The first place of the Brewers so far is not the one in the NL Central (which would have already been a very good goal) but that is in the entire National League, a partial result but still very indicative of the improvements made by this team compared to the 2017 campaign. to the targeted work of the front office in the offseason and to the progress of the young people coming from the farm system who have given an extra and unexpected march to this team that is becoming more and more a serious candidate for the playoffs. Milwaukee's pitching stuffs are the sixth best at ERA level in the MLB and this is mainly thanks to a phenomenal bullpen, the best in the ERA league, led by a phenomenal Josh Hader who has been a ruling so far. Hader left-handed with a fastball in the mid 90's a change of 85 mph and finally a lethal slider that comes only at 80 mph but that brings with it a sweeping effect that makes it almost untouchable, has managed to replace a sensational Corey Knebel at best in 2017 but that in 2018 is struggling a lot especially with the command of his launches. The excellent bullpen of the team of Wisconsin is not only Hader but also from other surveys that are doing very well as: Jeffress, Albers, Barnes, Williams and Jennings who have always been able not only to close the games but also to keep them in balance when the starters have not done their duty. Just the rotation was the weak point of the Brewers so far with only the rediscovered Chacin and the emerging (despite the age) War were the only pitchers able to provide consistency and continuity while the various Suter, Anderson and Davies alternated good performance to others not at all sufficient. As for the lineup manager Craig Counsell has problems ... of plenty! Yes, that's right, the front office managed to complete and expand this already productive lineup. Despite the bad start of Braun and Arcia (two players expected to make a much better contribution), the Thames finger ligament injury Milwaukee lineup is seventh in the homerun, fifth in the stolen bases and just over half in all other offensive categories. To note the good start of the new acquisitions Cain and Yelich both at the batting plate and in defense providing a more than good reliability respectively outside the center and in the right, Jesus Aguilar is the pleasant surprise of this year, able to beat more of .300 and be in double digits with the homerun, a category that of the homerun that draws the blue-white is winning Travis Shaw, 3B that since it landed at the Brewers has evolved into a power beater also taking advantage of the favorable environment of the beautiful Miller Park.
The legitimate question that every fan and does not pose watching this team play is: will they be able to keep themselves so high in the standings? The answer that I can give is that there are room for improvement of players like Braun and Arcia who are not producing but also margins of almost obvious worsening having Milwaukee many players especially in the bullpen who are playing above their expectations. Maybe they will also manage to keep themselves but the front office must be good to find a couple of starters, see Hamels or Happ able to give more consistency to a rotation objectively not as postseason as talent or experience. The battle for the postseason in the NL Central will be a battle to the death with Cardinals and Cubs fearful pursuers, the Pirates that in total silence are performing at their best, being against all expectations above quota .500, the only ones actually out from the games are the Reds in rebuilding mode that will almost certainly end in the division. To return to the Brewers I certainly see them as one of the two wild cards and thanks to their potential offensive will be an uncomfortable team for many to meet especially after the return of Thames that will complete a lineup that will be called to produce many points if they want to focus on postseason.
The legitimate question that every fan and does not pose watching this team play is: will they be able to keep themselves so high in the standings? The answer that I can give is that there are room for improvement of players like Braun and Arcia who are not producing but also margins of almost obvious worsening having Milwaukee many players especially in the bullpen who are playing above their expectations. Maybe they will also manage to keep themselves but the front office must be good to find a couple of starters, see Hamels or Happ able to give more consistency to a rotation objectively not as postseason as talent or experience. The battle for the postseason in the NL Central will be a battle to the death with Cardinals and Cubs fearful pursuers, the Pirates that in total silence are performing at their best, being against all expectations above quota .500, the only ones actually out from the games are the Reds in rebuilding mode that will almost certainly end in the division. To return to the Brewers I certainly see them as one of the two wild cards and thanks to their potential offensive will be an uncomfortable team for many to meet especially after the return of Thames that will complete a lineup that will be called to produce many points if they want to focus on postseason.
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