Milwaukee Brewers: Predicting the 25-man playoff roster
By Sam Brahm
The Milwaukee Brewers season is almost over and they have a good chance to make the playoffs. With all these players, who will make the final roster?
We’re in the middle of September and the Milwaukee Brewers have a three-game lead in the Wild Card and are 3.5 games back in the division. If the playoffs are in their future, the Brewers have to make some big roster decisions.
The Crew has been one of the hottest teams in baseball in the month of September. This September this year is the opposite of the Brewers in 2017. Their bullpen is on fire, the offense has been coming up clutch and the rotation has kept them in games. Right now, the Brewers roster is at 36 and that needs to be trimmed to 25. Here are predictions for the Brewers 25-man playoff rosters:
Didn’t Make The Cut
Eric Thames
Thames is one of the most popular players on the team, but his post All-Star break numbers keep him off the roster. Thames is batting .160 after the All Star Break with a .548 OPS. He hasn’t been getting a lot of starts, but when he does start, he struggles. It’s sad to say it, but if the Brewers make the playoffs, Thames won’t be with the squad.
Freddy Peralta
Potential. A lot of it. Peralta has shown he could be a good top to middle of the rotation guy next year, but that’s when he’s on. Peralta was up and down this season and that’s because during a lot of his starts, he couldn’t spot his secondary pitches, especially the curveball. But when he has it working, he looks like an ace. He didn’t do good enough to earn a rotation spot this season, but I know for a fact that he has a bright future.
Taylor Williams
Williams had a good start to the season. He has a fastball that sits in the mid to high 90’s and has some solid secondary pitches. The problem is, he has trouble spotting those pitches. Going into the second half, his walks and injuries got to him and he lost opportunities in high leverage situations. But he will be a big part of the bullpen and possibly the rotation next season.
Keon Broxton
I wish there was a spot for Broxton, but sadly there isn’t. He has struggled with strikeouts, but if the Crew needed a run or a defensive upgrade, he would be the perfect guy to go to. There is still a tiny chance he could get chosen, but it doesn’t seem likely.
Others That Didn’t Make The Cut: Junior Guerra, Jordan Lyles, Brandon Woodruff, Tyler Saladino, Domingo Santana, Matt Albers, Jacob Nottingham
The Starting Rotation
- Jhoulys Chacin 14-7/3.54 ERA/173.0 IP/145 K (4-3/2.41 ERA/41.0 IP/39 K in last 7)
- Wade Miley 5-2/2.08 ERA/73.2 IP/47 K
- Chase Anderson 9-8/3.93 ERA/158.0 IP/128 K
- Zach Davies 2-5/4.75 ERA/53.0 IP/40 K (2-3/3.89 ERA/37.0 IP/22 K in last 7)
- Gio Gonzalez 8-11/4.40 ERA/151.1 IP/133 K (1-0/2.61/10.1 IP/4 R/13 K w/ Brewers)
This seems like an easy decision. The Brewers have shown a lot of success in the last month and a half with this rotation. The only “debatable” decision is four and five. Davies has only thrown twice since his injury, but has pitched very well. Same thing with Gio Gonzalez. He has thrown two outings, but he was solid in both. And with his playoff experience, and being a lefty, he adds a lot to the rotation.
Bullpen
CP: Jeremy Jeffress 8-1/12 SV/1.37 ERA/72.1/84 K
SU: Josh Hader* 6-1/11 SV/2.02 ERA/75.2/133 K
SU: Corbin Burnes 5-0/1 SV/2.81 ERA/32.0/30 K
MR: Corey Knebel 2-3/15 SV/4.15 ERA/47.2/70 K (Hasn’t given up a run in September)
MR: Joakim Soria 1-4/16 SV/3.46/54.2/69 K w/ White Sox and Brewers
MR: Xavier Cedeno* 2-0/1 SV/2.25 ERA/32.0/32 K (Hasn’t given up a run since coming to Crew)
MR: Dan Jennings* 4-5/1 SV/3.11 ERA/63.2/45 K
MR: Jacob Barnes 0-1/2 SV/3.55 ERA/45.2/44 K
This is the strongest part of the 2018 Brewers. Going into September, this bullpen has been lights out. In addition to the go-to’s (Jeffress, Hader, Burnes), Knebel has been a stud since he came back from his minor league assignment. Soria has been off lately, but has been a key part of the staff. And Cedeno, who came to the Brewers at the end of August, has become a matchup go to and has become a great lefty option. This may be the strongest bullpen in baseball.
Catcher
Manny Piña .249/8 HR/23 RBI/.308 OBP/.696 OPS in 319 PA
Erik Kratz .249/5 HR/20 RBI/.293 OBP/.660 OPS in 192 PA
There is no debate here. They have been the tandem for the Crew most of the season and have been able to hold down the position. Manny’s defense has always been there and his bat was quietly getting hot in August. The reason he hasn’t been playing as much is due to his inability to hit with runners in scoring position. He is batting .132 (9-68) with RISP. With this happening, Erik Kratz has taken the starting job and has brought a great veteran presence. He’s done a good job with helping the pitchers and has been hitting good enough to get in the lineup almost everyday.
Infield
1B Jesus Aguilar .273/32 HR/99 RBI/.350 OBP/.889 OPS in 517 PA
2B/SS Jonathan Schoop .194/4 HR/20 RBI/.239 OBP/.573 OPS in 117 PA w/ Brewers
IF/OF Hernan Perez .257(.281 vs Lefties)/9 HR/29 RBI/11 SB/.293 OBP/.688 OPS in 321 PA
3B Mike Moustakas* .256/6 HR/26 RBI/.316 OBP/.758 OPS in 171 PA w/ Brewers
1B/2B/3B Travis Shaw* .240/29 HR/79 RBI/.342 OPB/.818 OPS in 550 PA
SS Orlando Arcia .224(.314 in last 15 games)/3 HR/27 RBI/7 SB/.258 OBP/.552 OPS in 330 PA
There’s a lot of versatility in this infield, but they shouldn’t use it (if that makes sense). The Brewers have to put their players where they play. For example, don’t put Shaw at second. He has been good defensively, but he doesn’t have as much range as Schoop or Hernan and is slow turning two. I believe they should platoon Shaw at third with Moose. Then the Crew will have more pop off the bench with either Shaw or Moose.
Outfield
OF Christian Yelich* .317/31 HR/93 RBI/20 SB/.384 OBP/.952 OPS/6.0 WAR in 601 PA
CF Lorenzo Cain .308/10 HR/37 RBI/28 SB/.398 OBP/.821 OPS in 581 PA
LF Ryan Braun .247/15 HR/52 RBI/11 SB/.304 OBP/.738 OPS in 411 PA
OF Curtis Granderson* .300/2 HR/3 RBI/.548 OBP/1.248 OPS in 31 PA w/ Brewers
There is no debate with this besides possibly Keon or maybe Domingo. Yelich’s chances have risen for MVP. Cain has made a huge impact on offense, defense and on the base paths. Braun pretty much has to be there. And Curtis Granderson has been hot since coming to the Crew. The Brewers outfield is stacked and it could be one of the strongest outfield cores in the league.
This September is huge for the Brewers. Every game matters, no matter who they play. It will be tough to win the division with the Cubs going full throttle, but it looks like the Brewers have a wild card spot in the bag. If they take game 163 against the Cards, Rockies or Dodgers, Brewtober is coming.