Brewcrew82

Feel like this merits its own thread so as to spare the board any discussion of this this offseason.... Also, Frelick will get time at 3B again in ST. I still wouldn't expect him to be the everyday 3B man.

This is true. For as badly as we all hate the format right now because our double digit division victory was nullified with two losses, you could argue it offers the Brewers their best chance at a WS title by leveling the playing field against the bigger markets.

There are two good options in my mind: 1) If MLB is set on keeping the format, make it so the division winners only have to win one game to advance in the Wild Card. MLB needs to get back to rewarding teams who win their division over a 162 game season. Home field is simply not enough in baseball. 2) Turn the Wild Card round into a play-in type round. 5 seed competes in a single game against the 6 seed for the right to play the 4th seed. Winner and 4th seed then play one game for the right to play the 1 seed. The division winners get automatic byes to the Division Series as they did before 2022. Make the Division Series a best of 7 to keep same number of games for revenue purposes. Second option is best but first isn't horrible either and doesn't require as much change. A third, but less appealing option is to expand the postseason by two per league and eliminate the bye for the division winners like in 2020 and in the NBA/NHL. Which would likely perpetuate the chaos, but would also put everyone on an even playing field and eliminate any potential "rust" issues for the top two seeds.

Judge is so impotent in the postseason.

Jeferson Quero Still the best combination of youth, upside, positional scarcity, and proximity to the majors. He'll have to prove that his cannon is untouched by injury, but there's no reason right now to doubt a full recovery. Jacob Misiorowski Right there with Quero in terms of upside and proximity, but remaining questions surrounding control enough to slot him behind Quero. Jesus Made Usually, I'm hesitant to slot a guy this high who's yet to touch full-season ball, but when you have services like BA and ESPN already ranking him as a top 100 prospect and the combo of batted ball data and contact that this guy is showing at all of 17 years of age you really have no choice. LONG way to go, but Chourio 2.0 is not too lofty a comparison at this stage, and he should Cooper Pratt Only 20 and can do everything on the diamond, with the power just starting to show signs of materializing. Robert Gasser Too bad TJ cut short what was looking like a quick ascent to a middle of the rotation starter. Eric Bitonti 3rd baseman, but power is impressive for an 18 year old and he's shown that it will translate to full season ball.Tyler Black Relatively rough season for him, especially in terms of his peripherals, but the trademark plate discipline remains. Still has no positional home.Brock Wilken Another guy who had a rough season, but the light tower power and the ability to play 3B remains and you wonder how much getting hit in the face threw a wrench into things. Braylon Payne Only just turned 18 and a super impressive full season cameo with suprising EV #s. If he develops power, his upside is as big as anyone this side of Made.Mike Boeve Hitting savant that is quickly closing in on the majors. Luis Pena Was there step for step with Made from a statistical standpoint in the DSL. Also likely to skip the ACL and head straight to Carolina. Logan Henderson Slowed down some in AAA to end the season, but also threw as many innings as he ever has and you can't ignore his performance over multiple levels. Will he develop that 3rd pitch? Yophery Rodriguez Chourio has kind of distorted our perceptions a bit, because a 117 wRC+ is still really impressive for an 18 year old in A ball. Luke Adams Cleaned up the mechanics a bit and posted a 154 wRC+ in A+ as a 20 year old. Questions are can he stay at 3B and will the hit tool hold up as he advances?Josh Knoth Held his own as an 18 year old in A ball with a 10.25 K/9 and a 3.95 FIP and still has all the tools of a future middle to front of the rotation starter. He could blow up the list if he takes that next step with his command. Bryce Meccage Another 18 year old arm with high upside. Anxious to see where/how he starts his professional career. Craig Yoho Dominated over multiple levels and is a step away from the majors. Should be a key piece of the post-Devin pen. Brett Wichrowski Had a solid season that slowed a bit in AA. Two plus pitches in fastball and slider and an average third offering. Command took a step back in AA. K.C. Hunt What a season! And it came pretty much out of nowhere from a guy who wasn't even drafted. Command is impressive, and it's not a stretch to think he could impact the big league club next season. Blake Burke He's going to have to hit enough as he's limited to 1B, but he's got the power and could move quickly. Chourio graduating and Quero being injured and Black falling off means we'll head into the offseason lower in the rankings than last year, but you can see the potential to shoot back up into the top 10/5 with guys in the lower minors like Made, Payne, Bitonti, Pratt, Pena, Knoth, etc. and potential bounce backs from guys in the upper minors like Wilken and Quero.

