Milwaukee Brewers 2024 MLB Team Results: How Good Is Jackson Churio?

Milwaukee Brewers

2024 record: 93–69

First place, NL Central

Team ERA: 3.65 (5th in MLB)

Team OPS: 0.729 (10th in MLB)

What went right

Well, the Brewers won the NL Central by 10 games despite losing Corbin Burns to free agency, Brandon Woodruff to injury and manager Craig Counsell to a division rival, so in 2024 for ” The Brewers have done a lot of things well. a rotating roster of starting pitchers headlined by Tobias Myers, Colin Rea, Joe Ross and Aaron Civale after trading for him at the trade deadline. Their bullpen also ranked second in baseball in saves, first in bullpen ERA, first in bullpen WHIP, and third in blown saves. Trevor Megill posted a 2.05 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 37 strikeouts in 30.2 innings in the first half while replacing Devin Williams, and then Williams returned and blocked 14 of his 15 save opportunities to close out the season. .

Offensively, the Brewers finished second in baseball in stolen bases, second in baseball in walk rate, sixth in runs scored and sixth in RBIs, so overall it was a tremendous offensive season for Milwaukee. Shortstop Willie Adames had a breakout season, hitting .251/.331/.462 with 32 home runs and 21 steals before heading to free agency. The team also had a tremendous rookie season from Jackson Churio, who had a great second half and finished the year hitting .275/.327/.464 with 21 home runs and 22 steals. He looks poised to be a star in the game for decades to come, and 24-year-old Bryce Turang also appears ready for a full-time role after playing above-average defense and stealing 50 bases on the season. The Brewers also got excellent production from catcher William Contreras and enjoyed another strong year from Christian Yelich before he was injured.

What went wrong

Christian Yelich was injured after just 73 games, which isn’t ideal given his previous injury history. The Brewers also got limited production from Rhys Hoskins after signing him as a free agent, watching him hit .214/.303/.419 with 26 home runs and a 29% strikeout percentage in 131 games. Sal Frelick and Garrett Mitchell, who were fantasy sleepers before the season given their speed and potential playing time, were unable to get consistent playing time throughout the day, and the Brewers really struggled to find a consistent starting rotation with just three starters throw for more than 75 points. innings per season. The Brewers’ starters also ranked 18th in baseball in strikeouts, 23rd in K-BB% and 21st in WHIP, so despite a solid ERA, the rotation left a lot to be desired from a fantasy standpoint. Presumed ace Freddy Peralta has been solid but much more inconsistent than we’ve seen in years past, Robert Gasser had Tommy John surgery in June, and young lefties D.L. Hall and Aaron Ashby have battled injuries and inconsistency that have sidelined them most of the time. year in the minors.

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Fantasy tilts

– Earlier I mentioned the other half of Jackson Churio. The 20-year-old hit .310/.363/.552 over the final 63 games of the 2024 season with 12 home runs, 39 runs, 44 RBIs and 12 steals. This also resulted in a strikeout rate of just 18.7%. He’s on the radar as an early draft pick next season who could be a first-rounder by 2026.

– William Contreras remains arguably the best catcher in fantasy after hitting .281/.365/.466 in 155 games with 23 home runs, 99 runs, 92 RBIs and nine steals. His plus defense keeps him on the field more often than most catchers, and his nine interceptions are a nice little cherry on top of the five categories when it comes to catchers. It would be nice if the Brewers added some punch to his lineup, but he’s probably the safest option at catcher in 2025.

– Devin Williams will start the season as close as possible, and the team will likely pick up his 2025 option. However, if the Brewers don’t think they can re-sign him or aren’t willing to pay what he might be worth, he could be an intriguing midseason trade candidate. The team saw that they could finish the game without him, so perhaps they feel comfortable with Megill, Joel Payamps and Abner Uribe up front. At the very least, this is a situation worth keeping an eye on.

– Freddy Peralta threw 173.2 innings with a 3.68 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and a 27.6% strikeout rate. While the ERA is better than we saw last year, his strikeout rate took a step back and his walk rate was the worst since 2020. Peralta has put together a couple of seasons of 165+ innings, which should make us feel a little better about him from a workload standpoint, but he continues to struggle with location on his crucial pitches, which puts a lot of pressure on his fastball to carry. He could be an SP2 fantasy prospect next year, but it would come with a lot of risk.

– Don’t forget Brandon Woodruff in your drafts. The 31-year-old is set to return after missing all of 2024 with a shoulder injury, and he’s coming off a strong 2023 season in which he posted a 2.28 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and a 23.3 K-BB% in 67 innings. He had an increased risk of injury, as do most starting pitchers.

– Tobias Myers – this is an amazing story. After being designated for assignment by multiple teams, the 26-year-old made his MLB debut and posted a 3.11 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 21.8% strikeout percentage in 133 innings. However, he had just a 10.1% swing rate, 26.5% CSW, and mostly made do with a five-pitch arsenal that he throws across the plate and tries to keep hitters off balance enough to keep them off the barrel bits. . He has a shot at a starting position next season, but not enough to draft him in most fantasy leagues.

– D.L. Hall was the centerpiece of the Corbin Burns trade, but he battled a knee injury and pitched 43 major league innings, most of them coming out of the bullpen late in the season. However, when we saw Hall late in the season, he was hitting 95 mph with a fastball that also has a seven-foot reach. He has shown the ability to keep all of his secondary pitches low in the zone, which leaves a clear blueprint for a solid fantasy starter. The Brewers will likely give him every chance to earn a spot in the rotation next year, and because of that, he could be worthy of a late-round dart.

— The Brewers have several prospects knocking on the door in Jacob Misiorowski, Coleman Crowe, Carlos Rodriguez and Logan Henderson. It remains to be seen if anyone will have a chance, but there are some sports that are up for grabs, and Misiorowski has the highest ceiling of them all, so he’s the one to keep an eye on.

Key free agents

Willie Adames, Gary Sanchez, Joe Ross, Mitch White, Devin Williams ($10.5 million team option), Frankie Montas ($8 million team option), Colin Rea ($5.5 million team option), Frankie Montas ($20 million mutual option), Wade Miley ($12 million mutual option), Rhys Hoskins ($18 million player option)

Team needs

The Brewers need a little more stability and potential in their rotation. Maybe it will come from Hall, Ashby or Misiorowski, or maybe it will come from a free agent signing, but Woodruff’s return will help as well. If Willie Adams becomes a free agent, which many people seem to expect, the Brewers will have to replace a huge portion of their offense in 2025. They could also lose Rhys Hoskins if he thinks he can get more money on the free agent market than the team’s option will pay him, meaning the Brewers must decide if they have enough faith in Tyler Black or if they’ll have to find someone else to compete for the job. They will also need to decide how comfortable they feel with Christian Yelich playing all season and how many games they can expect him to play. Having to play Blake Perkins and Jake Bowers a lot isn’t a recipe for long-term success. In short, there are a lot of questions surrounding what this team will look like in 2025, but they have a future starter in the middle of the lineup and one of the best catchers in the game, so those are good fundamentals to build on. .