3 Brewers hitters who are hoping their recent hot streaks continue in the postseason

After pacing the league in runs scored in September by a significant margin -- their mark of 146 was 12 more than the next-closest team -- the Milwaukee Brewers are rolling into the postseason on a heater. Assuming their first-round bye doesn't cool them off, we should expect to see plenty of fireworks from the Crew once the NLDS gets going.

Still, it will be up to a few key figures to keep that momentum alive in the postseason, especially against the jump in quality pitching the Brewers are likely to see.

3 hitters who will make or break Brewers' postseason offense

1. 2B Brice Turang

One of two "superstars" who will be the engine behind the Brewers' October offense, Turang found another gear down the stretch. He hit a robust .361/.475/.602 in 102 plate appearances during the season's final month, recording a 199 wRC+ along the way. Along with his usually stellar brand of defense, the second baseman ranked third in all of baseball with 1.8 fWAR over that stretch, notably ahead of presumptive NL MVP Pete-Crow Armstrong.

There's really no holes you can poke in his game; he drew a ton of walks (17), hit for power (12 extra-base hits), and kept his strikeout rate right around 25%. It would have been nice to see a little more baserunning chaos from Turang -- he only stole one base in September, which kept him out of the 20-20 club yet again -- but that's purely nitpicking.

If he can hit anywhere near this level in the playoffs, the Brewers are going to be tough to beat.

2. OF Jackson Chourio

If it's not Turang, this guy is the best bet to be the Crew's postseason MVP. Chourio wasn't quite as incandescently hot in September -- he hit .337/.389/.531 with a 154 wRC+ -- but he still led the team in home runs (five), stolen bases (nine), and runs scored (25).

Notably, he was less reliant on batted-ball luck than Turang, as his .394 BABIP looks relatively modest compared to the second baseman's improbable .491 mark. Considering Chourio also hit the ball harder and more frequently in the air than Turang, it might be safer to bank on his momentum flowing into the postseason.

Even if his overall slash line does suffer, though, Chourio's rare combination of power and speed will be a driving force atop the lineup.

3. SS Cooper Pratt

There are a lot of other candidates worth discussing here; Joey Ortiz ranked third on the team in wRC+ (146) in September, Jake Bauers walked in nearly one-quarter of his plate appearances, and William Contreras tied Chourio with five homers on the month. However, we're giving the nod to the rookie shortstop.

Pratt was a consistent player all year long after getting the call to Milwaukee early in the summer, but his breakout in September was important after a scorching hot July gave way to a slump in August. The 22-year-old hit .304/.377/.362 during the season's final month, swiping seven bags and playing some of the best defense on the team.

His power output was practically nonexistent, but that's never going to be a big part of his game. Pratt increased his walk rate (10.1%) and lowered his strikeout rate (15.2%) down the stretch, getting himself on base more frequently and adding more chaos to the basepaths. That formula should go a long way toward lengthening the Brewers' lineup in October.

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