The Brewers are still playing the long game in the regular season, but the conversation around October is already rolling. Pat Murphy keeps hammering the same point: nothing is locked up yet. Milwaukee may be sitting on a near-100% chance of making the playoffs for the eighth time in the last nine years, but the club still has to keep chasing every night with an NL Central title, a first-round bye, and home-field advantage all still in play.
That hasn’t stopped people from sketching out what the postseason roster could look like once the Brewers shrink from 28 players in September back down to 26 in October. And as every playoff roster reminds you, there’s always room for a wrinkle.
Last year, Robert Gasser popped up on the NLCS roster because he matched up well against several left-handed Dodgers hitters. October often rewards that kind of thinking.
The other wrinkle is roster construction. In a five-game series, teams may lean lighter on pitching.
In a seven-game series, they can carry as many as 13 pitchers, though sometimes clubs opt for 12 if they think they can get through the round that way. With that in mind, here’s a first look at how Milwaukee’s postseason group could take shape.
Behind the plate, the projection lands on William Contreras and Gary Sánchez. There’s a case for Bo Naylor, the trade deadline addition, to join them and give the Brewers three catchers.
That would let Sánchez be used more aggressively off the bench without worrying as much about coverage behind the plate. But in a seven-game format, using three of the 13 position-player spots on catchers is a hard sell.
The infield is built around Jake Bauers, Andrew Vaughn, Brice Turang, Cooper Pratt, Joey Ortiz, and David Hamilton. That’s the same group Milwaukee has leaned on since Pratt was brought up in early June.
Bauers is also expected to see time in the outfield, especially against left-handed pitching. The real question is Hamilton.
Will the Brewers keep giving him starts against righties in October, or stick with Pratt and Ortiz on the left side because they’ve been better defensively and are also swinging it well?
The outfield picture looks just as stable. Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, Luis Lara, and Sal Frelick are the names here, and Bauers can slide out there too.
Mitchell and Lara have settled into a center-field platoon, with Lara taking lefties and Mitchell handling right-handers. Chourio stays in left, and Frelick could be the choice in right against a righty if Bauers is at first.
Even if they aren’t all starting every game, all four should be involved through matchups, defense, and the occasional pinch-run.
Christian Yelich is the designated hitter in this projection, and the timing looks right. He’s barreling the ball more, carrying a strong average exit velocity over the last few weeks, and lifting it more consistently than he was earlier in the year. If that carries into October, it gives Milwaukee a much better chance to make noise.
On the mound, the Brewers’ postseason staff would revolve around Jacob Misiorowski, Logan Henderson, Dustin May, and Kyle Harrison as the bulk options. In October, “starting pitcher” can be a loose term.
Teams lean on the bullpen faster, and many starters won’t see a lineup for a third time. That’s especially relevant with one fewer off-day in the NLDS than last year.
The only real mystery is the order those four would be used.
The bullpen projection is where Milwaukee really looks dangerous: Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe, Aaron Ashby, JoJo Romero, Antonio Senzatela, Chad Patrick, DL Hall, Shane Drohan, and Grant Anderson. That’s a deep group, and the back end stands out with Megill, Uribe, and Ashby.
Romero and Senzatela, both deadline additions, add more punch to the high-leverage mix. Hall is having a career year, and Patrick and Anderson give the Brewers more ways to shorten games.
The biggest remaining question is how many of those starting arms end up in the bullpen in October. This projection includes Drohan, who handled relief work well back in May. Robert Gasser could also fit there as a long-relief option.
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Brewers Rookie Fireballer Gets One Last Shot At The Cubs
Jacob Misiorowski gets another chance to face the Cubs on Tuesday at American Family Field, and for a rookie with only three big league starts under his belt, that is a pretty quick return to a familiar rivalry. He has already been a problem for Chicago this season, going 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA in those matchups while striking out 21 in 16 innings, and the Brewers have seen firsthand how his power stuff can change a game in a hurry.
The most memorable version of Misiorowski against the Cubs came when he hit 105.5 mph on the radar gun, a fastball that tied for the third-fastest ever tracked by Statcast. He was knocked around more recently at Wrigley Field, though Milwaukee still finished the job, so this one feels like another test of how much the Cubs can adjust before the rookie fireballer gets one more shot at them. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Enter A Crucial Stretch With New Pressure On Their Pitching Staff
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The roster churn has only added to the urgency. Milwaukee activated Abner Uribe and JoJo Romero from the injured list, put Bryse Wilson on the injured list, and watched Joel Kuhnel get designated for assignment before the Giants claimed him, a reminder that the pitching group is still being tested on multiple fronts. With more games against a division rival fresh in the rearview, the Brewers now have to hope these personnel moves help stabilize things before the next turn of the schedule gets any tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Garrett Mitchell Has Forced A Brewers Question At The Worst Time
Garrett Mitchell has finally gotten the kind of extended big-league runway the Brewers long imagined for him, and it has come at a time when every at-bat seems to carry extra weight. After spending his previous four partial seasons bouncing in and out of the lineup, he has logged 464 plate appearances this year, giving Milwaukee a much clearer look at what he is right now, not just what he might become.
What the Brewers have seen is a player whose offense still comes with familiar tradeoffs. Mitchell strikes out a lot, does not bring much power, and yet keeps finding ways to hold his own because of the amount of hard contact he produces. Even so, his place in the clubs postseason picture is far from settled, with outfield competition tightening at exactly the moment the Brewers would prefer to have their answers already in hand. [Read more 🡒]