Harold Hutchison

Think back through your Brewers fandom. Have you ever wondered if you could do better than Matt Arnold and Pat Murphy? How about past Brewers GMs and managers? Could you get the 2018 Brewers to the World Series? Could good defeat evil in the 1982 World Series? Could you avoid the Brewers' 2002 nadir? You have a chance to find out with Baseball Mogul 2025. We reviewed it in 2023, but this year, it’s added some new features, while retaining the features that allow you to try and do better than the team’s General Manager or President of Baseball Operations or the on-field manager. As is the case with the previous version we reveiwed, you not only get to work with the major-league roster, but you also get to handle developing prospects. New Features The 2025 edition comes with some new features – perhaps the most important for those who want to see if they can do better than Craig Counsell or Murphy (or any other Brewers manager over the years) is the introduction of in-game injuries, a first for the franchise. Previously, injuries were only revealed outside games. But as Brewers fan know (Christian Yelich’s kneecap in 2019, Ben Sheet’s lat in 2008), injuries can also happen during games as well. While the reviewer has yet to have one crop up in a game, that factor has to be taken into account when assembling your 26-man roster. There are also tweaks to the play-by-play feature – you can now pause between plays in a simulated computer game. You also have the option to use the enter key as opposed to a mouse when in Manager or Player mode. Also, you not only now see what pitches that a hurler might have, you get to see how often they use them. A Wealth Of Possibilities In Baseball Mogul, you don’t just get to be GM or manager – you can also be the owner or even MLB commissioner. As owner, you could modify your team’s park. For instance, let’s say you decide to replace the natural grass in American Family Field with artificial turf – you can do that, giving the Brewers’ home park a nice upgrade, and make it friendlier for the gap-power of Sal Frelick, Brice Turang, and other players on the 2024-2025 Brewers. Want to help your ground-ball pitchers? You can have the grass grow longer to reduce the hits. Or, you can play commissioner and alter the roster rules, including when draft picks can be traded, the size of the rosters (maybe you want to see how teams do with a 28-man roster in the regular season, with a 32-man expanded roster – or bring back a 40-man expanded roster to September). Of course, as GM or manager, you can also make decisions. You can see what happens if you don’t move Ryan Braun from third base after 2007. Or maybe, you decide to see what sort of extension you can sign Willy Adames to prior to the start of the 2024 season. Maybe you decide to make a trade for that third baseman – who are you willing to give up? You get to make the same type of calls Matt Arnold, David Stearns, Doug Melvin, Harry Dalton, and other famous GMs have mage over the years. The Good Points As was the case in the 2023 edition, the 2025 edition of Baseball Mogul has a superb ratings system that generally reflects performance, including the ability to replay a given season based on performance. It also allows one to adjust ratings for players and create new ones. Players also will be able to manage the minor-league system– figure out who to promote, draft, and, if necessary, trade. A player of this game also gets a chance to negotiate extensions or contracts, and even handle arbitration. One also gets to face many of the same choices Pat Murphy faces in the dugout. How do you manage your bullpen over the course of a season? What about giving your players a day off at various points? The game makes you address those questions. The Stuff That Could Be Better The Computer GMs of the other 29 teams will make trades with each other, and these deals sometimes aren’t necessarily logical. So, don’t be surprised if a player you know is on one team is dealt. Roster management is a lot more simplified than in reality. You don’t have to deal with waiver claims, the Rule 5 draft, or some of the more esoteric manipulations of the 40-man roster. In fact, you can stash prospects for as long as you want. It’s not quite accurate, although there appears to be some of the infrastructure needed to create functionality for the 40-man roster management, along with suspensions for off-field conduct or on-field stuff (ejections would be nice to see implemented, say for excessive plunking of hitters or when a bench-clearing brawl occurs). In addition, the minor-league rosters are not complete, the affiliates are outdated, and players on current MLB rosters (like Connor Thomas for the Brewers) aren’t featured as of version 28.05. Some blue-chip prospects (like Jacob Misiorowski, Craig Yoho, Jeferson Quero, Cooper Pratt, and Tyler Black) seem to be low-balled in the ratings. Some of the managerial decisions are pretty simplified as well. There is no “shifting” the defense. Players can try to hit the ball or handle the pitching–but that can be time-consuming. The game also could be better at handling players who play 25-30 games at multiple positions in the course of a season. All too often, they end up sitting on the bench, or they keep another good player on the bench. There still are some glitches, particularly when it comes to implementing MLB’s “runner on second” extra-inning rules. Overview Brewers fans will find Baseball Mogul to be an excellent way to spend the months where there is no baseball as a fun pastime, but it can even entertain during the season. While its graphics may not be killer, and it looks pretty dry, it can run on just about any Windows PC, and when it comes to the strategy that goes into a game, series, season, or an entire dynasty, this game is the best choice out there. Baseball Mogul 2025 is available from SportsMogul.com. View full article

The Brewers have a pair of "must-sweep" series coming up, if you ask me.

