At different points during this season, the Dodgers, Guardians and Phillies had commanding, week-long leads over their divisions. And here we are, heading into the homestretch, and the first place team with the biggest lead over its competition is the Milwaukee Brewers. A team in arguably one of the most competitive divisions in the league.
It's not that every team in the NL Central is good, it's that all five of them won't rest until they've completely exhausted any attempt to compete. That's why even as the Pirates are 8 games back from the Wild Card spot and 3 games back from 2nd place, they're still trying. The majority of the division is under .500, but not by much. Nobody in the NL Central is gonna lose 100 games this year, and they're all aware of it. So all this business at the moment of teams scratching and clawing just to go upwards in a division that doesn't matter is just to exhaust the possibility that the door is still open. It could be. The Padres, Braves, Mets and D-Backs could all fall apart and make it possible for an NL Central team to bounce in.
But at the moment, it's clear that there's only one wholly excellent team in this division, and that is the Brewers. Right now they have multiple multifaceted lineup pieces, three starters who I'd trust in a postseason series today, three of the best relievers in baseball without any hyperbole, and one of the most satisfying rookies in a year that also has Jackson Holliday and Paul Skenes in it. And they're doing all of this without Christian Yelich.
Might I remind you that the last time a team built this much momentum without their marquee star, it was 2021, and it was the Atlanta Braves. They won without Acuna. And the Brewers have the opportunity to exceed their usual playoff finishing spot without Yelich.
So, let's be clear: Peralta, Rea, Myers. Not the Milwaukee Big 3 I figured we'd see so soon after Burnes-Woodruff-Peralta. I thought Rea was decent enough last year, and while Peralta's a key guy he's had control issues. But these three have been truly excellent this year. Peralta's got 8 wins and 164 Ks, along with a 3.86 ERA. Rea's 11-4 with a 3.52 ERA and 108 Ks. And now rookie Tobias Myers has completely locked in, and is 6-5 with a 2.87 ERA and 90 Ks in 20 games. And let's be clear here, Aaron Civale and Frankie Montas are no slouches either this year. Montas has been really strong since arriving in Milwaukee, he's 2-0 with a 3.57 ERA and 21 Ks. Civale is shaky but still reliable enough. This is a pretty sharp rotation to go into a playoff race with, especially considering this rotation once had D.L. Hall, Bryse Wilson and Joe Ross in it.
Aside from that, you have Jackson Chourio finally figuring out MLB hitting, Adames and Contreras continuing their excellent Milwaukee runs, Sal Frelick branching out at the plate in addition to his strong defensive work, Gary Sanchez and Rhys Hoskins finally heating up, and Devin Williams comfy in the ninth again. I am getting a vibe from this Brewers team that the last several haven't given me, and I think they could surprise some people this fall. It does take the correct circumstances, but if they keep this momentum going, they could run it all the way.
Coming Tomorrow- A catcher that is one of many on his team just refusing to have a down season.
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