An early prediction of the Brewers' 2025 playoff roster

The Milwaukee Brewers are officially headed back to the postseason for the third consecutive year. It will be the Brewers’ seventh time in the playoffs in the last eight years, continuing what has easily been the organization's longest period of sustained success.

While the Crew's playoff seed is not yet set in stone and there are a few outstanding injuries that need to be settled before the postseason begins, predictions can be made about the group that Milwaukee will carry for their first playoff series.

For the purposes of this early prediction, several assumptions have been made, with the first being that the Brewers’ first postseason series will be a five-game set. Such an assumption means that Milwaukee will claim one of the top two seeds in the National League, of which they currently have a 98.6% chance of doing, according to FanGraphs' projection model.

The next assumption is in regard to the roster breakdown that they will opt for, which is related to the assumption that they will be playing a five-game series. Especially in three- or five-game series, teams tend to carry 12 pitchers and 14 position players, with the only roster restriction being that teams are not allowed to carry more than 13 pitchers. Therefore, the second assumption made is that the Brewers will follow this trend and carry 12 pitchers for their first postseason series.

Finally, some assumptions have been made in regard to ongoing injuries. Though the team hasn't confirmed the severity of José Quintana's calf injury, we are assuming that he will not be ready to go for the first postseason series. In that same vein, while DL Hall could certainly factor into the Brewers' postseason plans, the assumption for this article is that he won't be ready for the NLDS.

An early prediction of the Brewers' roster for their first postseason series in 2025

Starting pitchers (4): Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff, Quinn Priester, Jacob Misiorowski

The only dispute here is whether or not Misiorowski will be used as a traditional starting pitcher. Prior to Quintana's injury, the likelihood of The Miz coming out of the pen in October was relatively high, but now that Quintana is likely to miss at least the first series, the Brewers may need Misiorowski's services at the beginning of a potential game four. The Brewers could also throw Peralta on four days rest in a potential game four, or opt for someone like Chad Patrick to toss the first few innings, but given that Misiorowski has yet to make an appearance out of the bullpen this year, it would be somewhat shocking for the Brewers to ask him to do so in October.

Relief pitchers (8): Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe, Jared Koenig, Aaron Ashby, Nick Mears, Grant Anderson, Rob Zastryzny, Tobias Myers

The first four names on this list are locks. Megill, Uribe, Koenig, and Ashby will be Pat Murphy's "A bullpen" in October assuming everyone stays healthy and Megill returns from his injury with enough time to ramp back up to his closer role, which looks very likely at this time even with his recent setback. Mears will certainly be a part of the postseason bullpen so long as he shows that he's healthy enough following his stint on the IL with back tightness. As of now, things are going well for Mears and there isn't any concern that he won't be back with plenty of time to spare.

Anderson and Zastryzny have both been very effective out of the Brewers' bullpen this season and will be a part of the postseason roster so long as the Brewers don't opt for another multi-inning reliever. Speaking of multi-inning relievers, out of Tobias Myers, Erick Fedde, and Chad Patrick, Myers should be the Brewers’ choice given that he pitched excellently in the postseason a year ago and he's been very steady since joining the Brewers' bullpen in late July.

Catchers (2): William Contreras, Danny Jansen

The only other catcher in the Brewers' organization who is eligible to be a part of the team's postseason roster is Jeferson Quero. Since Eric Haase, who rejoined the Brewers' organization after being designated for assignment when the team acquired Danny Jansen from the Tampa Bay Rays at the trade deadline, was not added to the 40-man roster prior to September 1, he is not eligible for the postseason roster. Assuming the Crew won't have Quero make his MLB debut in October, Contreras and Jansen will almost certainly be the team's two backstops in the playoffs.

Infielders (7): Andrew Vaughn, Rhys Hoskins, Jake Bauers, Brice Turang, Joey Ortiz, Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio

That's right folks, the Brewers will carry three first basemen on their postseason roster, because they have the space for them. Pat Murphy will likely call upon the hot bat to start games, while also taking into account the handedness of the opposing pitcher, but expect all three to receive at-bats in October, either as pinch hitters or as the DH, which would move Christian Yelich to the outfield, and rid Isaac Collins of a spot in the starting lineup. Having Andruw Monasterio as the only backup option at 3B, SS, and 2B is rather risky, but theoretically Collins could play the infield as well, and in a real pinch Sal Frelick could seemingly play any position that you ask him to. However, expect the combination of Durbin, Ortiz, and Turang to start every postseason game at 3B, SS, and 2B, respectively.

Outfielders (5): Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio, Sal Frelick, Isaac Collins, Blake Perkins

One luxury of carrying 14 position players on a postseason roster is being able to bring along five outfielders, some of whom may only see time as defensive replacements at the end of games. Yelich will most likely be the team's DH for a majority of their postseason games, with Collins, Chourio, and Frelick manning the outfield positions. Perkins remains one of the best defensive center fielders in all of baseball so expect him to make several appearances at the end of games to shore up the outfield defense.