Brewers relievers have been reliably able to lock down leads going back decades, even on some of the teams that struggled the most. Will that remain true for 2025? The Roster Situation In recent years, the Brewers have seen some turnover at closer. Since the start of 2022, they had Josh Hader (traded to the Padres), Devin Williams (eventually dealt to the Yankees), Abner Uribe (struggled in 2024, so much that he never truly established himself in the role), and Trevor Megill (the current incumbent). Yet, this team could be almost as solid as ever in the pen. Megill and Uribe look to hold down the late innings for the Brewers in 2025, while Bryan Hudson and Jared Koenig are the team’s top lefties. Elvis Peguero and Joel Payamps have been solid since coming over via trade before the 2023 season. Rule 5 pick Connor Thomas, rescued from the focus of evil in the National League Central, is likely to serve as a long-relief option. The team has Nick Mears on the injured list as another option. While the hope is for them to be starters when they return from the injured list, Aaron Ashby and DL Hall have been dominant as multi-inning options in the bullpen. Elvin Rodriguez and Tyler Alexander are also capable of getting more than three outs in a game. In the minors, the Brewers have Grant Wolfram and (when they get healthy enough to shuttle him back to Nashville) Grant Anderson as options, while Craig Yoho is the team’s closer of the future. The Best-Case Scenario: The Brewers Actively Market Payamps and Peguero in May Why would the Brewers having what amounts to a fire sale of relievers be good news? Several reasons, not all of them mutually exclusive: Craig Yoho forces his way into the MLB bullpen (and it could be argued he should have been on the Opening Day roster); Milwaukee’s injured pitchers come back soon and in top form; The Brewers could elect for Logan Henderson and Jacob Misiorowski to fill the roles that Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff filled in the 2018 season. Short version: Payamps and Peguero are solid options as middle relief for the Brewers, but the Brewers have a lot of higher-ceiling relief options that could fuel not just a late-season run to make the playoffs, but to help the team get past the first round. The best case is for the team to be able to flip Payamps and Peguero (and possibly others) to help recharge the farm system – not only providing short-term bullpen help, but setting the team up for future success as well. Payamps and Peguero may be middle relief in Milwaukee, but they could be closers or set-up men for about a dozen MLB teams. After all, they will have to make space for Yoho and Misiorowski somehow… why not get a decent trade return in the process? The Worst-Case Scenario: The Brewers Are Trading For Relief Help In July Like the starting rotation, the Brewers have a lot of internal options for the bullpen. So they should not need to be looking to external options barring an insanely good offer. If they are, then the Brewers have had a rash of injuries and/or ineffectiveness at the MLB level, and pitchers like Yoho and Misiorowski are not available or have seriously regressed. If this is the case, then the Brewers will have real problems in 2026 and beyond, because their pitching development will have suffered a serious hiccup. While the team could bank on a return to form by prospects, it is far more likely in this case, that the Crew would have to consider tanking for a year or two to rebuild. It should be noted that this would be an extremely worst-case scenario. If 2025 is going the way that Brewers fans hope it will, the team is going to be transitioning to a new generation of relievers. Overview The Brewers’ success at developing pitching has not just helped their starting rotation. It’s also helped the bullpen by providing a landing spot for a surfeit of pitching talent. It says much that pitchers of the quality level of Jared Koenig, Elvis Peguero, and Joel Payamps are in middle-relief roles for the Brewers, and that they have a regular pipeline of new bullpen assets between the minor leagues and low-profile free agency signings. It’s possible for the bullpen to go wrong for the Brewers in 2025, but that possibility is extremely remote. View full article

