Uncustomed Heroes of 2020: Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers were one of two 29-31 teams that made the playoffs this year. If you're keeping score, they are the one that didn't almost advance to the World Series. For the Brewers...it wasn't exactly close. They had to play the Dodgers, themselves en route to a World Series, and lost in two games. They were in and out of the playoffs in less than a week. 

Without the better numbers of their star, Christian Yelich, and the presence of his OF buddy Lorenzo Cain, it's a wonder they even made the playoffs at all.

Christian Yelich, immediately after a year where he COULD HAVE, in all theory, won another MVP, was batting .205 with 76 strikeouts and only 22 RBIs. Yes, he did have the 2nd-most homers on the team, with...12, but he still wasn't himself. I put him in the category of Javier Baez, where he needs a full MLB environment to truly thrive, and...he didn't get that this year.

2021 Prediction: Back to his peak numbers, 30 homers, an ASG start, and acting like 2020 never happened.

If 2020 wasn't halted by a pandemic, Ryan Braun would have done the full 'swan song' deal for this season and rode on his better achievements. As it stands, this was still the last season of Braun's contract, signed pre-PEDs and pre-dropoff, and he still had to finish on some semblance of good terms. He...did, actually: he led the starting lineup in SLG, had 26 RBIs and 8 homers, and despite a low average, still managed to hit this season. Not too bad for a guy who's essentially been irrelevant for most of the 2010s.

2021 Prediction: He does the Alex Gordon bit and convinces the Brewers to sign him to a cheap one-year deal so he can do his retirement run.

...yeah, Orlando Arcia still hasn't figured out how to truly hit for average. I think we should just be alright with the fact that it's probably never going to happen. Yes, he hit .260 this year, but he still finished the season with a WAR of...0.0. So clearly he's still not doing something right. Even with competition at his position in the form of Luis Urias, he still had a very light-hitting year, and that may not be enough.

2021 Prediction: Milwaukee finally dumps this guy.

Somehow, one of the heroes of the Brewers lineup was Jedd Gyorko, perhaps the eighth-least likely of all the hitters they brought in to actually produce. Gyorko hit .248 with 17 RBIs and 9 homers, and...at 0.6, had the highest WAR of any Brewers hitter.

2021 Prediction: More backup/utility work for another middling team. Maybe less important this time though.

As the eyes of the Brewers' fans were fixated on Corbin Burnes' September, Adrian Houser was also coming to prominence. While his numbers were a little spottier [1-6 record, 5+ ERA], he still had 44 strikeouts, and is looking like he just needs a stronger lineup. 

2021 Prediction: 3 ERA, 10 wins, perfectly unspectacular run support pitching season.

While it wasn't quite as good as his A's season last year, Brett Anderson's 2020 still wasn't bad, and still matches with the other post-comeback seasons he's collected lately. He sported a 4-4 record and a 4.21 ERA in 10 starts, which isn't bad at all.

2021 Prediction: Signed as a lower-tier starter somewhere good, gets another likable late-career season out of it.

Josh Hader had a comparative down year in 2020. It was bound to happen, I guess. He still had a 3.79 ERA with 13 saves, but a lot of the consistent, unhittable magic of the previous years seemed to have dissipated. He still counts as a good closer, but...this was definitely a misstep.

2021 Prediction: 40 saves, moving on immediately.

Jacob Nottingham was brought up to replace the ailing Manny Pina, and take some starts at catcher away from the not-at-all-hitting Omar Narvaez. Nottingham had some pretty decent clutch moments, with 13 RBIs and 4 home runs in 20 ganes. 

2021 Prediction: At some point, Counsell is going to decide that Nottingham should be the starting catcher. But will it happen early in the season?

 Daniel Vogelbach couldn't figure out a way to hit in Seattle or Toronto this season...but somehow, Milwaukee did the trick. In 19 games, Vogey bat .328 with 12 RBIs, 4 home runs and 19 hits, becoming a solid mid-lineup bat and first baseman when Justin Smoak clearly wasn't interested in doing so. Vogey was also a decent postseason piece in their two-game run.

2021 Prediction: If the NL keeps DH next year, Vogey will be the Brewers' DH for the majority of the season...and I'm predicting 30 homers, but I could be wrong.

Coming Tomorrow- I don't have a very clear picture of the St. Louis Cardinals this year, but there are a few obvious choices for post-season customs.