As if there was ever any doubt that the reverse-Brewers curse would live on for another round...

But I thought that this was a byproduct of the current postseason format, so why should we be concerned about what the Dodgers did back in 2013 or even 2018? Also, if you extend your timeline back two years, then the Brewers can counter with two LCS appearances... I'm just struggling to see the logic or consistency here when I feel you're mostly operating out of frustration that the randomness of the MLB postseason struck against the Brewers yet again. While ignoring that if a top 2 reliever in baseball does his job and gets two more outs the Brewers advance and have as good a shot as the Mets (who are currently up 2-1) to take out the Phillies and advance to the LCS.

The problem with this thesis is that teams other than the Brewers that "no one takes seriously" are the ones winning right now (i.e., Dbacks, Mets). And that the teams that everyone considers to be in the very top echelon (i.e. Dodgers) are continually falling short.

The Rays, the moneyballest of moneyball teams, have also made two WS in the last 15 years. Cleveland has made one. The Dbacks last year opened with a virtually identical payroll to us and went through the grinder of the current postseason format to make the WS. I'm not going to pretend it's going to be easy or that a lot things won't have to break our way, but there's absolutely reason to hold out hope. And in no way, shape or form, is winning 90 games and your division year in and year out "faux competing". Because then you'd have to consider the Dodgers to be "faux competing"....

Wonder if Padres, Mets, Royals, and Tigers all winning and taking out the Dodgers, Yankees, and Phillies in the process (and depriving the baseball world of Judge and Ohtani in the WS) would be enough to get MLB to reconsider the playoff format.... Also, crazy how these teams are all "faux competing" by winning their divisions.

Yes, we're not all old and the divisions haven't existed forever, but the point still stands that at no point has winning 90+ games and division titles been considered "faux competing".

Dodgers division series exit becoming as common as our WC exit at least.

At zero point in the history of the game has winning division titles and winning 90 games been considered "faux competing"...

So, does Devin get a WS ring?

Nola is better than Freddy, but he's pretty much as frustrating to Phillies fans as Freddy is to Brewers fans.

Two best closers in baseball stinking up the joint this postseason. Postseason is awesome, but a great deal random. Gotta remember that. And also never give out big time money to relievers....

With Jackson Chourio, I think we'll get to experience the best of both worlds. Also, William Contreras is statistically the best catcher in baseball right now.....

Beat the Brewers become worldbeaters. A tale as old as tine.

Nelson is irrelevant as he had a totally different, much more severe injury than Woodruff. Being 17 months removed from surgery does matter though as it increases the likelihood he'll be fully healed from his procedure. These things take time, as we saw with Ashby who only regained his stuff in July/August. Also, do you really think this organization is in the business of paying $17 million for a player for PR reasons? Like I said, I don't think it's wise to count on Woodruff returning to the top 10 starting pitcher he was prior to the injury given the nature of shoulder injuries, but odds are pretty good he'll be in the rotation in 2025 given the financial commitment and time distance from his surgery.

I don't think it's that irresponsible to count on him being in the rotation considering they paid $17 million for him. He'll be 16 months removed from surgery by ST, which is where Ashby was when he regained his form. Counting on him to be an ace is a different thing, but odds are he'll be in the rotation.

Ohtani>Judge.

And we had them dead....Thanks a lot, Devin.

It's happening again....

Kinda frustrating seeing the Guardians who are no better than us dominating in the ALDS. Postseason often comes down to luck of the draw. Really wish we could've gotten that bye, and we would've had we been in the AL.

It’s certainly a legitimate question. I’d like to think he realizes a move off SS is in his future regardless, and that he wouldn’t lose much, if anything, in FA so long as he rebounds to all-star caliber form with the bat. I think I’d take the risk just due to the bat.