Although you've sort of already seen one of these... right? Image courtesy of © Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The Roster Situation When the players reported to Maryvale in February. the Brewers had Freddy Peralta, Aaron Civale, Nestor Cortes, Tobias Myers, DL Hall, Aaron Ashby, and Brandon Woodruff as veteran major-league starters, with Carlos Rodriguez, Robert Gasser, Logan Henderson, and Chad Patrick as top prospects on the 40-man roster, along with Jacob Misiorowski as their most prominent non-roster invitee to spring training. In early March, they added Jose Quintana, an impressive reinforcement to that group. The veteran corps is pretty deep, while the prospect group also looks very promising—if you can look beyond this particular moment. The Brewers have a lot of good options, and this year, they need them, as Gasser, Myers, Hall, Ashby, and Woodruff all opened the season on the injured list, only to be joined by Civale after one start. Also on the active roster are options like Tyler Alexander, Connor Thomas, and Elvin Rodriguez, who could be emergency options in the rotation. Jared Koenig served as an “opener” for the Brewers in 2024 on several occasions, as well, but that's not truly the same thing. The Best-Case Scenario: The Rotation Solidifies Around The Veterans For 2025, the Brewers’ best-case scenario sees the rotation solidify around Peralta, Woodruff, Civale, Cortes, and Myers by the middle of May, with Hall and Ashby settling in as multi-inning relief options. If that happens, it buys time for the young prospects to recover from injury or to pick up one more year of seasoning at Triple-A Nashville. This, of course, is dependent on how the prospects fare, as well. Henderson and Misiorowski are blue-chip prospects, Gasser performed well in a brief stint last year, before he needed Tommy John surgery, and Patrick and Rodriguez look to be Bryse Wilson types. No one wanted to see them start the first two home games of the team's schedule, but hopefully, the team ends up feeling pressure to recall them at some point this summer, because their more experienced and accomplished teammates have reclaimed their spots but both are pitching well in Nashville. One note about the prospects (and even some of the veterans) who could contribute: The Brewers got a lot of them via unheralded ways: Woodruff was an 11th-round draft pick. Myers was a minor-league free agent. Peralta was one of three rookie-level pitchers acquired in the Adam Lind trade. Carlos Rodriguez was a 6th-round draft pick. This is a team that can develop competent starters. The Worst-Case Scenario: The Brewers End Up Trading for a Starting Pitcher Given all this depth, one thing that the Brewers should not be looking to acquire this summer is a starting pitcher, unless they are approached with an insane deal. It's still possible they'll need to pick up someone just to patch their holes this month, but the Brewers entering the trade market for a starter this summer could only be the result of some very bad news. If the Brewers are looking to trade for starting pitching, then their veterans have been injured or ineffective and the prospects have regressed very badly—or are also on the injured list. This would point to not just a disastrous 2025, but rough times in 2026 and even 2027. This is not to say that there are no situations where grabbing an upgrade in the rotation would be advisable late in the season, but as a general rule, if the Brewers are seeking an external candidate in 2025 to help the rotation, then the team is in a world of hurt. That's the world they're in right now, though, so we don't exactly have to wear out our imaginations to envision it happening again in June or July. Overview The Brewers have excelled at developing starting pitchers in the minor leagues (Peralta, Woodruff, Ashby), and also have been very good at finding hidden gems that other teams have allowed to walk (Myers) or acquiring possible options at a very cheap price. Sometimes, they also level-up a veteran (see former Brewer Colin Rea). The wealth of internal options the Brewers have will, in all likelihood, serve them well in 2025. Recent seasons have shown that the injury bug can still plague this team, and it may very well come down to how well the Brewers can leverage their bounty of internal options. View full article

Per Baseball Reference's "Yearly Starters" page, Bauers was at DH for 17 games in 2024.

