One month in, Milwaukee is close to .500, but there are several areas of concern
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Just about one month into the season, the Brewers are sitting near .500, and like every other team in the majors, there are plenty of areas for concern. We’re asking fans which is the biggest at this point in the year.
Let’s start with the bullpen. After a 3.11 ERA that ranked second in 2024, the Brewers have a 4.87 ERA (ranks 26th) through 29 games, blowing three saves. The loss of Devin Williams is obviously big (though if you haven’t been paying attention, it isn’t going well for him in New York either). Jared Koenig (2.08 ERA), Grant Anderson (3.24 ERA), Nick Mears (0.87 ERA), and Abner Uribe (2.31 ERA) have all been great.
Beyond that, however, there are several issues. Closer Trevor Megill is 2-for-3 in save opportunities with a 4.91 ERA, Bryan Hudson was demoted with a 4.15 ERA, Joel Payamps has an 11.70 ERA, and Elvis Peguero was also demoted with a 5.68 ERA. Not great results for what was one of the best bullpens in the league just a season ago.
Third base is probably the most talked about area of concern for Milwaukee. The Opening Day platoon of Vinny Capra and Oliver Dunn did not work well, resulting in a demotion for Dunn and, I’d assume, a very short leash for Capra at this point. Caleb Durbin has been better, but he’s only played 10 games, a very small sample size.
Here are a few third base ranks for Milwaukee so far this year, per FanGraphs: 2 HR (tied for 17th), 15 runs (16th), 14 RBIs (tied for 13th), 2 SB (tied for 13th), 4.1% BB rate (27th), 20.5% strikeout rate (16th), .092 ISO (23rd), 31 wRC+ (30th), -0.8 fWAR (30th). Again, not great.
Lastly, we’ll look at shortstop. While third base has been the bigger issue overall, the difference between shortstop in 2024 and 2025 is far greater, though that’s probably unfair to Joey Ortiz given he’s replacing an All-Star in Willy Adames. Even after picking up a hit in each of his last three games, Ortiz is hitting just .186/.262/.216 with no homers, three doubles, five RBIs, 12 runs, and three steals this year, playing in 29 of 30 games.
As a team, Milwaukee’s shortstops (again, primarily Ortiz) rank 27th in fWAR (-0.4), 28th in ISO (.032), and 29th in wRC+ (37).
What do you think the biggest area of concern is at this point in the season? Answer the poll below and stay tuned for results later this week!