The Milwaukee Brewers own the best record in baseball, and it is not really close. With less than a month to play, Milwaukee has separated itself in the NL Central and enters September with the inside track on the top overall seed and the bye that comes with it.
Jacob Misiorowski has been the story. The 24-year-old right-hander leads all NL starters in ERA at 2.31, has 218 strikeouts through 172 innings, and has held opposing hitters under a .190 batting average since June. He is the clear front-runner for the National League Cy Young.
Misiorowski was called up midway through 2025 and became a full-time starter this April. His fastball sits 99 miles per hour and touches 102. His slider is one of the best pitches in the league. He has walked more batters than most contenders would like, but the swing-and-miss stuff overwhelms the control issues.
The rest of the Milwaukee rotation is a fascinating mix. Freddy Peralta has been steady. Aaron Ashby has bounced back from injury. Brandon Woodruff has been eased in as a fifth starter after missing most of the last two seasons. The bullpen led by Devin Williams and Trevor Megill has been one of the three best in baseball.
The lineup is not overwhelming, but it does not need to be. Willy Adames anchors the offense. Christian Yelich is having a bounce-back season at 34. William Contreras remains one of the best offensive catchers in baseball. Rookie center fielder Jackson Chourio has been a game-changer in the second half.
The Brewers are 87-52 with 23 games left. Their magic number to clinch the division is in single digits. Sources say the front office has already begun outlining postseason rotation plans, with Misiorowski penciled in for Game 1 and Peralta for Game 2 of any Division Series.
The bye is the goal. Milwaukee flamed out in the Wild Card round each of the last three years, and general manager Matt Arnold has spent all offseason focused on building a team that could earn the top seed and skip that best-of-three chaos. The plan is working.
The one worry is the same it has always been. Milwaukee has not been to a World Series since 1982. Playoff pressure has a way of finding this franchise even in the best years, and Misiorowski has never thrown a postseason pitch.
Twenty-three regular season games remain. If the Brewers get to October healthy and holding the top seed, they will be as dangerous as any team in the National League. The next month is about staying vertical.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