The Brewers rotated through a lot of players at designated hitter in 2024. They'll do so again this year. Will it be a similar cast spending time there? Image courtesy of © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images The Roster Situation Christian Yelich appears lined up to take most of the at-bats at designated hitter in 2025, primarily due to the presence of Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, and Sal Frelick as the main starters in the outfield, with Blake Perkins as the fourth outfielder when he returns from injury. Yelich rotated with Gary Sánchez, Rhys Hoskins, and William Contreras (among others) at designated hitter in 2024. This year, he may be the primary option, which will help him after he lost a large chunk of 2024 to back issues. When he was healthy, Yelich was at his best form since 2019, but he only played 79 games. Hoskins and Contreras will each see time at DH, too, and Tyler Black could yet win a place in that mix later in the season. Of course, it's likely that other players (like Frelick or Brice Turang) could get a game or two at DH to give them a break (as was the case in 2023 and 2024), but much of their value is in their defense, so the team will lean as heavily as health allows on Yelich. The Best-Case Scenario: Christian Yelich Gets 150 Starts At DH Let’s put it this way: Yelich may prefer to be out in the field, but the best-case scenario for the Brewers is to get 150 or more starts from Yelich at designated hitter. This would mean two things: Yelich is healthy and hitting at a similar clip to 2024, if not better. A healthy Yelich playing twice as many games as he played in 2024 would be a huge assist for the 2025 Brewers in replacing some of the production lost when Willy Adames went to San Francisco. The Brewers have significant stability across the lineup. In the outfield, Chourio, Mitchell, Frelick, Perkins, and maybe Black would be getting the playing time at the three spots in various combinations, producing offensively and helping the run prevention work out. Yelich will only be close to a full-time DH if he's not needed in the outfield, which would mean good health from Mitchell and others. This would also mean more rest (or maybe some games at first base) for William Contreras, keeping him fresher. The Worst-Case Scenario: DH Is A Revolving Door For Yet Another Season In 2024, 17 different players appeared as the DH for Milwaukee. Six of them were at the position for 10 games or more. It was, to put it nicely, the sign of a somewhat unstable lineup, mostly due to injuries suffered by players like Yelich, Mitchell, Sánchez, Hoskins, and Oliver Dunn, as well as the Brewers’ refusal to give Tyler Black an extended look in MLB after Yelich was lost for the season. If designated hitter again becomes a revolving door, it means that Yelich hasn’t held it down, especially if one of two scenarios has emerged: Either Yelich’s injury woes have not been overcome (which would be a devastating blow to the Brewers’ offense), or Yelich is seeing time in the outfield because of injuries in that position group (perhaps just as bad, depending on who is out). Historically, the Brewers have never had a player lock down the DH position. The player listed most often as the primary DH at Baseball Reference is Dick Davis, who totaled -1.5 Wins Above Replacement. If 2025 is like many other Brewers seasons where they have a revolving door, the Brewers could have some real trouble. Overview Designated hitter could be the biggest “tell” about whether 2025 has gone well for Milwaukee. If Yelich is serving as the DH most days, it means the team’s managed to put together a superb lineup. There are other scenarios where the team could do well without Yelich handling most of the DH duties, but they usually will revolve around prospects like Jeferson Quero, Ernesto Martinez, or Tyler Black forcing their way to Milwaukee. If the Brewers are rotating players broadly and equally, then the likely reason is that things have gone very badly downhill. Some of these situations may not be as bad as others, but it is hard to imagine a positive scenario if Jake Bauers is playing DH on a semi-regular basis. View full article

Last year, the team enjoyed sparkling defense, but at a bat-first position, can the Crew find more well-rounded production in 2025? Image courtesy of © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images The Roster Situation Sal Frelick was the Crew’s primary right fielder in 2024, with Jackson Chourio and Garrett Mitchell also seeing significant playing time in that spot. In essence, these three young outfielders are almost interchangeable. Frelick, of course, won a Gold Glove, and he also provided competent offense and excellent baserunning. Fringe roster options Brewer Hicklen, Isaac Collins and Jake Bauers will provide emergency depth at this spot. Especially encouraging campaigns by minor-league signee Jimmy Herron or prospects Tyler Black or Luis Lara could see them get a sliver of playing time, but several things have to go very wrong for Frelick, Chourio and Mitchell not to combine to cover most of the innings in right this season. The Best-Case Scenario: Frelick Or Chourio Get The Bulk Of Starts The Brewers have two best-case scenarios in right field, each centered around Frelick and Chourio. Frelick has a combination of bat-to-ball skills, baserunning acumen, and defense that makes him a very valuable player. After losing weight and wearing down in 2024, he came to spring training in much better shape. Chourio’s a potential franchise player, blessed with a dreamy blend of power and speed. If he’s getting a lot of starts in right field, that would make Frelick the Crew’s fourth outfielder, meaning some top prospect's bat has forced its way into the lineup, leading to lots of playing time for Christian Yelich in left, rather than at DH. Any scenario wherein Yelich, Frelick, Chourio, Mitchell and Blake Perkins largely share just three spots in the lineup is a sign of good things for the Milwaukee Brewers, since it would mean they have a lot of very good options, leading to a fun debate for fans to have. The Worst-Case Scenario: Jake Bauers Sees Significant Time In Right Field Was Bauers horrible in 2024? Not necessarily. He was hot for a bit, then slumped, but still has good OBP skills and defense. The big issue is that his batting average for 2024 was below the Uecker line. As is the case with left field and center field, the worst-case scenario means that while the Brewers would likely have a competent player in the position, they would have gone far down their depth chart due to injuries and/or ineffectiveness, a sign that the 2025 season will be a disappointing one. If Bauers is getting his at-bats with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, the Brewers will be much more likely to be gunning for a deep playoff run, instead of having to pray the draft lottery goes their way. Overview There are a number of ways for right field to go well for the Brewers in 2025, but there are real risks. Mitchell and Yelich have major injury histories to consider. Perkins is hurt right now. If that problem piles up on them, the team could end up stretched thin all the way around from left field to right. Still, it can go very right. If Luis Lara gets red hot, he could force his way to the majors in 2025. In that case, perhaps Mitchell would slide over. A fully healthy Jeferson Quero could become a key role player in the second half, which would mean him or William Contreras taking up the DH spot more often and the aforementioned chain reaction of abundance for the outfield. Right is probably the outfield position where things are most likely to go wrong for the team this year, but even there, the depth is solid and intriguing. View full article

