Projecting the 2025 Milwaukee Brewers Opening Day Roster: Version 1.0

[Jake McKibbin]

In a passive offseason from the Milwaukee Brewers, how much will their Opening Day lineup have changed from that of 2024? Let's see if we can unscramble it!

Image courtesy of © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Before getting started, I'm assuming good health from those returning from major injuries and a healthy spring. Obviously, we know better, but there's no other way to do this exercise. With that in mind;

Lineup & Batting Order
1. Sal Frelick - RF (L) - Frelick overtook Brice Turang as the team's leading contact specialist, and with a hint of more power under the hood, he should lead off on Opening Day.

2. Jackson Chourio - LF (R) - Chourio's ability to impact the game with power, speed and a terrific hit tool means he needs as many plate appearances as possible. His speed should prevent the double play ball that the other candidates for this gig are prone to, and many expect his home run total to soar in 2025.

3. Christian Yelich - DH (L) - Yelich's time in the outfield will no doubt be managed carefully this season. The back surgery he had has unlocked power in those MLB hitters undergoing the procedure previously, and his bat-to-ball skills and hard-hit rates should continue to be in the upper echelons of baseball. With these three, the Brewers have plenty of power, speed, and grit at the top of their order.

4. William Contreras - C (R) - The top catcher in Major League Baseball, Contreras offers a powerful bat that profiles wonderfully in the cleanup spot—hopefully with RBI opportunities aplenty. If the Brewers can manage his workload, they may get even more production at the plate.

5. Garrett Mitchell - CF (L) - Maintaining the left/right balance the Brewers enjoy, Mitchell's powerful bat has continued to defy the underlying expectations. If he can manage the high fastball to any degree in 2025, he could be a superstar for the Brewers, in a similar mold to Jarren Duran for the Red Sox.

6. Rhys Hoskins - 1B (R) - Rounding out the middle of the order is another high home-run candidate. Hoskins was disappointing in 2024, but when healthy at the start of the year, he was one of their most dangerous hitters, with a 127 WRC+ and nine home runs in the first six weeks. Can he rediscover the punch in 2025?

7. Brice Turang - 2B (L) - Turang took a step forward in 2024, if not quite a quantum leap, and his gritty at-bats can give way to danger for opponents when he reaches base. In part batting here due to the left/right combinations, he can provide a second-leadoff platform and a stolen base threat after Hoskins.

8. Joey Ortiz - SS (R) - Another hitter who struggled after a mid-season injury, Ortiz showed enough last season to believe his bat can take a step forward. Showing some plate discipline, strong bat-to-ball skills and sneaky pop alongside his defense at shortstop will give the Brewers a premium infield.

9. Caleb Durbin - 3B (R) - Durbin likely has the edge in the matchup against Oliver Dunn, with a skill set that suits the Brewers' predilections better. His solid contact skills and pull-side, line-drive power have drawn comps from writers to the bat of Steven Kwan, but it remains to be seen how much pop he can access in the majors. Another electric runner on the basepaths, Durbin provides a strong floor from the 9-hole.

The Bench
Andruw Monasterio - 1B/2B/3B/OF (R) - Monasterio is in the most precarious position on the roster as things stand, but I can see him making it on Opening Day as their utility infielder. With both Turang and Ortiz capable of playing a plus shortstop, the whole infield is covered, and Monasterio has been developing in the outfield in the Winter Leagues. He's batted .302/.402/.421 in a career-high 43 games and 190 plate appearances in the Venezuelan Winter League. More relevantly, Oliver Dunn needs consistent playing time, and he won't get that in the majors.

Blake Perkins - OF (S) - Blake Perkins is a strong option as a fourth outfielder. He slightly outperformed his peripheral hitting metrics last season, but I'm not sure you'll find a smoother center fielder in all of baseball. When the inevitable injuries hit, Perkins will be a blessing.

Eric Haase - C (R) - Although there are rumors that the Brewers are looking into further catching reinforcements, which is fascinating, as things stand, Haase will be their Opening Day backup catcher. Showing a lot of pop and a lot of swing-and-miss, he's capable enough defensively to spell William Contreras and calls a fantastic game behind the plate.

Tyler Black - 1B/OF (L) - I was tempted to gamble on Ernesto Martinez Jr out of spring training, but Black adds a left-handed bat that should be valuable as a pinch-hitter. He can also be a solid pinch-runner, for someone like Haase or Hoskins. With an injury-prone outfield, Black profiles to get more game time out in the grass than on the infield dirt, and his bat profiles well enough to provide roughly average production if he can find his power to the pull side.

Starting Rotation
1. Freddy Peralta (RHP) - While 2024 was underwhelming in many ways for Peralta, he's still the undeniable leader of this staff due to health issues elsewhere. He's been durable and has far and away the best raw stuff in this rotation.

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For more on Peralta's enigmatic 2024 and how he could amend that inconsistency, see Jake McKibbin's in-depth piece from last week.

2. Nestor Cortes (LHP) - The Brewers' biggest offseason move so far, Cortes offers a deceptive delivery, durability and consistency. He produced a 2.44 ERA in 158 1/3 innings in 2022 with a variety of fastballs and strong command that should play up in the Brewers system. His batted-ball profile also fits Milwaukee's roster like a hand in a glove.

3. Aaron Civale (RHP) - Since joining the Brewers from the Tampa Bay Rays via a July trade, Civale has rediscovered his Guardians form. His new, shorter slider grades out impressively in Stuff+ metrics, and his pitch usage has seen him provide some real quality for the Brewers, with a 3.45 ERA after the All Star break.

