BCB staff make bold predictions, pick storylines to watch with Opening Day on deck
Our contributors at Brew Crew Ball are excited to get the 2025 season underway after an offseason that saw quite a bit of turnover across the league. Here are our bold predictions and storylines to watch for the Brewers in 2025.
Bold Predictions
Paul Dietrich: The Brewers have three outfielders in the All-Star Game
I’m not sure I buy this myself, but let’s be bold. It’s not that hard to imagine: Christian Yelich was an All-Star last season, and Jackson Chourio played at an All-Star level in the second half, so that’s two. As a major leaguer, Garrett Mitchell has been performing at a level that would make him one of the better outfielders in the National League… he just hasn’t been able to stay on the field; in three seasons, he has appeared in 28, 19, and 69 major league games. But Mitchell has hit well and played solid defense—if you extrapolate his 2.0 WAR in 69 games last year to a full season, that puts him at about 5 WAR, which is certainly at or near All-Star level. There also aren’t many great center fielders active right now, so there’s a void that Mitchell could step into as the Brewers’ everyday option at that position.
Harrison Freuck: The Brewers finish the year with the best rotation in the NL Central
This is obviously a subjective statistic, but I’ll cement my claim by saying Milwaukee will finish with the best starter ERA among NL Central teams. This isn’t inherently bold — there are only five teams in the division — but I think outpacing the Cubs, Pirates, and Reds is an achievement. The Pirates have the three-headed monster, Cincinnati has several promising young arms led by Hunter Greene, and the Cubs led the division in starter ERA last season and haven’t made any major changes.
On the Brewers’ side, they add Nestor Cortes, José Quintana, and a healthy Brandon Woodruff. Even though they head into the season with a depleted, injured rotation, I think by season’s end they’ll be among the league leaders in this stat.
Matt Gerrity: Rhys Hoskins improves from a solid-but-not-impressive first season
Hoskins was decent last year, but we’ve seen him put up much better seasons in years past. Even though his 100 wRC+ was, well, average, he still hit 26 home runs. He had a career-worst strikeout rate. He can rebound from that, combined with his impressive power for a career-high 35 home runs and a starting gig at the All-Star Game.
Owen Jonas: Rhys Hoskins gets his first All-Star appearance
Spring training results should absolutely be taken with a grain of salt (unless we’re talking about Vinny Capra of course), but the exhibition season can reveal certain traits that indicate whether or not a player is primed for a strong season. One such trait is health. Now another year removed from his ACL surgery, Hoskins was able to focus on more than just rehabbing his knee this offseason and it shows.
The 32-year-old looks like his former self, slugging six homers in just 11 games so far this spring and moving well enough at first base. While Hoskins faces an uphill battle to make the NL All-Star team, with competition that includes former MVPs Freddie Freeman and Bryce Harper, and two-time All-Star Matt Olson, if he can continue his excellent spring into the regular season and put together a strong first half, he has a shot at his first All-Star selection. He should have plenty of RBI opportunities, presumably hitting behind Chourio, Yelich, and Contreras in the Brewers’ lineup. If Hoskins can reduce his strikeouts and increase his walks while playing passable defense at the cold corner (which is all easier said than done), an All-Star appearance could be in his future.
Jason Paczkowski: Christian Yelich gets back to the 30-homer mark
Returning to camp after back surgery ended his 2024 season, Yelich has looked like his old self. As spring training comes to a close, he’s batting .310 and has three home runs so far this spring. If Yelich can put up a mostly healthy season, the Brewers will benefit massively from it. Even though Yelich only played in 73 games last season, he still had a 3.0 fWAR. A full season from Yelich would be a boost to an offense that needs it. The last time Yelich hit for 30 home runs in a season was 2019, when he hit 44. Since then, he hasn’t topped 20 in a season, with his best mark at 19 home runs in 2023. This year, a healthy Yelich gets that power back and gets back to the 30-homer mark.
Adam Zimmer: Chourio finishes in the top three in NL MVP voting
I’m doubling down on my team MVP pick. Chourio, now comfortable as a big leaguer, will finish top three in NL MVP voting. He will follow up the best season a 20-year-old has ever had with one of the best seasons a 21-year-old has ever had, joining the 30/30 club in the process. He won’t win MVP or anything because Shohei Ohtani is an alien.
Storylines to Watch
Paul Dietrich: Does someone in the minor leagues emerge as a high-leverage relief option?