Darrien Miller's shown some excellent OBP skills in a small sample size this spring. Can't see how he hasn't impressed the coaches/front office.

The Brewers have a lot of choices in center field as 2025 approaches. But which of them would be best for the team? Image courtesy of © Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The Roster Situation Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick, and Blake Perkins saw action for the Brewers in center field in 2024, with Perkins, a Gold Glove finalist, as the primary center fielder. Jackson Chourio and Christian Yelich also have professional experience in that spot, as have Brewer Hicklen and Tyler Black. Among the non-roster invitees, Luis Lara and Manuel Margot also have experience in center field, with Lara being a top prospect. First baseman Ernesto Martinez has handled this position capably in brief minor-league stints. The Best Case Scenario – Garrett Mitchell has 130 starts in center field Mitchell is perhaps the Brewers’ most dynamic offensive threat in center field. He posted 2.0 WAR in 69 games, per Baseball-Reference. In his 116 total games, he’s racked up 3.6 WAR, with a 121 OPS+. A healthy Mitchell is easily an All-Star caliber player – think a left-handed Carlos Gomez at his 2013-2014 peak. He provides defense, speed, power, and on-base skills. He also reduced his strikeout percentage from nearly 50% to 36%. He has made adjustments to MLB pitching and is an easy 30-30 threat. Not that Frelick and Perkins are horrible choices, either. The former is a Gold Glover who brings speed and some good on-base skills and would be a viable starter and leadoff hitter for at least two-thirds of MLB teams. Perkins brings defense, some OBP skills, and speed. He can stretch a lineup at worst and can provide some punch. Like Frelick, most of MLB’s teams would be very happy to have him in center. But Mitchell is, far and away, the Crew’s best option in center. The Worst Case Scenario – Jackson Chourio or Christian Yelich see significant time in center field Here’s the thing: Jackson Chourio would be one of the best center fielders in Major League Baseball. Heck, 29 other teams in MLB would love to have him in center (if the Brewers were inclined to deal him, which they aren’t, barring an insane offer that would make the Brewers’ haul in the William Contreras trade look like petty theft). So, why is it a bad sign if he sees a lot of time there? The big reason would be either injury or ineffectiveness involving Frelick, Mitchell, and Perkins, at the very least. The Brewers also elected not to try Tyler Black there despite his (limited) experience. In one sense, it is a sign of the team’s depth at this position that having a player of Chourio’s caliber starting a significant number of games is arguably the worst-case option. The same can also apply to Yelich, albeit to a lesser degree. Center field has never been his primary position, and he last played there in 2019. Overview Like left field, center field is a strength for the Brewers in many ways. Part of this stems from their strategy of having many good center fielders and moving some to left field or right field to ensure playing time. In this case, it’s about finding the best from a wealth of good choices. With so many good defenders, the bat will be the tiebreaker, which points to Mitchell – at least for 2025. That said, the Brewers can fare well with other players, either directly or indirectly, and that could include Martinez and Black, both of whom have intriguing offensive profiles. The real question of whether things go well or poorly in 2025 is how far down the depth chart they go. View full article

