When the Mets lost on September 13, the Milwaukee Brewers became the first team to clinch a postseason spot. Milwaukee didn’t have the loudest offseason, at least compared to their NL peers. However, underrated moves, coupled with a strong core, helped propel the Brewers to their third-straight playoff appearance.

Timely pickups

The Brewers lost key pieces in the offseason (I’ll get to that in a bit). But before the start of the year, Milwaukee needed to make adds — and did, without breaking the bank.

Milwaukee signed lefty Jose Quintana, who pitched very well both in the regular season and playoffs with the Mets for two years, on a one-year deal. While Quintana missed time with a shoulder injury (and is dealing with a calf injury now) earlier in the season, the veteran left-hander has been reliable despite not having a lot of strikeouts (89 over 131.2 IP).

Quintana posted a sub-4.00 ERA despite higher-than-normal batted-ball metrics.

Then, in April, the Brewers acquired former top prospect Quinn Priester from the Red Sox. It cost Milwaukee a good pitching prospect in John Holobetz (the PTBNL) but gave the Brewers a big weapon. Thanks to a heavy sinker that gets a lot of ground balls (56.8%) — perfect for a fundamentally sound infield — Priester won 13 games as of this writing.

Given that the Brewers didn’t have Brandon Woodruff again to start the year, having those two provided vital innings for Milwaukee both at the beginning of the year and now.

However, what might have been the loudest pickup was Andrew Vaughn, the former first-round pick traded to the Brewers in June in exchange for Aaron Civale. Civale was traded shortly after requesting a trade.

Vaughn, who had trouble with productivity with Chicago, slashed .311/.373/.497 (.871 OPS) with nine home runs and 18 extra-base hits across his first 55 contests with his new team. From July 1 to the start of September, his nine home runs were fourth-best on the team.

When a team does their shopping early, there may not be a ton needed later on, unless an injury arises.

A young core gets better

One of the reasons why Vaughn only finished fourth in that span was thanks to a great core. One that was without Jackson Chourio for a good chunk of the summer and remained highly productive.

Christian Yelich, off back surgery last year, has looked as good as he has since 2019. Yelich had 28 home runs as of September 15, and 11 of those came during July and August. Yes, there’s been more swing-and-miss in his game. However, the fact that Yelich is doing what he does well — going the other way when need be — and hitting for power to the pull side and opposite field, given what he’s been through.

William Contreras was getting on base plenty (.357 OBP through June 30) over the first half of 2025 but didn’t hit for much power. It came in the second half, as 11 of his 17 home runs came in July and August.

Brice Turang, meanwhile, has grown into a superstar. The former first-round pick was nearly an All-Star last season before a dip in production over the second half. In that second half, he posted an OPS that ranked among the 10 worst in the league. Not this year, though, has Turang hit 10 home runs in August, and added two more in September.

He’s one of those players who we’ve seen significantly increase his bat speed. Turang’s average bat speed this season (as of 9/15) was 70.5 MPH, much higher than the 66.2 MPH from last season.

We’ve known he can run and field. Now, we know that he can hit for power at the MLB level.

Those three, coupled with players like Isaac Collins and Sal Frelick, have helped push the “chaos” team to new heights. As of September 15, the Brewers are tops in the NL in runs scored (762-t1st), first in on-base percentage (.333), and first in stolen bases (153).

As for the pitching staff, their bullpen has been just fine without Devin Williams. Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe have both held down the late innings. And, the rotation has been exceptional.

Brandon Woodruff, who returned in early July, sat sixth in the Majors in K/9 since July 1. Woodruff has also limited the walks (5.9% BB%).

Then, there’s Freddy Peralta (aka Fastball Freddy, or whatever you want to call him). Peralta could hit the 200-strikeout marker yet again this season, thanks to his power four-pitch combo that helps him miss a lot of bats.

Able to fill holes

Good teams tend to find young pieces who can develop and turn into valuable assets. Milwaukee saw several of those become assets this season.

Chad Patrick struck out 113 over 110 innings this season as a rookie. Logan Henderson, armed with a very good four-seam/changeup combo, struck out 33 over 25 frames but couldn’t stick in the Majors because of their depth (aside: that’s a problem 29 other teams would like to have). Henderson, though, is currently on the 60-day IL with an elbow injury.

But, you can’t talk about young Brewers pitchers without Jacob Misiorowski. Misiorowski, the fireballer who turned into an All-Star within a month, has had command issues, as expected. That was the report on him. But, with 81 strikeouts over 60 innings, he’s proven he can stick as a starter.

When combining those names along with the bats (i.e., Jackson Chourio, Isaac Collins, Sal Frelick, etc.), who have stepped up to soften the blows of losses over the last few seasons. It’s remarkable what the Brewers have accomplished.

What to expect in October

Just like each of the last two offseasons, the Brewers will have decisions to make come the winter.

Brandon Woodruff, on a mutual option for 2026, will likely head to free agency. Peralta has a team option for 2026 that will likely be picked up. But, will the Brewers go the route of Corbin Burnes and trade him before he goes to market? Or, will the Brewers make him a de facto rental ala Willy Adames?

None of that matters right now. The Brewers are still pushing to lock up the NL Central. And if the Brewers do so, they will likely secure home-field advantage through at least the NLDS.

And with a dominant 1-2 punch in Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff, along with depth across the lineup, Milwaukee has legitimate World Series aspirations.

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