4 bold predictions for the Brewers during the 2025 season

Opening Day is just days away. With the start of the season, the Milwaukee Brewers will look to win the NL Central crown for a third straight season. Once again, expectations around the league are mixed for this Milwaukee squad, with some expecting the Brewers to be in contention once again, and others predicting a step backward for the small market club.

Of course, things will be a bit different this season. On the field, the team traded away another former All Star with Devin Williams being dealt to the Yankees for Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin. There are going to be some new faces in the Brewers clubhouse, with guys like Jose Quintana, Tyler Alexander, and Connor Thomas just to name a few.

Off the field, for the first time since 1970, Bob Uecker will not be part of Brewers baseball, after his passing on January 16th. The team will be honoring Uecker throughout the season, while trying to get back to the World Series for the first time since 1982. Can they "Win One for Ueck?", let's discuss this and other bold predictions for the 2025 season.

Jackson Chourio contends for MVP

Let's start with one that may not seem too bold to some. Jackson Chourio had a lot of expectations on him when he made his MLB debut on Opening Day last season. After a bit of a slow start, while getting adjusted to the MLB game, Chourio absolutely shined from June onward.

While he very well could "regress" in Year 2, Spring Training provided no indication of slowing down. Chourio had more hits than any other player across baseball this spring, absolutely mashing the ball.

How does the youngster follow up a 20/20 season at age 20? By contending for the MVP at age 21. Will he win? Time will tell. That said, I very much could see Chourio finishing as a Top 5 finalist for the 2025 MVP award.

Nestor Cortes leads Brewers starters in wins

They call him Nasty Nestor. Milwaukee acquired Cortes when the club traded All Star closer Devin Williams to the Yankees, and he is a prime candidate for a breakout season. He was an All Star in 2022, pitching to a stellar 12-4 win loss record, racking up 163 strikeouts, and a 2.44 ERA. After an injury plagued 2023 season, Cortes was solid in 2024, having earned the Opening Day start, pitching to a 9-10 record, with a 162 strikeouts and a 3.77 ERA

Cortes has been able to work with the Brewers famous "pitching lab" this spring, who have revitalized other numerous other pitchers to this point. Cortes is a prime candidate to thrive even more than other pitchers with his nasty slider, curveball, and changeup. Just imagine what the geniuses who came up with "The Airbender" can do with this stuff:

Rhys Hoskins bounces back in a big way

Look, 2024 definitely didn't go the way Rhys Hoskins or Brewers fan wanted it to go. His average dipped to .214, a career low for him, struck out 149 times and only hit 14 doubles, his lowest (aside from 2020) since his rookie year in 2017 when he only played in 50 games. On a positive note, he did manage to crush 26 home runs while also driving in 82 runs, much in line with his stellar 2022 season.

Now, another year removed from the torn ACL that kept him out for the entire 2023 season, Hoskins is absolutely mashing the ball this spring. He tied for the team lead in home runs with 6, sharing the lead with Vinny Capra, and managed to take 9 walks, all part of a .392 on base percentage.

In his return, Hoskins played in 131 games. If he can continue to stay healthy, Brewers fans can expect a lot more of these in 2025:

Brewers will win a playoff series in 2025

I don't necessarily love that this is a "bold prediction." Still, the fact of the matter is that the team has not won a playoff series since the 2018 NLDS, and has only won 2 playoff games since that 2018 postseason as well.

Will the team "Win one for Ueck"? They certainly could, but I am not quite ready to predict that yet. The team will have to overcome only having 3 true starting pitchers while guys like Tobias Myers and Brandon Woodruff come back from injury. No one wins a World Series in April, but a slow start could put the team in a really tough position.

Let's start with winning a playoff series. The future is bright, but so is the present, with plenty of young talent, along with experienced players like Christian Yelich, Rhys Hoskins, and Freddy Peralta.

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