“Milwaukee Brewers Baseball 2024: A Regular Season Look Back and a Playoff Look Forward”
As the 2024 Major League Baseball regular season draws to a close, I wanted to write a blog article about this year’s Brewers. For those who’ve read my posts for long enough, you’ll know that every September I write a post about our home state baseball team. I like to talk about the Brewers whether it’s in conversation with family members and friends, or, as part of my blog platform. There’s a connection I’ve felt to the Brewers for most of my childhood and adult life. I think a big part of it comes down to my appreciation for just how difficult it is for any MLB team to make it through their 162-regular game season and end up in a position to be playing relevant baseball come October. In the case of the Brewers—who represent the smallest baseball market in all of MLB—there are so many variables that need to fall into place in order to make that goal a reality. Player development, targeted free agent signings, health, and the balance between holding onto certain players and letting others go. The work and decision making that goes into the day-to-day operations of a professional sports franchise are especially challenging when the organization must operate on what, at times, can seem like a shoestring budget. Yet here we are at the doorstep of October with another playoff-bound Brewers team, now for the sixth time in the past seven years. I understand that we’ve only made it past the National League Divisional series one time during all of those seasons, but the fact that we’ve maintained competitive relevancy for this long is a testament to our personnel at every level of the clubhouse, farm system, and front office. There are countless MLB teams with cities and entire states of fans who’d give anything to be included in that conversation. I’ve talked about the luxury of having sports relevancy in other blog posts (https://www.toddlynchwriting.com/blog/gowing-up-wisconsin-a-sports-fans-perspective-then-and-now), and the 2024 Brewers are a shining example of just how fortunate a team’s fan base can and should feel. Whether this year’s postseason journey exceeds or falls short of our desired expectations remains to be seen. The fact that we’re here this year is an accomplishment that few Brewer fans (outside of the most optimistic) could’ve possibly seen coming, and feels like nothing short of a modern-day sports miracle.
The 2024 Brewers have no business being as good as they are right now.
Think about some of the losses this year’s Brewers team had prior to the season even starting: The Corbin Burnes trade. Brandon Woodruff’s injury. Craig Counsell’s departure to the archrival Cubs. Next, consider the obstacles and, specifically, the injuries they’ve had to deal with throughout the greater course of 2024: Wade Miley, Robert Gasser, Christian Yelich, Devin Williams, Aaron Ashby, Garrett Mitchell. These are players who the organization was counting on to be stalwarts in the lineup, and to anchor leading roles from start to finish. Instead, they all ended up spending extended and, in some cases, permanent time on the injured list. The silver lining is that their injuries provided other players with opportunities to contribute in ways they otherwise might not have. Tobias Myers, Trevor Megill, and even Jackson Chourio were thrust into more expansive roles, and look at the results. The need for increased starting pitching depth paved the way for newcomer acquisitions like Aaron Civale and Frankie Montas, who’ve been paramount to the team’s success ever since being picked up prior to the trade deadline. The Brewers ranked #3 in all of MLB this year with wins in one-run games, and they haven’t lost more than three in a row all season long. The next-man-up mentality has not only been beneficial to this year’s team, but essential. They have a nice mix of veterans and youth, and are a group that seems just as relaxed in the clubhouse as they are at the plate, on the mound, and in the field.
The offense: what a difference a year makes.
The Achilles heel of last year’s Brewer’s team was, without question, their offense. They did get a little better during the latter half of the 2023 season, thanks to a number of under-the-radar trade deadline maneuvers that were made by general manger Matt Arnold. One of the most interesting things about this year’s offense is that the turnaround has come without assistance from the two players in 2023 (Carlos Santana and Mark Canha) who were arguably most responsible for the team’s late-season improvements. Consider these team statistics between the 2023 and 2024 seasons:
Offensive category: 2023 MLB ranking: 2024 MLB ranking:
On-base percentage: 17th 5th
Batting average: 23rd 8th
Runs per game: 17th 6th
This is a small sample of data that confirms what those of us who watch the Brewers on a regular basis already know, and it illustrates a trend that’s consistent across most major categories of the team’s offense. I heard on the in-game telecast a few nights ago that Brewer batters have seen more pitches in 2024 than any other team, and although I haven’t technically been able to validate the claim via research of my own, I see no reason to doubt the integrity of Brian Anderson’s or Bill Schroeder’s words. The 2024 team’s collective plate discipline has come a long way from 2023, as have the individual contributions of several everyday members of the team’s lineup, most notably from Willy Adames, Brice Turang, Garrett Mitchell, and Blake Perkins. Factor in consistent reliability from William Contreras, Christian Yelich (when healthy), and Sal Frelick, along with first-year players Jackson Chourio and Joey Ortiz, and it’s clear to see that the 2024 team has an entirely different presence at the plate.
Team pitching: similar excellence as in 2023, but from unexpected sources in 2024.
