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Milwaukee Brewers Season Review and Outlook Going Forward

By Harrison Carter

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - JULY 10: A view of the stadium from the top tier behind home plate before the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on July 10, 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - JULY 10: A view of the stadium from the top tier behind home plate before the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on July 10, 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) /
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The 2022 Milwaukee Brewers season ended in disappointment, as they failed to defend their 2021 NL Central championship and thus missed out on the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

The season had plenty of letdowns but at the same time offering plenty of things to look forward to in the coming years. Let’s look at this past year and analyze where the franchise is going moving forward.

The Bad from the Brewers 2022 season

Boom-Or-Bust

Some might argue that a boom-or-bust strategy is a viable strategy to use in the current MLB. It is true, the Brewers finished the season scoring the 10th most runs in the league, which is great. But too many times the Crew’s offense could not rally together hits to get back into games.

Simply put, the Brewers were strikeout machines. The Crew had the eighth highest K% in the MLB as Brewers hitters struck out 23.9% of their plate appearances. Specifically, Willy Adames and Christian Yelich were top 20 in the MLB in strikeouts.

Although the Brewers finished 10th in team slugging, a huge chunk of Milwaukee’s extra-base hits came from home runs. Out of 487 extra-base hits, a whopping 44.9% of them were home runs. For reference, the Boston Red Sox had the exact same slugging percentage as the Brewers, and 29.8% of their extra-base hits were home runs.

The result was that Milwaukee simply did not string together hits. In fact, the team finished 27th in the MLB in singles hit per game. The Crew were a true three outcomes team, as 37% of the Brewers plate appearances resulted in either a strikeout, walk or home run.

Bullpen

The bullpen might have been the leading factor of what caused the Crew to miss the playoffs. After the August 2nd trade deadline, the Milwaukee Brewers ranked 17th in bullpen ERA and led the MLB in blown saves with 16. The reality is that the three bullpen acquisitions the Brewers made did not pan out, which greatly impacted playoff chances. Taylor Rogers and Matt Bush greatly struggled down the stretch of the season, while Trevor Rosenthal did not make an appearance for the Brewers.

The Good from the Brewers 2022 season

Starting Pitching

Unsurprisingly, Milwaukee’s starting pitching was a bright spot throughout the year. Brewers starting pitchers had a 3.75 ERA, good for 12th in the MLB. Corbin Burnes produced another season with an ERA under 3, while Brandon Woodruff had a 2.38 ERA post all star break. Both Eric Lauer and Freddy Peralta produced quality seasons as well. The starting pitching will continue to be a cornerstone of the team going forward.

Defense

The Crew’s defense was also very solid throughout the year. By the eye test, the Brewers made solid defensive plays throughout the year, and the advanced stats back it up. The Brewers were top 10 in the MLB in Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR), and finished 13th in FanGraph’s Defensive Runs Above Average.

Going Forward

There will be lots of personnel decisions in the coming months that the Milwaukee Brewers will have to make. There are many key players that will be hitting arbitration which will cause the front office to have to reevaluate many players. These players hitting arbitration include: Hunter Renfroe, Brandon Woodruff, Willy Adames, Corbin Burnes, Rowdy Tellez, and Devin Williams, among many others.

The bullpen is in need of major reinforcements as well. There are a fair share of quality bullpen arms that will be free agents this year. I believe it is imperative that the Brewers acquire at least a couple of relievers.

Another thing to look for is the debuts of top prospects from this past year. While Garrett Mitchell and Esteury Ruiz had time at the major league level, look for Sal Frelick, Joey Wiemer, and Brice Turang to all have their debuts and fight for playing time in the big leagues.

Looking to 2023, it is unsure how the team will look. The majority of the players on arbitration could be back or there will be many new faces by March of next year. Time will tell. Regardless of which way the Brewers will go, the team has the expectation of going into each year of competing for a championship.

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