Milwaukee Brewers

2024 record: 93-69

First place, NL Central

Team ERA: 3.65 (5th in MLB)

Team OPS: .729 (10th in MLB)

What Went Right

Well, the Brewers won the NL Central by 10 games despite losing Corbin Burnes to free agency, Brandon Woodruff to injury, and manager Craig Counsell to a division rival, so a lot went right for the Brewers in 2024. They coaxed tremendous seasons out of a rotating list of starting pitchers, led by Tobias Myers, Colin Rea, Joe Ross, and Aaron Civale, after trading for him at the deadline. Their bullpen also ranked second in baseball in saves, first in bullpen ERA, first in bullpen WHIP, and third-best in blown saves. Trevor Megill posted a 2.05 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP, and 37 strikeouts across 30.2 innings in the first half while filling in as a closer for Devin Williams, and then Williams came back and locked down 14 of his 15 save opportunities to close out the season.

Offensively, the Brewers finished second in baseball in stolen bases, second in baseball in walk rate, sixth in runs scored, and sixth in RBIs, so it was a tremendous offensive season overall for Milwaukee. Shortstop Willy Adames enjoyed a breakout season, hitting .251/.331/.462 with 32 home runs, and 21 steals before heading into free agency. The team also had a tremendous rookie season from Jackson Chourio, who had a great second half and finished the year hitting .275/.327/.464 with 21 home runs and 22 steals. He looks set up to be a star in the game for decades, and 24-year-old Brice Turang looks locked into a full-time role too after playing above-average defense and stealing 50 bases on the season. The Brewers also got great production from catcher William Contreras and were enjoying another strong year from Christian Yelich before he got hurt.

What Went Wrong

Christian Yelich wound up getting hurt after just 73 games, which isn’t ideal given his previous history of injuries. The Brewers also got limited production from Rhys Hoskins after signing him in free agency, watching him hit .214/.303/.419 with 26 home runs and a 29% strikeout rate in 131 games. Sal Frelick and Garrett Mitchell, who were pre-season fantasy sleepers given their speed and potential playing time couldn’t push for consistent everyday playing time, and the Brewers really struggled to find a stable starting rotation, having just three starters throw for over 75 innings on the season. The Brewers starters also ranked 18th in baseball in strikeout rate, 23rd in K-BB%, and 21st in WHIP, so despite a solid ERA, the rotation left a lot to be desired from a fantasy perspective. Presumed ace Freddy Peralta was solid but far more inconsistent than we’ve seen in years past, Robert Gasser underwent Tommy John surgery in June, and young left-handers DL Hall and Aaron Ashby battling injuries and inconsistencies that forced them to spend much of the year in the minors.

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Fantasy Slants

– I mentioned Jackson Chourio’s second half earlier. The 20-year-old hit .310/.363/.552 over the final 63 games of the 2024 season with 12 home runs, 39 runs, 44 RBI, and 12 steals. That also came with just an 18.7% strikeout rate. He’s on the radar as an early-round draft pick next season who could be a first-rounder by 2026.

– William Contreras likely remains the top catcher in fantasy after hitting .281/.365/.466 in 155 games with 23 home runs, 99 runs, 92 RBI, and nine steals. His plus defense keeps him on the field more often than most catchers, and the nine steals are a nice little cherry on top of five-category upside when it comes to catchers. It would be nice if the Brewers added some punch around him in the lineup, but he’s probably the safest option at catcher in 2025.

– Devin Williams will begin the season as the closer with the team likely picking up their option on him for 2025. However, if the Brewers don’t feel that they can re-sign him or aren’t willing to pay what he might be worth, he could be an intriguing trade candidate in the middle of the season. The team saw that they could close games out without him, so perhaps they feel comfortable with Megill, Joel Payamps, and Abner Uribe going forward. It’s a situation to monitor at least.

– Freddy Peralta threw 173.2 innings with a 3.68 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and 27.6% strikeout rate. While the ERA is better than we saw last year, the strikeout rate took a step back and his walk rate was the worst it’s been since 2020. Peralta has put together a couple of seasons of 165+ innings, which should make us feel a little better about him from a workload standpoint, but he continues to struggle with location on his breaking pitches, which puts a lot of pressure on his fastball to carry him. He could be a high-upside SP2 in fantasy next year but will come with lots of risk.

– Don’t forget about Brandon Woodruff in your drafts. The 31-year-old should be back after missing all of 2024 with a shoulder injury, and he’s coming off a solid 2023 season that saw him pitch to a 2.28 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, and 23.3% K-BB% in 67 innings. He carried elevated injury risk but so do most starting pitchers.

– Tobias Myers was a tremendous story. After being designated for assignment by multiple teams, the 26-year-old made his MLB debut and pitched to a 3.11 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 21.8% strikeout rate in 133 innings. However, he had just a 10.1% swinging strike rate, a 26.5% CSW, and basically gets by with a five-pitch arsenal that he throws over the plate and attempts to keep hitters off balance enough to keep them off the barrel of the bat. He has the inside track at a starting spot next season, but there’s just not enough here to draft him in most fantasy leagues.

– DL Hall was the centerpiece of the Corbin Burnes trade, but he battled a knee injury and pitched 43 big league innings, with a chunk of it coming out of the bullpen at the end of the season. However, when we did see Hall at the end of the season, he was sitting 95 mph with a fastball that also gets seven feet of extension. He flashed the ability to keep all of his secondary pitches low in the zone, and there remains a clear blueprint here for a solid fantasy starter. The Brewers will likely give him every chance to earn a rotation spot next year, and he could be worth a late-round dart throw because of it.

– The Brewers have some pitching prospects knocking on the door in Jacob Misiorowski, Coleman Crow, Carlos Rodriguez, and Logan Henderson. It remains to be seen if any will have a shot, but there are some sports up for grabs, and Misiorowski has the highest ceiling of the bunch, so he’s the name to watch.

Key Free Agents

Willy Adames, Gary Sanchez, Joe Ross, Mitch White, Devin Williams (Team option $10.5 million), Frankie Montas (Team option $8 million) Colin Rea (Team option $5.5 million), Frankie Montas (Mutual option $20 million), Wade Miley (Mutual option $12 million), Rhys Hoskins (Player option $18 million)

Team Needs

The Brewers need a bit more stability and upside in their rotation. Maybe it comes from Hall or Ashby or Misiorowski or maybe it comes from a free agent signing, but the return of Woodruff will also help. If Willy Adames walks in free agency, which many people seem to expect then the Brewers will need to replace a huge chunk of their offense in 2025. They could also lose Rhys Hoskins if he thinks he can get more money on the free agent market than the team option would pay him, which means the Brewers need to decide if they believe in Tyler Black enough or have to get somebody else to compete for that job. They will also need to decide how comfortable they feel with Christian Yelich playing the field all season and how many games they can expect to get out of him. Having to play Blake Perkins and Jake Bauers often is not a recipe for long-term success. In short, there are so many question marks surrounding what this team looks like in 2025, but they have a future stud in the middle of their lineup and one of the best catchers in the game, so those are some good foundational pieces to build around.