A season ago, the Milwaukee Brewers missed the playoffs in the National League. Heading into this weekend, Milwaukee is leading the NL Central standings with a 29-27 record. They are just one game ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 28-27 record so far this season.
Pittsburgh was off to a 20-8 start this season and they have fallen off ever since. They are currently in a three-way tie for the final wild-card spot in the National League. The Milwaukee Brewers have a lot of talent on their roster for them to miss the playoffs and also have the best starting rotation in the NL Central.
It also feels like the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs are still in rebuilds. The St. Louis Cardinals have also been bad this season. In total, these three pitching rotations have not been very good. The Milwaukee Brewers are the only team in the NL Central that could make a run in October. Here’s why.
NL Central Standings & Stats: Is It the Milwaukee Brewers To Lose?
Batting Stats
Rowdy Tellez has played in 51 games this season for the Brewers. He has a .244 batting average with 12 home runs and 26 RBIs, along with zero stolen bases. Willy Adames has also played in 51 games this season for Milwaukee. He has a .205 batting average with nine home runs and 27 RBIs, along with four stolen bases.
Christian Yelich is having a bounce-back season for the Milwaukee Brewers. He has a .253 batting average with seven home runs and 24 RBIs, plus 12 stolen bases. These are the major bats helping the Brewers remain strong in the NL Central standings.
Pitching Stats
Freddy Peralta has pitched in 11 games this year for the Milwaukee Brewers. He has a 5-5 record with a 4.62 ERA. Peralta has pitched 60.1 innings, giving up 60 hits and 37 runs. He has also walked 25 batters and has struck out 61 batters.
Corbin Burnes has also made 11 starts this season for Milwaukee. He has a 4-4 record with a 3.68 ERA, pitching 63.2 innings and giving up 52 hits and 30 runs. Burnes has walked 24 batters and has also struck out 59 batters.
Devin Williams has been the primary closer for the Brewers this season. He has a 3-0 record with a 0.51 ERA and has appeared in 17 games. Williams has recorded nine saves out of nine attempts for the. He has pitched in 17.2 innings and has given up eight hits and one run, along with walking seven batters and struck out 22 batters.
They have walked a lot of batters this season, but those numbers should decrease as the season goes on.
NL Central Chances
The lineup and rotation feel very balanced among NL Central teams. With how the division is currently playing out, it would be a shame if the Milwaukee Brewers blew it for a second consecutive season.
Yes, it is a marathon, not a sprint to the finish line. However, this is also one of the best analytical teams in all of baseball. The gap between first place and last place in the NL Central standings is 4.5 games. It is wide open. But on paper, it feels like this is a one-team race to the finish line.
Milwaukee and St. Louis feel like they are the only teams in the division not rebuilding this season. We will see where the Milwaukee Brewers are in the NL Central standings come the MLB All-Star Break next month. It will be interesting to see what happens.
In the meantime, the Milwaukee Brewers will begin a huge four-game series on the road against the Cincinnati Reds this weekend.
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