they try to piece together another workable bullpen without locking themselves into a fixed group too early. [Read more 🡒]
Logan Hendersons Rookie Finish Leaves Brewers Fans Thinking What If
Logan Hendersons rookie season gave the Brewers a glimpse of what could be coming next in their rotation, even if the official awards race never fully caught up to the quality of his work. While Kevin McGonigle and Sal Stewart took home the BBWAA Rookie of the Year honors in their leagues, Henderson quietly put together a strong first impression in Milwaukee, finishing with a 2.47 ERA across 98.1 innings and showing the kind of poise the club can build around.
The frustrating part for Brewers fans is how much more there might have been. A late start and a month on the injured list limited his chances to pile up the innings and visibility that often sway award voters, leaving his season feeling more like a preview than a finished product. Even so, the Brewers have every reason to view Henderson as a key piece of what comes next, and his rookie finish only sharpens the sense that his best work is still ahead. [Read more 🡒]