The Milwaukee Brewers have won the NL Central title, setting up a postseason appearance for the fourth year in a row. Ever since the Brewers traded for Willy Adames, they were able to pick up their offense to match their dominant pitching staff. With the dominant pitching staff, the Brewers should be able to control almost every game in the playoffs. The team has gone through stretches where the offense has died down, but with Adames healthy, Christian Yelich coming into his own and Omar Narvaez having a career year, the crew should be set up for success.
Here is a prediction for the Milwaukee Brewers playoff roster.
Brewers Starting Pitchers
• Brandon Woodruff
• Corbin Burnes
• Freddy Peralta
• Eric Lauer
• Adrian Houser
Next to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Brewers have the best starting pitching staff in the league. Corbin Burnes won the first ERA title in Milwaukee history. Unlike usual Brewers playoff teams, the starting pitching staff is the strength of this team. Burnes’ cutter is one of the best pitches in the league, along with Peralta’s slider. After seeing Adrian Houser play well near the end of the year, it will be interesting to see if Craig Counsell will use him out of the bullpen, or as a starter.
Brewers Relief Pitchers
• Josh Hader
• Brad Boxberger
• Jake Cousins
• Brent Suter
• Hunter Strickland
• Aaron Ashby
• Miguel Sanchez
The Brewers’ bullpen took a major hit when Devin Williams broke his hand following the Brewers’ clinch of the NL Central. Josh Hader is still one of the best pitchers in baseball and will probably be asked to do more than just one inning of work per game in the playoffs. Seeing who will take over Williams’ will be interesting for this team, as Brad Boxberger has struggled in the eighth inning role. Jake Cousins has been a surprise out of the bullpen this year, look for him to play a major role in the playoffs.
Brewers Infielders
• Omar Narvaez
• Manny Pina
• Daniel Vogelbach
• Rowdy Tellez
• Kolten Wong
• Luis Urias
• Eduardo Escobar
• Jace Peterson
• Willy Adames
The story surrounding the infield has been the absence of Keston Hiura. We have seen Huira struggle all year long and continue to struggle in triple-A. To replace Hiura, the Brewers went out and acquired Rowdy Tellez, Willy Adames and Eduardo Escobar. The latter being an All-Star, Escobar should play a major role in the middle of the lineup for Milwaukee. Depending on who starts at first base, the Brewers have either Daniel Vogelbach, Tellez or Peterson available for pinch-hitting options.
Brewers Outfielders
• Christian Yelich
• Lorenzo Cain
• Avisail Garcia
• Tyrone Taylor
• Jackie Bradley Jr.
The big surprise here is Jackie Bradley Jr. Bradley has struggled at the plate all year long, but with Williams out, it seems likely that Bradley grabs that 26th spot as a defensive substitution or a pinch-runner. Christian Yelich has battled injuries all year, but as the season came to a close, he was producing somewhat of himself when he was the MVP. Avisail Garcia and Tyrone Taylor both have had career years and both figure to be slated in the lineup when matchups dictate it.