Jackson Chourio eventually locked down left field for the Brewers after Christian Yelich was lost for the season due to back surgery. Can he make himself a generational fixture at the position? Image courtesy of © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images The Roster Situation Jackson Chourio is the incumbent at the position – finishing third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting after getting a record-breaking contract can do that. The first Brewers rookie to post a 20-20 season, he could be on an upward path if he isn’t misused as a leadoff hitter. Christian Yelich has handled left field well, being a Gold Glove finalist for the Brewers in 2018 and 2022, although he’s expected to be the team’s primary DH in 2025. Tyler Black could be an option in left field as the Brewers seek to find him a defensive home, while Isaac Collins and Brewer Hicklen could also be options. Technically, Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, and Blake Perkins could also be in left field, but the Brewers would prefer them in center or right field. Among the non-roster invitees, Mark Canha and Manuel Margot are perhaps the most prominent. However, while listed as a first baseman, Ernesto Martinez has seen professional action in center field and could be a competent option in left down the road. The Best Case Scenario – Jackson Chourio plays 140+ games in left The more fans see Chourio in left field, the better for the Brewers. This means that Mitchell is healthy and taking most of the starts in center field, and Sal Frelick is healthy and taking most of the starts in right field, providing the Brewers with plenty of offense. Chourio won’t need two months to adjust to MLB pitching. Ideally, he will also be hitting second in the Brewers lineup, and he could be a consistent 30-30 threat. This is not the only scenario that can work out well for the Crew. Black could see substantial time in left, sliding Chourio to right field, since his bat has flashed real dynamism in the minors. Yelich could also see significant time in left field without hurting the Brewers, and that could be a positive development if, say, Jeferson Quero forces his way to the majors and displaces William Contreras to DH more often. The Worst Case Scenario – Mark Canha or Manuel Margot sees significant time in left Canha is not a horrible option in left field. Let’s put that out of the way. But given the higher-ceiling options the Brewers have on the 40-man roster and in Triple-A Nashville, both directly and indirectly, Canha or Margot playing a lot of left field in Milwaukee would be a bad sign. It would mean that injuries and/or hitting slumps have ravaged the Brewers roster to the point that Canha or Margot is the best option remaining. That is a sign that the Brewers’ draft position will depend on how the lottery goes, as opposed to whether they made a deep playoff run. It’s not that Canha and Margot would be awful options, but if things are going well for the Brewers, Canha and Margot are probably spending their time in Triple-A Nashville. Overview The Brewers’ depth means there are many ways for left field to go right for the Crew. Chourio playing 140+ games there would point to a stable lineup for the team. Still, suppose Chourio, Yelich, and Tyler Black become a “left field by committee,” especially if Quero and Martinez can force Contreras and Hoskins to DH by forcing their way to the majors. In that case, that is also an excellent outcome. Left field can go bad in 2025, but if it does, then it will arguably be the least of Milwaukee’s problems. View full article

