50 games have already come and gone for the Milwaukee Brewers. After a 5-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants last night, they currently sit with a record of 27-23 which is good for first in the NL Central. The Pittsburgh Pirates are just a game and a half out. Milwaukee is holding on despite missing a number of players. With only 112 games guaranteed remaining, here’s we know about the Brewers after 50 games.
The Pitching Injury Bug Continues
Before the year began, the Brewers had a good rotation in Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Eric Lauer, and Wade Miley. Aaron Ashby and Adrian Houser were suppose to be a part of the bullpen, but both suffered injuries. Today? Only Peralta and Burnes have been healthy all season, Lauer is currently on the IL, Ashby is likely done for the year, Woodruff is likely out until almost the all-star break, and Miley is on the IL as well. Thankfully, Houser has returned and is in the rotation.
Milwaukee has had to rely on players like Colin Rea and Julio Teheran to come up from the minors and cover starts in these players absence. Teheran was solid last night and Rea was really good in his last start against the Astros. The pitching room is getting thin for a group that was already pretty thin when the season started. Hopefully guys can start getting healthy for the stretch run.
The Offense Is Streaky
The Brewers offense was pretty consistent to begin the year. Since then, they are currently the 22nd ranked offense in the league. It’s not much of a surprise because they are playing young players and rookies almost every night.
We are also seeing trends from years past. The bats are either alive or they’re not. One night they will be quiet like last night and only record four hits or they are playing the home run ball and scoring 4+ runs. There doesn’t seem to be a middle ground on offense. I still believe inconsistent offense has hurt this team the last 5 years in advancing to the playoffs or beyond. Off nights will happen but it still seems like it’s becoming too much of a trend.
Milwaukee Should Be A Contender Come September
Despite an inconsistent offense and a ton of pitching injuries, the Brewers are sitting in first place in the NL Central and own the fourth best record in the National League. That’s sort of crazy when you think about that. While it is still May and there’s a lot of baseball left to play, if the Brewers can ride this ship until players like Woodruff, Lauer, and Miley come back, you have to like this team’s chances come September. They could be squarely in the NL Central race and in a spot to contend and get into October. All you have to do is get in to the postseason. Crazy things can happen.
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