The Milwaukee Brewers are the 4th team from the National League Central I am going to break down. They are coming off a disappointing 4th place finish last year as they had a record of 29-31. This was a disappointing season as they missed out on the playoffs and key players didn’t perform up to expectations. When I saw players, I just mean Christian Yelich. The 2018 NL MVP might as well have sat last year as he struggled, bad. But, I will take more about that later. The Brewers made it a point to better themselves this past offseason. Let’s take a look at how their team stands.
Projected Starting Rotation
| 1 | Brandon Woodruff |
| 2 | Corbin Burnes |
| 3 | Josh Lindblom |
| 4 | Brett Anderson |
| 5 | Adrian Houser |
The starting rotation of the Brewers is an underrated one. They don’t have any big names in it, but the pitchers they do have are reliable. The three names I want to touch on are Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes. and Brett Anderson. Woodruff is someone who came out of nowhere in 2018 in the NLCS between the Brewers and Dodgers. In that series he shut down the Dodgers. And ever since then, he has been a mainstay in the rotation. I assume he will be the consistent starter he’s been for the past 2 years now. Burnes is a guy that the Brewers have used both as a reliever and in recent year, a starter. He’s been great in both spots, but now the Brewers plan on using him as a starter full-time. Late last year was the first time he was a regular starter, and he proved he can do it. Lastly, Brett Anderson is someone who won’t blow you away or put up great seasons, but he will be a guy who will give you innings. And with a young rotation, you need a guy like that. If these 3 do their jobs, then they will put the Brewers in a position to succeed.
Projected Line-Up
| 1 | 2B Kolten Wong | L |
| 2 | CF Lorenzo Cain | R |
| 3 | RF Christian Yelich | L |
| 4 | 1B Keston Hiura | R |
| 5 | 3B Travis Shaw | L |
| 6 | LF Jackie Bradley Jr. | L |
| 7 | C Omar Narvaez | L |
| 8 | SS Orlando Arcia/Luis Urias | R/R |
| 9 | P Pitcher | – |
This lineup has a lot of potential, but that is if they perform well. The one name absent from the projected lineup, was career-long Brewer Ryan Braun. Braun is currently a free agent and contemplating retirement. I don’t see Milwaukee bringing him back, simply because they have a crowded outfielder already. Now, with the players that they do have, and the ones in their lineup I want to dive deep into Christian Yelich, Kolten Wong, and Lorenzo Cain. Cain, was one of the players that decided to sit out 2020. So what I want to touch up on, is whether he is able to bounce back. I think as long as he is good defensively, that is all the Brewers will ask for because he plays a defense-first position. Kolten Wong, is a new Brewer who left St. Louis. I expect Kolten to have a great season as a big fuck you to St. Louis for how things ended. He was released and didn’t have his contract renewed even though he performed well offensively and defensively. Kolten felt disrespected by the team and may use that as motivation. Lastly, the Brewers need Yelich to bounce back. They can’t afford for Yelich to have another down year. He has to bounce back in order for the team to be a playoff contender. He is that good and that important to the team.
2021 PECOTA NL Central Projections
PECOTA has Milwaukee bouncing back as a team and winning the NL Central. That’s a bold prediction. I can see that happening, it isn’t a wild prediction, but St. Louis is by far the best team on paper. The Brewers have a great bullpen that could back up their not-so-great rotation. Their lineup is the key factor, as Christian Yelich, the way he goes the team goes. With that being said, I see Milwaukee finishing, not in 1st, but 3rd.