The Brewers lost a star shortstop to free agency this winter, and haven't yet settled on how to replace him. We certainly know what they'd prefer, though. Image courtesy of © Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The Roster Situation Joey Ortiz is the front-runner to be the Brewers’ shortstop on Opening Day, replacing Willy Adames. Vinny Capra, Andruw Monasterio, and Brice Turang have also played shortstop during their professional careers, although Turang is the incumbent second baseman for the Brewers. One storyline this spring is the team's dilemma between starting Ortiz at short and Turang at second or leaving Ortiz at third and sliding Turang to the left side of the infield. Non-roster invitee Cooper Pratt is a potential future option, if he isn’t moved to the hot corner. Meanwhile, Jesus Made could be the next great Brewers shortstop, following names like Robin Yount, Adames, and J.J. Hardy. Pratt is likely to make the Brewers in 2026, possibly as early as Opening Day. The Best-Case Scenario: Ortiz Starts At Least 140 Games at Short Ortiz was a very underrated rookie last season, with a 101 OPS+ over the season despite his power being sapped by the effects of a neck injury. His defense could be Gold Glove-caliber, and in this scenario, the Brewers would have extremely solid defense up the middle, giving them leeway to play bat-first players more often at the corners. The real hope, though, is that Ortiz can boost his offensive production from 2024’s .726 OPS to something akin to his first-half OPS of .801. That would do a lot to replace the production lost with Willy Adames’s move to the West Coast. The Worst-Case Scenario: Players Other Than Ortiz Or Turang Total More Than 20 Starts Brewers fans were spoiled by Adames, who wanted to be out there every day, and who never played fewer than 139 games a season from 2022-2024. But in this case, it will matter a lot if the Brewers are looking for help at shortstop. It will mean that Ortiz is unavailable due to injury—which would be a minor disaster, in and of itself—or that he is playing a lot at the hot corner because the Brewers can’t get acceptable offensive production or defensive competence at the position. Sliding Turang to short is not a worst-case scenario—his glove would hold up fine under the pressure of that move—but it would just pass the bad penny; the team would be left with gaping uncertainty at second base. Monasterio would be a solid option at short for some teams, but his offensive ceiling is very limited. Pratt and Made are exciting, but far away, and extended time for Capra at short would mean something went very wrong. Overview If there is a position that could decide the Brewers 2025 season, it’s shortstop. If Ortiz locks down the position and the Brewers find an answer at third, the team is in very good shape to pull off an NL Central three-peat, and maybe more. The best outcome is if Ortiz locks it down the way Adames did. That said, it’s not all on Ortiz. One of Oliver Dunn and Caleb Durbin has to lock down third base for the Brewers, lest Ortiz be moved there, with Turang handling shortstop in that situation. It is not a complete disaster for the Brewers if Turang gets 140 starts at shortstop, but it is a bad development, as it means the Brewers have cycled through multiple options at third base or Ortiz missed significant playing time. If Ortiz or Turang does go down, then the Crew will be counting on two of Dunn, Durbin, Monasterio and Capra to hold down not just the hot corner, but second base as well. The real worst case, though, is if the Brewers have Monasterio or Capra getting 40-50 starts at shortstop. That would point to a very bad development, perhaps involving multiple injuries. Avoiding that has to be the team's priority. View full article

He struggled in July, but in August, he'd adjusted and was almost as dominant as he was from April-June. He's a legit pitcher - and the big question is stretching him out.

The Brewers had a solid third baseman in 2024, but he’s probably moving to shortstop. Can somebody step up at the hot corner in 2025? Image courtesy of © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images The Roster Situation For all the questions about the hot corner, the one thing the Brewers don’t lack is depth. Vinny Capra, Caleb Durbin, Oliver Dunn, and Andruw Monasterio are all plausible candidates for at least part-time work there. The Brewers are obviously intrigued by Dunn’s power bat and defense, while Monasterio held the hot corner down during the team’s 2023 NL Central championship run. Tyler Black, Isaac Collins and Sal Frelick are all, technically, emergency plans, with varying amounts of experience and proficiency. Frelick is too badly needed in the outfield, though, while neither Black nor Collins looks capable of actually handling the position. Non-roster invitee Raynel Delgado has seen action at third base this spring and looked good. The Brewers also have potential options in the minors, including Mike Boeve, Brock Wilken, and Cooper Pratt—although, for various reasons, don't expect to see any of them play in the majors this year. The Best-Case Scenario: Oliver Dunn or Caleb Durbin Locks Things Down The Brewers have two ways third base could go really well for them in 2025. One is for Oliver Dunn to emerge as the kind of player he's shown some promise to be, and that manager Pat Murphy sees in him. His offensive ceiling is that of a left-handed power threat who could help make up a good portion of the 65 extra-base hits the Brewers lost when Willy Adames went to San Francisco. Dunn’s defense is also well-regarded. Durbin's upside looks wholly different. There's some pop there, but his game is centered on contact and speed, and his defensive work at third this spring has been less than inspiring. Black is the dark horse, in that he has a higher offensive floor than either Dunn or Durbin. His OBP skills and baserunning have been superb throughout his professional career, even if he lacks power. The former Top-100 prospect could be a valuable contributor for the Brewers if he gets on the field, but his defense has not met (or even approached) the Brewers' standard. He hasn't played an inning at third base in the Cactus League thus far, which tells you how feasible he is as an option. The Worst Case Scenario: Monasterio is Forced into a Full-Time Role Let’s get one thing out of the way: Monasterio was a competent third baseman in the second half of the 2023 season, and acquitted himself pretty well. But if he is taking the majority of starts at third base, it’s either because the Crew has tried the other options with higher ceilings and found them wanting, or because injuries have rendered them unavailable. Monasterio’s floor might be the highest among the potential options at third for the Crew. That said, his offensive ceiling is arguably the lowest. Frelick playing third could end up being the truly catastrophic scenario, if the move is due to injuries and ineffectiveness among the other options—especially if it's compounded by a Blake Perkins regression at the plate. Overview The Brewers could have any number of outcomes at third base. That’s because they have a lot of choices. While none appear bad on paper, what happens on the field can be very different than what any projection might say. We've glossed over the possibility that Joey Ortiz will stay at third, with Brice Turang moving to shortstop and Durbin taking over at second base, instead of third. That's probably not quite the best-case scenario, and it's certainly not the worst-case, so it hasn't been within our scope here, but it's increasingly plausible. Durbin has not only played more innings at second base (26) than at third (22) this spring, but looked better at the keystone, too. If Dunn wins the job at the hot corner, he'd push Durbin to the bench, where the rookie would be able to spell both Dunn and Brice Turang. That's why, in all likelihood, it's the best possible option for the Brewers. To have it actually happen, though, will require some players with shaky health histories to avoid injuries—and some with uneven track records to achieve consistency in their performances. View full article

