Are the Milwaukee Brewers the Best Team in the NL?
A year ago the Milwaukee Brewers showed serious signs of developing into a playoff contender. They were above .500 and missed out on a return trip to the playoffs by just one game. Proactive during the offseason, Milwaukee addressed an offense that struggled with efficiency by signing Lorenzo Cain and trading for Christian Yelich. The team also “beefed up” their pitching rotation by bringing on Jhoulys Chacin. You may not think that was a big enough move to make up for the loss of Jimmy Nelson, but Milwaukee currently has the best record in the National League despite a rotation that is 10th in the NL in fWAR. Milwaukee’s starting pitching continues to be their main weakness, but they’re getting healthy on offense and finding ways to win series.
The MLB season can be rather fluid, with ups, downs, and in-betweens affecting nearly every team. Anyone who is conducting live baseball betting today might be ready to back the Brew Crew to snag a win, but are they actually the best team in the NL?
Milwaukee is good, but there area few reasons why they’re not quite where they need to be just yet:
They Might Not Even Own the NL Central
This is the biggest thing keeping Milwaukee from asserting themselves as the defacto NL World Series favorite. They were up top or at least near the top in their division for much of 2017, only to crumble and give the NL Central back to the Chicago Cubs. That swan song is happening again as we speak, as the Cubs temporarily stole the division lead back and seem to constantly be a threat. The bad part is the Cubs aren’t the only team Milwaukee has to worry about. While Chicago continues to have Milwaukee’s number, the St. Louis Cardinals are just 2.5 games out of the top spot. Heck, even the Pittsburgh Pirates have been competitive all year and could make a move at any point.
There is logic to suggest Milwaukee is the second best team in their own division and on the right day, they can take down Chicago. However, to be the team to beat in the NL, they need to find a way to overpower these pesky NL Central rivals. That just hasn’t been something they’ve been able to do this year. They have just 3 wins in 13 games against their rivals.
Dodgers Roaring Back to Life
The Los Angeles Dodgers were the best team in baseball a year ago. They managed to get all the way to the World Series and ended up losing the league title in seven games. This could still easily be the best team in the NL, as they’re not even close to full strength and they’re still mounting an impressive comeback in the NL West. That’s saying something in a division where even the San Diego Padres (31-37 as of this writing) refuse to completely go away.
L.A. has to compete without Corey Seager for the remainder of the year, but with a healthy Clayton Kershaw and stacked offense (when healthy), this is probably the best team in the NL West and quite possibly still the team to beat in the NL in general.
Nationals Still Look Elite
Ditto for Washington. This is another team that has been torn down by injuries and really hasn’t been completely healthy all year. The team just got Adam Eaton back again, are slowly pushing Daniel Murphy back into the lineup and continue to operate without Ryan Zimmerman. Despite being far less than 100%, the Nats keep on churning out wins and lead the rising NL East. Bryce Harper paces a team that knows nothing but making the playoffs and wants to desperately (and finally) advance beyond the NLDCS.
While it remains to be seen if that will happen, Max Scherzer highlights a loaded pitching rotation and an overall elite team that very well may leapfrog the Dodgers for the NL’s top dog.
Pesky Wild Card Teams
It’s hard to be viewed as the best team in the National League when you could easily be on the verge of sliding out of the playoffs, altogether. The Brewers have a competitive division to thank for that, but even if they stick in the #2 spot all year, they have a litany of annoying wild card threats to fend off. Teams like the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies and even the San Francisco Giants are all in the mix and if they do well enough to close out the year, they could end up costing Milwaukee a playoff spot.
Brewers Pitching Needs Help
You can talk all day about everyone else, but there is little denying the Brewers have a pretty good team on their hands this year. Their offense can be touch and go, but they just got Eric Thames back and they are solid throughout the lineup. Pitching continues to hold this team hostage and the eventual return of Jimmy Nelson probably won’t push them over the top.
Milwaukee will need to swing a deal at some point.
Whether that’s aiming high with a huge move for someone like Madison Bumgarner or Jacob deGrom, or just landing the best guy they can get like J.A. Happ or Chris Archer, the Brewers have to know they need to do something. Milwaukee seems to be ready to make a splash, though. They stood pat last year and saw how that worked out. That forced them to be a bit more aggressive this offseason and rumors suggest they’re already eyeing their next big move.
As things stand, it’s easy to see the Brewers are the best team in the NL. Just look at the standings. However, their grasp of the NL’s top spot is anything but firm. One huge move, and the injury bug’s continued persistence on affecting non-Milwaukee teams could change that in a hurry.
