The Milwaukee Brewers spent the 2026 regular season doing exactly what a No. 1 seed is supposed to do: win, and keep winning. They finished 103-59, claimed their fourth straight National League Central title, and did it by 14 games. Now they get a week to reset before the National League Division Series begins Saturday.
Their opponent still isn’t set. Milwaukee will face the winner of the Wild Card Series between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres. San Diego opened that matchup with an 8-0 win last night and could send Chicago home as early as tonight.
That uncertainty only adds to the pressure on the Brewers’ best bats to stay locked in. If Milwaukee wants to push through October, three hitters in particular need to carry their September form right into the postseason.
Jackson Chourio is the name that jumps out first. In just his third MLB season, he is already tied for the franchise record in career postseason home runs.
That alone tells you how dangerous he can be when the lights come on. He finished the regular season scorching hot, batting .337/.389/.531 in September with five home runs, 18 RBI, and nine stolen bases.
For the year, Chourio put together a .291/.351/.487 line with 25 home runs, 75 RBI, 23 stolen bases, and 96 runs scored. Even that looks more impressive when you remember he missed the first month with a hairline fracture in his left hand. If he keeps producing like that in October, Milwaukee becomes a very tough team to dismiss in any series.
William Contreras is the other middle-of-the-order piece the Brewers need at full strength. He went through a long slump after the All-Star Break and even lost some ground in the batting order, but September brought a much better version of the catcher. He hit .263/.330/.513 with five home runs and 24 RBI last month.
His batting average and on-base percentage were below his season numbers, which sat at .270/.341/.417, but the power jumped. His OPS climbed nearly 100 points, and his 10 extra-base hits in September matched his best monthly total of the season, alongside April. Milwaukee will need that run production in the heart of the lineup if it’s going to make another deep October run.
Then there’s Brice Turang, who quietly turned in a massive season of his own. After a career year in 2025, he took another step forward in 2026, hitting .268/.366/.450 with career highs in home runs (21), RBI (100), and runs (102). That kind of finish looks even better when you remember how rough August was for him: .175/.266/.247.
Turang answered with a huge September, batting .361/.475/.602 with four home runs and 22 RBI. That surge put him back on track and gave Milwaukee exactly the kind of momentum it wants at the top of the lineup heading into October.
If those three keep rolling, the Brewers will have a much better chance of matching their regular-season dominance when the postseason begins.
In Other News...
Brewers Send A Clear NLDS Message With Latest Pitching Cut
The Brewers made another quick pitching move late in September, designating right-hander Lyon Richardson for assignment just two days after promoting him to the majors. It was a brief stay on the active roster for Richardson, who had already spent time in the organization before this latest call-up and was trying to carve out a spot as Milwaukee sorted through its pitching options down the stretch.
Richardson then chose free agency on Sept. 28 rather than accept an outright assignment to the minors, ending his latest run with the club after one big-league appearance in 2025. For Milwaukee, it was another reminder of how tightly the roster is being managed as the Brewers look to sharpen their pitching staff for October and keep every spot pointed toward the same postseason goal. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Drew A Dangerous NLDS Matchup At The Worst Time
The Brewers spent the final stretch of the regular season looking every bit like the No. 1 seed in the National League, but the reward for that work arrived with a tricky Oct. NLDS draw. San Diego rolled through the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card Series and now comes to Milwaukee with momentum, a pitching staff that has carried the Padres through October, and enough early offense to make a short series feel even shorter.
For Milwaukee, the timing is uncomfortable because the matchup lands right as the Padres are playing their best baseball. San Diego is expected to lean heavily on its bullpen while also lining up Jacob Misiorowski, Logan Henderson and Robbie Ray for the series, giving the Brewers a difficult blend of power arms and recent results to sort through. The top seed still has home-field advantage, but the path to the next round suddenly looks a lot less predictable than it did a week ago. [Read more 🡒]
CC Sabathias World Series Pick Gave Brewers Fans A Strange Laugh
CC Sabathia gave Brewers fans a little something to chuckle about while working as a studio analyst for NBC Sports, when he picked the New York Yankees to win the 2027 World Series over Milwaukee. Sabathia framed the choice as part of a wish to see two of his former teams on the sports biggest stage, a nod to the Yankees and Brewers that fits his long and complicated baseball journey.
There was one obvious omission in the mix, though, and it came from the left-handers first stop in pro ball. Sabathia left out the Cleveland Guardians, the franchise where he began his career and has often spoken fondly of his formative years, even though they remain in the postseason picture and are still very much part of the conversation he was trying to start. [Read more 🡒]