The calendar has officially switched to 2023 and the Milwaukee Brewers are going to look much different this year than years prior. They have added a lot of new players through trades, making claims on the waiver wire, and even added a pitcher through the Rule 5 draft. Despite the change, Clay Davenport’s projection system has the Brewers predicted to win the NL Central in 2023.
Clay Davenport has had MLB projections since 2012. His 2023 report was generated on December 24, 2022. Here is a full breakdown of the NL Central projections.
Clay Davenport’s 2023 player and team projections updated last week and they currently have the Brewers as the favorite to win the NL Central. pic.twitter.com/3DMwUL60DX
— Cream City Prospects (@CreamCityPro) January 2, 2023
Is 90 wins enough for the Brewers to win the NL Central in 2023?
Last year, 93 wins was enough for the St. Louis Cardinals to claim the NL Central crown. When the Brewers won the division in 2021, they had 95 wins. Dating back to 2000, the lowest win total for a division winner was the Cardinals in 2006 with 83 wins. The NL Central has been won with less than 90 wins just twice over the past 22 years.
New in 2023, that could play a factor into win totals, is the revamped/balanced schedule. Each team will have 52 games against their division opponents, 64 games against teams in the same league as them, and 46 inter-league games.
This means that instead of 19 games a piece against the Pirates and Reds, the Brewers will play them just 13 times each in 2023. The Brewers also played 20 inter-league games last year, going 15-5, but the amount of inter-league games played in 2023 will be more than double than what was played in 2022.
In summary, yes 90 wins could be enough for the Brewers to win the NL Central in 2023. They missed the playoffs by one game last year and had 86 wins. Hopefully the changes made so far can result in more wins and a division championship.
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