Entering the season, the biggest question on most fans’ minds for the 2024 Brewers was pitching. Specifically, starting pitching. In 2023, the team had as good of a “big-three” atop their depth chart as anyone in baseball, with Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, and Freddie Peralta (yes, Woodruff was hurt for a good portion of the year, including the playoffs, but Wade Miley filled in admirably). We all knew coming into 2024 that the Brewers would be without the services of Burnes and Woodruff (still got Freddie!). As bad luck would have it, we lost Miley to season-ending surgery less than two weeks into the season. Everyone, it seemed, was resigned to the conclusion that we’d have a drop in production. What ended up happening, though, was just the opposite. The team’s collective earned run average not only held up to what it was in 2023 (3.75), but it improved (3.67). Names like Colin Rea and Tobias Myers might not instill the same fear into the minds of hitters as Burnes and Woodruff, but their production in 2024 speaks for itself. Factor in Civale and Montas, and we have what looks to be a strong starting group entering the postseason. The bullpen was great in 2023, just as it has been throughout all of this year. With closer Devin Williams back from his injury and throwing as strong as ever in his closer’s role, our setup rotation in the 6th (Jared Koenig), 7th (Joel Payamps), and 8th (Trevor Megill) innings has taken form, and is looking just as formidable (if not more?) as those from Brewer postseason’s past.
Playoff intangibles: the all-important X-factors.
From a general perspective, the 2024 Brewers have a couple of qualities that I think are worth mentioning which could serve them well in the event of a postseason run. Defensively, they’re one of the most efficient teams in all of MLB. The defensive efficiency ratio (DER) is a metric used to assess the rate of times batters reach base on balls they put in play. The 2024 Brewers rank 5th in all of MLB using the DER statistic. They’re also ranked 3rd in team defensive runs saved. This isn’t to say that situational defensive blunders can’t arise (does anyone remember Trent Grisham?). Still, a good defense is better than a poor one, and although defensive aspects of the game don’t always draw the same attention as others, they shouldn’t be overlooked. Another quality of this year’s team has been there success on the base paths. The 2024 Brewers are ranked #2 in MLB in both total stolen bases and stolen bases attempted per game, proving they’re capable of and willing to manufacture runs when needed to.
As for individuals on this year’s ball club who I think could serve critical X-factor roles come playoff time, here are a few I have my eyes on:
Rhys Hoskins:
Statistically, it would be easy to look at Hoskins’s batting average (.214) this year and call his production a disappointment. He obviously has some pop in his bat with the 26 home runs, but what casual fans might not know is that he’s a vocal leader in the clubhouse, a tireless worker in the batting cages, and played a prominent role with helping to carry the Philadelphia Phillies to the World Series in 2022. Power hitters have a way of showing up in the postseason, and hopefully Hoskins can recapture some of what made his 2022 run so memorable.
Aaron Ashby:
Hard not to like a left-handed pitcher who can throw in the mid to upper 90s with both a sinker and a fastball, while mixing in a slider, changeup, and plus curveball to keep hitters off balanced. I’m curious to see how the team uses him this postseason since he’s shown flashes of excellence as both a starter and in extended relief.
DL Hall:
Many of my comments about Ashby could also be said for the hard-throwing Hall. As the centerpiece of the Burnes trade with Baltimore, Hall has had an up-and-down year while working through some inconsistencies and extended time on the injured list. He’s pitched well since rejoining the team in mid-August, which makes me believe that one way or another, we’ll be hearing his name called during the Battles of October.
Jackson Chourio:
Where the heck would the Brewers be without this guy? Chourio is everything the team hoped for and more. Who’d have guessed the 20-year would shatter some of the same rookie records that Robin Yount set over 40 years ago. Chourio started the year on fire, hit a wall during the second month of the season, and since June has been one of the most productive hitters in all of MLB. Could he carry the team on this back this postseason? The only thing I’m sure about is that I wouldn’t bet against him.
Willy Adames:
I’m throwing Willy onto this list because I feel like if there’s one guy in the clubhouse who seems primed to lead the Brewers on an historic playoff run, it’s him. He’s set to become a free agent next year, and even though he’s having a career season, 2024 will most likely be his last as a Brewer. The youth movement continues in Milwaukee, and with younger, higher-ceilinged (arguably), and less expensive starting-shortstop options moving through the team’s ranks, the writing is on the wall. Based on Willy’s production at the plate (.251 BA, 32 HRs, 112 RBIs), someone is going to sign him to a long-term deal, and credit to him for making that happen. He’s done everything the organization has asked of him since arriving in 2021. Closing out his final chapter in Milwaukee with a postseason to remember would be the perfect conclusion to his time with the team, and a win-win scenario for all parties involved.
Murph
Ever see a dog and a dog owner that, for reasons no one can explain, actually seem to look alike? That’s the feeling I get with Pat Murphy and the 2024 Brewers team. Coming into the season, all I knew about Murphy is that he’d served as Counsell’s bench coach for a number of years in Milwaukee, and that he’d coached Counsell at Notre Dame. At his introductory press conference in November 2023, he spoke in a joking nature with reporters while they asked him questions, including the incidence in 2020 when he suffered a heart attack during a team workout and was taken to the hospital in an ambulance that he described as being “the worst one he’d ever seen.” Jokes aside, Murphy made one comment during his interview session that really stuck with me, and it had to do with his personal philosophy on coaching:
“I believe in love and discipline—in that order. Love. Discipline. Sometimes it gets close, and not everybody understands it. I know my kids don’t always understand it. But love and discipline is what this is about, and with that, I think you can accomplish some things and it still can be fun.”
Murphy has developed a reputation as a leader and a communicator, with a personality that makes him relatable to players at all stages of their careers. He connects with people, and the adaptability his team has demonstrated this year is an accurate reflection to the grittiness that players and fans have come to know and love him for. Whatever the formula is that he’s brought to the team, it’s working, and now that the regular season is complete, all we can do is hope that the success continues.
Thanks for reading everyone! I hope the new fall season treats all of you (and the Brewers) well. My predictions have to be right one of these years, don’t they? Fingers crossed that this is the one.
- Todd
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