4. Brandon Woodruff (RHP) - Woodruff should be more or less ready by the start of the season, having gotten back on a mound in September. While his bulldog mentality remains, it will be fascinating to see if he can recover any of the swing-and-miss stuff that made him such a nightmare for opposing hitters at his best.

5. Tobias Myers (RHP) - Recording a sub-3.00 ERA wouldn't place you at the back end of many rotations, but Tobias Myers did flirt along the line of a lower level of performance. When his fastball was hot, so was he, but at times, it became quite hittable and as such it's unlikely he outdoes what his peripherals are saying throughout 2025 as well. That being said, he showed in the playoffs just how effective he can be, rounding out a rotation without an obvious weakness.

6. DL Hall (LHP) - Hall is hoping a fully healthy knee will allow him to rediscover some of the life on his fastball that made him such a tantalizing prospect for the Orioles. If he can, Hall may push his way into starting regularly in a six-man rotation (something the Brewers will want, given Woodruff's shoulder and the general prevalence of pitching injuries). The secondaries looked sharp to finish the year, so if he can find just a little more life on the four-seamer, he could be a real difference-maker.

Bullpen
Aaron Ashby (LHP) - An electric arm that can generate both ground balls and strikeouts at a high rate, Ashby delivered an eye-opening performance out of the bullpen in September 2024 that came out of nowhere and leaves him almost locked into the Opening Day roster. He may do so as a high-leverage arm, or a multi-inning man, but he could fill both roles with aplomb.

Trevor Megill (RHP) - The high-octane four-seamer and his dastardly knuckle-curve made Megill deadly in 2024. He filled in admirably while Devin Williams was injured, racking up 21 saves in the process. He's likely to be the closer for the 2025 Brewers.

Jared Koenig (LHP) - Unlocking significant velocity improvements since roughly the middle of 2023, Koenig pitched to a 2.73 ERA in 2024 in 56 innings. The deceptive lefty proved effective as a fireman, coming in during big situations in the middle to back end of games, and he should continue this role in 2025.

Bryan Hudson (LHP) - After a full offseason to recover from the tribulations that hit him in the second half, Hudson is still likely to be on the Opening Day roster. He led the Brewers bullpen (min. 25 innings) with 62 strikeouts and a 1.73 ERA. His sweeper proved borderline unhittable, and his fastball and changeup played far above expectations due to his deceptive delivery.

Nick Mears (RHP) - With an over-the-top, high-velocity fastball not unlike Megill's, Mears has some major upside. Hopefully, a full offseason with the Brewers staff will help him with the home-run problem that plagued him in 2024 after the trade. His raw stuff is certainly not in question, and with a good start, he could become a dark horse to close out games this year.

Joel Payamps (RHP) - A necessary foil in a lefty-heavy bullpen, Payamps is nonetheless someone the Brewers could trade before Opening Day, to clear his roughly $3-million salary. He found his slider again in the second half of 2024, having lost it in the first half, and the results returned to those of a strong set-up man.

Connor Thomas (LHP) - The Brewers' Rule 5 pickup from the Cardinals, Thomas is likely to be given every chance to stick with the big-league team. Possessing a six-pitch arsenal headlined by a strong slider and cutter, Thomas should be able to eat innings at the back end of the bullpen. He'll have a chance to force his way into higher leverage after that, but for now, he's likely to fill the role that belonged to Bryse Wilson in 2023 and 2024.

Jacob Misiorowski may push his way into a multi-inning relief role off a strong spring training, while Grant Wolfram and Elvis Peguero will no doubt be eyeing a way into the mix. Then there's the forgotten man, Abner Uribe, who may need to recalibrate at Triple A but has shown he has more than enough raw stuff to dismantle big-league hitters when healthy.

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Can you see any of these fringy choices forcing their way into a crowded bullpen mix? Could Craig Yoho or Logan Henderson join the crowd? What changes would you make to this proposed lineup? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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[Stubby66]

Durbin will start at second and Turang at short, Ortiz at third. Monso doesn't make it and they carry Martinez instead as Black can play third. I see that Hall is lefthanded closer and Ashby will start. I think that Pegura and Payamps get traded with Uribe and Yoho making the team.

[Devinep]

1 hour ago, Stubby66 said:

Durbin will start at second and Turang at short, Ortiz at third. Monso doesn't make it and they carry Martinez instead as Black can play third. I see that Hall is lefthanded closer and Ashby will start. I think that Pegura and Payamps get traded with Uribe and Yoho making the team.

Black didn’t hardly play 3B even in AAA and is an awful infielder so he really ain’t even an option at 3B besides emergency 

[Jake McKibbin]

12 hours ago, Stubby66 said:

Durbin will start at second and Turang at short, Ortiz at third. Monso doesn't make it and they carry Martinez instead as Black can play third. I see that Hall is lefthanded closer and Ashby will start. I think that Pegura and Payamps get traded with Uribe and Yoho making the team.

I might disagree with some of this, but I have to say I love the balls to the wall approach! 

[Brian]

Brandon Woodruff opens up on recovery.

https://www.mlb.com/news/brandon-woodruff-on-right-shoulder-surgery-recovery-status-2025-opening-day

[Sugarrayray]

Good write up!

I see a lot of people feeling quite sanguine on Mears, I think he sucks and has a natural losers mentality. I don’t mean to sound harsh, I just don’t think he has any moxie. I think quad A guys like Mears and the oft lionized Connor Thomas will be toast by mid May, making room for guys like Yoho and perhaps even the Miz.