We have no reason to doubt Trevor Megill. His Statcast metrics are good, and he performed well standing in for Devin Williams for the first half of last season. I think he’s going to have a good year as the Brewers’ closer. But after the departures of Williams and Josh Hader, the Brewers (and their fans) are surely thinking about the next great Brewers closer, and there are two potential options who will at least start the season at Triple-A Nashville.
The first is Craig Yoho, who throws wicked, Williams-esque off-speed stuff and dominated three levels of the minor leagues last year. He’s ready for the big leagues, and I expect we’ll see him soon.
The other option is top pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski. The Brewers seem determined to think of Miz as a starter until he forces them to think otherwise, as he started games all spring and will undoubtedly stay in that role at Triple-A. But he finished last season out of the bullpen and given his dominant stuff but control that lives on the wild side, many observers see Miz as a future reliever. He may have more potential out of the rotation, but some believe he could become one of the most unhittable relievers in the game, and that wouldn’t be a bad consolation prize if he ultimately proves unable to start consistently.
Harrison Freuck: Do Brice Turang and Joey Ortiz remain at second base and shortstop, respectively?
The biggest question throughout spring training was who would start at shortstop following the departure of Willy Adames. After Ortiz started spring as the expected starter, Turang seemed to gain the upper hand before going down with a shoulder injury that pushed him back to second base. I think the job is Ortiz’s to lose, but if he struggles or, even more likely, the Brewers have issues at third base, do we see Ortiz shift back to third and Turang move to shortstop with a utility guy like Oliver Dunn or Caleb Durbin take over at second base?
Matt Gerrity: Will there be enough production from the bottom of the lineup?
Players like Yelich, Chourio, and William Contreras could be exceptional, but the rest of the bats could be shaky. Will players like Brice Turang, Joey Ortiz, and Sal Frelick hit enough to provide runs at the bottom of the order?
Owen Jonas: How does the back end of the bullpen shake out?
Trevor Megill will get the first shot at closing games for the Brewers this year, and Brewers fans are certainly hoping he will be successful in this role. But should Megill struggle as the closer early in the season, questions of whether or not he is the best option for the role will certainly arise, especially considering the plethora of other options that the Brewers have, including Joel Payamps, Jared Koenig, flame-thrower Abner Uribe, and standout prospect Craig Yoho.
Yoho and his filthy changeup (unofficially called the ‘Yo-Yo’) seem to be the long-term choice for the closer role, but after his quick ascension through the minor leagues last year, it is uncertain if he has enough experience to close games for the big-league club in 2025. At this time last year, many fans expected the reins to be passed to Uribe once Devin Williams left, but a shaky start to the 2024 season followed by a suspension and a season-ending knee surgery leaves Uribe with much to prove in 2025.
Assuming that Megill is successful as the closer, this becomes the battle for the primary set-up man, a role that was mostly manned by Payamps last season. It’s likely the Brewers will have a rotation of pitchers covering the eighth inning, but with many big-league options and a few more waiting in the minor leagues, it will be interesting to watch how it all shakes out.
Jason Paczkowski: Can the Brewers’ infield stabilize following Willy Adames’ departure?
When looking at the Brewers this season, the biggest area of weakness has to be the status of the infield. With Willy Adames now in San Francisco, the Brewers had a big hole to plug this offseason. However, they chose to mostly stay internal for this. The one addition they made was through the Devin Williams trade, bringing in Caleb Durbin along with Nestor Cortes. Durbin didn’t look good this spring, and he’ll start the season in Triple-A while other internal candidates (Oliver Dunn, Vinny Capra, and Isaac Collins) will handle third base.
Joey Ortiz is sliding over to shortstop, where he is strong enough to play but his slump at the end of 2024 is still a concern. Brice Turang is the one stable point of the infield, and even he’s entering the season with a slight concern after he developed some shoulder soreness near the end of camp. If the Brewers want to win the division again in 2025, the infield will need to at least be stable. It doesn’t need to be the strength of the team, but it can’t be a liability. The late-spring surge from the offense is encouraging, but will it carry over into the regular season?
Adam Zimmer: The Brewers’ final infield spot
The Brewers lost star shortstop Willy Adames after last season, replacing him with four utility infielders. Oliver Dunn will presumably be the starter at third base to start the season. However, his starting spot is far from guaranteed. Vinny Capra had a great spring training and made the Opening Day roster. He could be a piece of the puzzle if he keeps hitting like he did in March, especially since he’s out of options. Andruw Monasterio has been serviceable as a depth option the last two seasons. Caleb Durbin came over in the Devin Williams trade, so Milwaukee hopes he will eventually contribute. I’m excited to see who ends up becoming the everyday third infielder. I’d love for one of them to prove they could be a long-term option.