Noticed Bryan Hudson got the start today. A potential in-house option?

I said it before, but I think Hudson could be a sneaky good rotation candidate for the Brewers.

Second base was a position of strength for the Brewers in 2024, with Brice Turang netting the Platinum Glove, while improving substantially on offense. Will things play out equally well at the keystone this season? Image courtesy of © Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The Roster Situation Milwaukee's second base picture begins with Turang, who not only provided superb defense, but made a huge leap in his offensive performance as the Brewers’ primary leadoff hitter. He was a terror on the basepaths, stealing 50 bases in 56 tries and drawing 50 walks in 142 starts at second base. The only other players to get starts at second during the 2024 season were Andruw Monasterio (16 starts) and Joey Ortiz (four starts). Tyler Black, Caleb Durbin, Oliver Dunn, and Vinny Capra all have professional experience at the position. Anthony Seigler and Raynel Delgado are non-roster invitees with professional experience at second base. The Best Case Scenario – Turang Plays Over 140 Games At Second This scenario not only would reflect Turang staying healthy and producing at least on par with 2024 at the plate (if not improving) and in the field, but also stability at third base and shortstop for the Brewers. Turang won the Platinum Glove last year as the best of the National League Gold Glove winners. He would lock that position down for the next three or four years—maybe longer, if he signs an extension. But Turang sticking at second would also mean that Joey Ortiz has locked down shortstop, and that the Brewers have also locked down third base with one (or some combination) of Caleb Durbin, Oliver Dunn, and Andruw Monasterio. That would mean the Brewers' offense is humming along, and the team is avoiding a lengthy injured list absence from a key contributor—something that has plagued the team in recent seasons, often involving key players. The Worst Case Scenario – Andruw Monasterio or Vinny Capra Have More Than 15 Starts At Second Let’s lead this off by noting that an injury to Turang may not be the reason for this scenario (although such an injury would be devastating for the Brewers). It could be the case if Turang slides to shortstop and Ortiz plays third, should Durbin or Dunn end up injured, ineffective, or otherwise unavailable or unused. Dunn and Durbin each have different top-tier tools. Dunn’s calling card is power. Durbin’s a right-handed speedster, with a bit more pop (at least in the minors) than Turang. Dunn's glove is the best argument for him getting the job at the hot corner, whereas Durbin has been far from smooth afield in early Cactus League play. It won’t necessarily be one of these things, more like a combination of injuries and ineffectiveness that will cause this. Overview The Brewers are likely to be much closer to their best-case scenario than the worst-case scenario, largely because of the multiple options at the hot corner. It's over at third that things are most likely to go south for the Brewers. There are, of course, some middle-tier scenarios, which involve other players at second base. The Brewers could put Durbin at second base, keeping Ortiz at third base and sliding Turang to shortstop. Tyler Black could also see action at second, although he last played second base in 2022. Oliver Dunn also has seen time at second in his professional career. Sal Frelick could also be an emergency option, especially if Black ends up in the outfield. Seigler and Delgado could break out, as Monasterio did in 2023. For whatever it's worth, Delgado has hit the ball exceptionally well in a fistful of early spring plate appearances. But for the Brewers, if Turang is once again holding down second base, they will be doing very well, indeed. View full article