The Milwaukee Brewers are 85-54 heading into their matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. Despite a push from the Phillies, the Brewers and manager Pat Murphy still hold the top spot in the National League. A balanced attack led by William Contreras, Christian Yelich, and Jackson Chourio has fueled the team's offense this year. However, it is far from perfect.
The Brewers burst onto the scene last year as a young team capitalizing on the chaos they caused in each game. Milwaukee has had its fair share of dramatic wins this season, but its dominance is not a surprise anymore. However, the team needs to consider modifying its approach on the offensive side of the ball if it wants to make a deep run in the NL playoffs this season.
As a whole, the Brewers' offense is formidable. Murphy did not send any of his batters to the All-Star Game this season, but his order is a well-oiled machine. However, the one thing that it lacks is key to winning a title; hitting with power as well as average. The best teams can do both, but the former is something that Murphy needs to emphasize down the back stretch of the season.
Milwaukee can learn a lot from the 2024 World Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers won the series playing small ball, with key home runs and doubles from their stars. On the other side of the matchup, the New York Yankees leaned too far into hitting home runs and lost in embarrassing fashion. The Brewers might be leaning too far in the other direction.
Milwaukee has everything it needs to win a title this season. However, key adjustments from Murphy could take the Brewers from a contender to a clear favorite to represent the NL.
How could a lack of power hurt the Brewers in the playoffs?
Outside of small injuries to Chourio and other key players throughout the year, the Brewers have been largely intact. That kind of continuity has given Murphy's team a great chance to build chemistry with one another. However, it looks like there are still some players struggling to fall into specific roles on the team. For example, Milwaukee lacks a true slugger in its batting order.
As a team, the Brewers are 13th in doubles and 19th in home runs as a team this season. Neither mark is terrible, but both are cause for concern. In the playoffs, runs are at a premium and the pitching gets significantly better. There is no telling how many chances Milwaukee will get at RBIs on its postseason run. The team needs to make the most of every chance they get.
The Brewers' philosophy relies on getting on and causing havoc on the base paths. However, that strategy is much easier to pull off in the regular season. In order to give the pitching staff a chance to protect a lead, those singles need to become doubles and the doubles need to become home runs. If not, things get much more difficult against the best opposing offenses in the league.
How can Murphy fix his team's problem before the playoffs?
To a certain extent, Murphy does not really need to change anything with his team. The Brewers manager is on his way to an elite club as a leader if his team stays on its current pace. His order is working as it is and should give opposing pitchers fits in the playoffs. However, changing their approach when they are at the plate could help him bring things to another level.
Yelich has been a driving force behind his team's commitment to excellence this season. Despite his leadership, he is in the middle of a slump as an individual. Getting him to focus on hitting more for power than average could help the top half of Murphy's order. Having leadoff batters like Brice Turang and Chourio get on sets the table for massive home runs from the DH.
Yelich, Chourio, and Contreras lead the team in home runs. Leaning into swinging a big bat gives the Brewers a better chance of jumping out to early leads. If they can do that Milwaukee pitchers like Brandon Woodruff are good enough to protect the advantage deep into postseason games. Getting off to good starts is key to the Brewers' success in any playoff series.
As a team, Milwaukee has as good a chance at winning the World Series as anyone in the league. However, the offense will determine just how close the team will get to that goal. If Murphy can press the right buttons, the Brewers can bring a championship home this fall.
