Brewers 2023 postseason FAQ

MIAMI – The Brewers are heading into the postseason with a head of steam and baseball’s best record since the middle of August. 

Their ace, Corbin Burnes, thinks this could be the year.

“Hopefully this is the run that nets the World Series win,” Burnes said. “I think everyone has seen the way we’ve played baseball the last month and a half. There’s no real weaknesses throughout our lineup, our bullpen, defensively. We’ve played well on all fronts. I think that’s something we realize as a team we can do day in and day out.”

What could the postseason roster look like?

After playing with a 28-man roster in September, teams revert to 26 players with a maximum of 13 pitchers in each round of the postseason, with rosters due prior to the first pitch of each Game 1. The biggest variable is the breakdown of pitchers and hitters; some teams might go with as few as 10 pitchers in a best-of-three series, and others might max out at 13. For the purposes of this exercise, we settled on 11 pitchers and 14 position players.

C: William Contreras, Victor Caratini
1B: Carlos Santana, Rowdy Tellez
2B: Brice Turang, Andruw Monasterio
3B: Josh Donaldson
SS: Willy Adames
OF: Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, Blake Perkins, Tyrone Taylor, Christian Yelich
DH: Mark Canha
SP: Corbin Burnes
SP: Brandon Woodruff
SP: Freddy Peralta
RP: Devin Williams
RP: Joel Payamps
RP: Abner Uribe
RP: Hoby Milner
RP: Trevor Megill
RP: Elvis Peguero
RP: Bryse Wilson
RP: Wade Miley

What are the question marks in the roster projection?

Health is a question mark for a couple of those players, particularly outfielder Garrett Mitchell, who hasn’t played in the Majors since separating his left shoulder on April 18 and undergoing surgery. He already beat the odds by making it back in time to begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Nashville, where Mitchell will remain through Sunday’s Minor League finale. After that, the Brewers could consider a callup, if only to take advantage of Mitchell’s speed and defense in the postseason. The other injury concern is reliever Elvis Peguero, who served as Milwaukee’s seventh-inning man for much of the season but was used cautiously this month before finally landing on the IL on Wednesday with swelling around his elbow. The Brewers don’t consider that injury serious, and they expect him to be ready for the start of the playoffs. 

From a decision-making standpoint, one interesting call is whether to carry a “length” reliever beyond Bryse Wilson, and who that could be. The veteran Wade Miley is under consideration, but right-hander Adrian Houser could be another option -- and Houser has bullpen experience.

When do the playoffs start?

As it stands, the Brewers will begin the postseason with a best-of-three Wild Card Series from Oct. 3-5, with all of the games at Milwaukee’s American Family Field.

When the Brewers began selling single-game tickets to those potential games on Friday, it created some confusion because the team was on the cusp of winning the NL Central division crown. Don’t be misled by the name of the series; the Brewers would indeed begin the playoffs with a best-of-three Wild Card Series even if they are division champs, since they have the fewest wins of NL’s division winners.

For a full explanation of how MLB’s current format works, and the latest matchups if the season ended today, MLB.com’s “postseason watch” is indispensable.

Who will they face in the first round?

That’s still to be determined. The Phillies are a fairly safe bet to be the NL’s top Wild Card, but the other two berths are up for grabs, with the D-backs, Cubs, Marlins and Reds within three games of each other entering Saturday. The Giants and Padres are still on the fringes of the race, too. The Brewers are positioned to host the lowest-ranked Wild Card, so the race for that final spot is worth watching.

Here’s how the Brewers have fared this season against each of those teams:

4-2 vs. Phillies
2-4 vs. D-backs
5-5 vs. Cubs (three matchups remaining)
4-1 vs. Marlins (two matchups remaining)
10-3 vs. Reds
2-5 vs. Giants
6-1 vs. Padres

The Brewers’ postseason clinch celebration on Friday night was rather muted because they still had not sealed the division. It would only take one more victory in their remaining eight games, or one Cubs loss, to settle that.

After that business is wrapped up, it might be a chance to take a breather and line up the pitching just right. The Brewers have only a minuscule chance of catching the Dodgers for the NL’s No. 2 seed, which comes with a first-round bye. And it wouldn’t matter if they slip behind any of the Wild Card teams because the division winner gets to host in the Wild Card Series round. So, their position throughout the NL playoffs would be mostly set.

One race to watch if you’re really optimistic about Milwaukee's chances is between the Brewers and Astros. The Brewers went into Friday two games better than the Astros, which means Milwaukee would get home-field advantage in a potential World Series matchup. The Brewers own the tiebreaker because they took two of three games from the Astros in Milwaukee in May. But that scenario is a long way down the road.