3 X-Factors For Brewers To Embark On Championship Run

Since his sparkling, 14-strikeout debut on Mother’s Day 2018, Freddy Peralta has been entrenched near or at the top of the Brewers’ starting rotation. Peralta, who just completed his eighth big-league season despite not yet reaching his 30th birthday, arguably enjoyed his finest campaign in 2025.

His 17 wins paced the National League, and his 2.70 ERA marked his career low. Getting hitters out has never been a huge problem for Peralta. What has plagued him during his career is the number of pitches he has thrown to get those outs.

Peralta has historically blazed his fastball past hitters; he registered 204 strikeouts in just 176.1 innings, good enough for well above a strikeout per inning. The downside is that he also mixed in 66 walks, which averages out to 3.75 per 9 innings pitched.

Taking that a step further, Peralta, despite being named to his second all-star team this season, averaged just 5.1 innings per outing, mostly due to the hefty pitch counts caused by his growing number of bases on balls. In those games, the Brewers’ bullpen became more taxed and was relied upon to register an average of 11 outs in each of Peralta’s starts.

If Peralta gets the ball in Milwaukee’s playoff opener, as has been rumored, that means he will be counted upon the most from his staff to win the most games. While relievers Abner Uribe (75 games), Jared Koenig (72), and Grant Anderson (66) have been solid when called upon this season, their success in the postseason is not guaranteed (see Devin Williams, 2024). With their heightened workload, not to mention the uncertainty of Trevor Megill’s availability, the Brewers’ success depends mightily on Peralta’s efficiency.

Baby Brewers Must Grow Up Fast In October

The 2025 Brewers’ roster is flooded with rookies who played in the regular season at a very high level. While first-year big leaguers Caleb Durbin, Isaac Collins, and Jacob Misiorowski have performed admirably and well beyond their years, thriving in the postseason is a whole different animal.

Durbin has proven to be the most consistent rookie on the Brewers’ roster. He has hit in numerous spots in the lineup, and he has not faltered in any of them. He hit a respectable .256 over 445 regular-season at-bats, and many of his 136 games played were in pressurized circumstances as Milwaukee rose through the ranks of the NL Central.

Collins started 2025 slowly, batting .230 through May, but warmed up with the weather in the summer. During June, July, and August, he went 66-for-225, good for a .293 average, and garnered the NL Rookie of the Month award for July.

What has troubled Milwaukee fans is Collins’ September swoon. He dropped considerably in almost every offensive category, which included a paltry .191 batting average and just five RBI. As drastic a decline as that was, another Brewer attracted more negative attention with his attrition during the latter stages of the season.

The recent troubles of Misiorowski have puzzled and concerned Brewers fans and brass the most. The Miz was the talk of the baseball world following his June 12 debut, in which he did not allow a base hit over six innings against the St. Louis Cardinals.

After just five starts, Misiorowski was named to the NL All-Star team after going 4-1 and registering a 2.85 ERA to go along with 33 strikeouts in just 25.2 innings. Over the last three months of the season, he allowed 5.4 earned runs per nine innings pitched, and he earned just one win over that time.

The Brewers need both of these struggling youngsters to regain their initial prowess and shake off their growing pains if their October is going to last. They are past being considered “rookies,” and their play needs to resemble that of season veterans.

The Brewers Earned Home-Field Advantage–Now They Must Make That Count

Registering 97 victories over the course of six-plus months is no easy feat. In fact, no other team matched Milwaukee’s mark, and that means they will enjoy home-field advantage for as long as they are alive in the postseason tournament.

The Brewers have never been in such a position of strength; knowing they will host the majority of games in any series should pose an overwhelming advantage, one that they have exhibited this year at American Family Field.

Milwaukee’s 55 home wins were tops in all of baseball. Never before had the Brewers enjoyed this much home-cooked success, but to attain the ultimate goal of a World Series, they must win eleven more games, many of which should be in the cozy confines of AmFam Field.

End Of Brewers Rant: Regular Season Is Over, On To Bigger And Better Goals

Brewers manager Pat Murphy has enjoyed many accolades during his two-year reign as boss. He was the overwhelming choice as NL Manager of the Year in 2024, and he is poised to repeat that honor this season, according to oddspedia.com and their most recent odds.

Despite winning the NL Central in 2024, his team was ousted unceremoniously by the New York Mets in the Wild Card round. To say there is unfinished business yet to be realized would be a vast understatement, especially to loyal fans of the True Blue Brew Crew. If Peralta can dominate, the rookies can become veterans, and the team can properly utilize its home-field advantage, 2025 could truly materialize into a very magical season.