This is a point that I made several times last year and will probably be making many times this year.
The Brewers are presenting themselves as a team that can make the playoffs (not just be contenders). Evaluated that way, being in the middle of the pack puts the team in a hole relative to the teams that are the top playoff contenders.
Also, the Brewers offense last year had the advantage of playing 57 games against 3 of the worst pitching teams in the league, and they fattened their offensive stats against those teams more than the playoff teams did in their games against bad teams. They won’t have that advantage this year with teams playing more even schedules.