#15
The Milwaukee Brewers did not have a stellar run in the shortened 2020 season, making the playoffs despite a 4th place finish in the division. Now they are looking at bouncing back and returning to the top of the division in 2021. Do they have the roster to make it there?
#12 - 3rd in NL Central
MIH - Keston Hiura
MIP - Brandon Woodruff
PTW - Drew Rasmussen
2020 Results
#15 - 29-31, 4th in NL Central, lost in Wild Card Round
In 2020, the Brewers finished outside the top two of the division for the first time since 2016. Only thanks to the expanded playoffs did they make it into the tournament, losing right away to the eventual champion Dodgers. The majority of their lineup underwhelmed, which has always been the strength of the team. The bullpen continued to be a strength, with Devin Williams winning Rookie of the Year, only giving up one run all season. With all that said, 2020 is not to be seen as a successful season for Milwaukee after seeing the heights they can reach the past few seasons.
Additions / Subtractions
The Brewers always approach roster construction differently than any other team. If you ask an average analyst, they would say the Brewers need more pitching. Instead, they just add to their lineup depth. After opting out in 2020, centerfielder Lorenzo Cain is back, and he will be moving around some with the signing of Jackie Bradley Jr. On the infield, the Brewers signed second baseman Kolten Wong, moving Keston Hiura to first base. So instead of addressing potential needs, they overload at positions of strength. The only real subtraction is all-time Brewer Ryan Braun, who looking more and more like he will be calling it a career.
Most Important Hitter
Christian Yelich
The Brewers' lineup begins and ends with Christian Yelich. After an MVP season in 2018 and an MVP runner up season in 2019, Yelich barely had a batting average over .200. He did have enough production to post an OPS+ over 100 (111), but that was the lowest OPS+ of his career. If Yelich is back to MVP-caliber production, the rest of the lineup works and becomes more productive. If Yelich stays at his 2020 production, the Brewers will be looking for everyone else to step up and make up for lost production from their best player.
Most Important Pitcher
Josh Hader
More than any other team in baseball, the Brewers refuse to focus on their starting rotation. They have some quality starters, with Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes coming off strong 2020 seasons. However, the pitching staff of the Brewers is all about the bullpen, and the anchor of that bullpen is still Josh Hader. Even with the emergence of Devin Williams last season, Hader is the guy. As with a lot of elite bullpen arms (especially ones that burst on the scene at a young age), production has a potential to slightly fade as the velocity starts to slow down. From 2017-2019, Hader was literally unhittable as he earned the reputation as the most electric bullpen arm in all of baseball. With that said, his ERA has slowly been rising each season, reaching a career high 3.79 in 2020. If the Brewers' bullpen is going to remain elite and the anchor of the pitching staff, Hader needs to reverse this trend and get back to the freak of years past. If he struggles, he won't even be the closer for very long.
Prospect to Watch
Mario Feliciano
The Brewers have a pretty lackluster farm system, only boasting two Top 100 Prospects and neither are close to the big leagues. Unless a random arm is going to come up and contribute out of the bullpen, Mario Feliciano might have the best chance of having an impact in 2021. This 22 year-old catcher is a plus hitter and a solid defender. The Brewers do have a decent crop of Major League catchers, but you can never have enough catchers, and Feliciano appears to be a future option at the position sooner rather than later.
2021 Prediction
2nd in NL Central
As I have said before, this division is wide open among the top four teams. This could lead to them beating up on each other, which is why I only predict one team will make the playoffs from the NL Central. It always confuses me how the Brewers have such great success every year, but I think they will show the sluggish season in 2020 was a sign of things to come. That result might be different if the NL had a DH in 2021, as no NL roster seems more set up for that than the Brewers. I mean, how do you carry Daniel Vogelbach on your roster if there is no DH???
Fearless Prediction
The Brewers will have no offensive players make the All Star Team.
This is mainly a statement on what kind of season I think Christian Yelich is going to have. Is he as bad as he was in 2020? No. Is he going to get back to MVP level? I don't think so. I see him struggling out of the gate again, and although he might turn things around by the end of the season, I think he misses the All Star Game, leading to no offensive players being good enough to make the Mid-Summer Classic. The pitching on the other hand has the potential to be well represented.
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