Milwaukee Brewers team grades: Defense, pitching lead the way as offense struggles again
Todd Rosiak and Curt Hogg provide their analysis and give out grades for the 2023 Milwaukee Brewers.
TEAM GRADES
OFFENSE
It isn’t anything you haven’t read about for the past six months: The Brewers’ offense was underwhelming. The unit improved over the final two months thanks in large part to the additions of Mark Canha and Carlos Santana, but the numbers for the entire year still aren’t pretty. Milwaukee ranked toward the bottom of the majors in runs (17th), wRC+ (23rd), homers (25th), average (23rd), on-base percentage (17th), slugging (25th), exit velocity (25th) and hard-hit rate (24th). They also had the third-most games of any team with two or fewer extra-base hits. There were positive strides made by some returning hitters, such as William Contreras (in his first full season as a starter after coming over from the Braves) and especially Christian Yelich. But those two were more than overshadowed by the underperformance of projected contributors. It all came to a bitter conclusion when the offense scored five runs despite putting 30 men on base in the two playoff losses. Grade: D-plus.
STARTING PITCHING
Ten pitchers started at least one game for the Brewers in 2023 – a number that would have been alarming to see coming out of spring training. Corbin Burnes (32) and Freddy Peralta (30) each took the ball every time they were called upon, but the rest of the rotation was hit hard by injury (Brandon Woodruff missing four months with a shoulder issue and Wade Miley missing a month with a lat strain) and underperformance (Eric Lauer spent three-plus months at Class AAA Nashville). Still, the unit finished the year ranked sixth in the majors and second in the National League in ERA (3.94) while leading the majors in opponents' average against (.229) by a wide margin and ranking third in WHIP (1.17), seventh in innings (877⅓) and 11th in strikeouts (846). Credit must be given to Colin Rea (22 starts) and Julio Teheran (11) for the yeoman’s jobs they did getting Milwaukee through the injury lurch, and don’t discount Adrian Houser’s 21 starts, either. With Burnes potentially moving on and Woodruff’s status up in the air for 2024 after his latest shoulder injury, it feels like the end of an era for this bunch. Grade: B.
RELIEF PITCHING
This was arguably the Brewers’ best unit in 2023. The bullpen ranked second in the majors in ERA (3.40) and opponents' average against (.223), third in WHIP (1.21) and led all of baseball by a significant margin in win probability added. Tied for third in holds with 103. Two big changes were the bullpen’s strikeout total (579) ranked only 25th after finishing fifth in 2022, partially a result of the high number of sinker-ball pitchers. Its 64 homers allowed tied for 25th after allowing 83 (second-most) last year. Closer Devin Williams, Joel Payamps, Hoby Milner, Bryse Wilson, Elvis Peguero, Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill all had career-best years. Considering the bullpen was the biggest question mark heading into the year, it’s hard to acknowledge it with anything than a sparkling grade. Grade: A-minus.
DEFENSE
It would be tough to top the job the Brewers did with the gloves across the board this season. According to MLB’s Baseball Savant site, their 41 outs above average were far and away the most in the majors while according to The Fielding Bible, their 68 defensive runs saved were more than every team aside from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Much of the improvement can be traced to the rookies, with second baseman Brice Turang (12 defensive runs saved) and outfielders Sal Frelick (six), Joey Wiemer (five, and eight outs above average) and Garrett Mitchell (three) playing beyond their years. Individually, shortstop Willy Adames accounted for 16 outs above average, ranking him second at his position in the majors and fifth overall, and eight defensive runs saved. Christian Yelich (four outs above average) was much improved and will be in the running for a Rawlings Gold Glove Award in left. William Contreras and Victor Caratini, meanwhile, were among the best at pitch framing although they didn’t have much success throwing out baserunners. Grade: A.
MANAGER/COACHES
Starting at the top with the manager, Craig Counsell is likely to be a finalist for the manager of the year award in the NL after leading the team to 92 wins despite injuries to the starting staff and an offense that struggled to score runs. The Brewers went 29-18 in one-run games, one of the best overall marks, and 18-11 in September and October to finish the season strong, hold off the Chicago Cubs and clinch the Central Division title. Pitching coach Chris Hook guided his staff to another superb season on the mound. With the Brewers’ defense being as excellent as it was, at least some of the credit has to go to Quintin Berry, Matt Erickson and the rest of the staff in charge of fielding. It’s always difficult to know how much direct influence, for better or worse, hitting coaches have on performance, but that was the one area Milwaukee struggled. Grade: B-plus.
FRONT OFFICE
Giving up Esteury Ruiz and landing William Contreras in the big three-team trade last December was a home run on its own. But to also land a reliable setup man in Joel Payamps and another minor-league arm qualified as highway robbery. Then there was the decision to trade Hunter Renfroe for a trio of minor-league pitchers, one of whom developed into another reliable high-leverage arm in Elvis Peguero. Adding more starting-pitching depth in the offseason was a goal and it paid off big-time – especially by bringing back Colin Rea and signing Wade Miley. Bringing Julio Teheran aboard in-season provided a much-needed boost as well. Bryse Wilson was a terrific pickup for cash in early January, as was Trevor Megill for a minor-leaguer at the end of April. The decision to add rookie Abner Uribe to the bullpen around midseason paid off. Homers were also hit on two of the three big moves made at or around the trading deadline when Carlos Santana and Mark Canha were acquired (Andrew Chafin, on the other hand, was a major bust). Josh Donaldson was worth the gamble. Brian Anderson, Javy Guerra, Gus Varland, Darin Ruf, Luke Voit and Tyler Naquin were low-risk moves that didn’t pan out. Jesse Winker, on the other hand, was a major bust. In all, the Brewers cycled 59 players through their 26-man roster – an incredible number for a successful team – and gave manager Craig Counsell enough talent with which to work his magic. Grade: B-plus.
OVERALL
The Brewers are in the midst of an unprecedented boom period. Never before has the franchise been such a consistent competitor in the regular season, with three Central Division titles in six years, or in the postseason, with five playoff appearances over that same span. To be that good as a small-market franchise is incredibly difficult to accomplish, and it means that far more often than not, the right calls are being made with regard to front-office hires, personnel moves and payroll management. Throw in the ballpark funding issue that’s come to the forefront this year and Milwaukee has navigated multiple fronts deftly. That said, the wild-card series sweep to Arizona – at American Family Field, no less – dropped the Brewers to 1-9 in their last 10 playoff games and thus negatively affects the overall grade. It’s going to be another long offseason as management seeks ways to break through that glass ceiling. And if manager Craig Counsell leaves, the job becomes that much tougher. Grade: B-minus.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers grades: Defense, relievers shine; offense is same old story
