2 questions Brewers have already answered in 2024, 1 that still lingers

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The Brewers entered the 2024 season with a bunch of question marks. The team had signed Rhys Hoskins to help boost the offense for a postseason run, but then turned around and traded away Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes.

It's a young team across the board, with a lot of unproven MLB talent. Questions naturally follow. Over time, those questions get answered as the games get played. As we sit nearly a third of the way through the season, a couple of those questions have already been answered, but others still linger.

Here's a look at which questions we have answers to, and which one still doesn't have an answer.

Question: Which of "The Freshmen" will take the step forward as a sophomore?

Answer: Brice Turang

In 2023, the Brewers produced a video series called "The Freshmen", following several of the Brewers top prospects as they got set to make their debuts and make their marks on the future of this franchise. Top 100 prospects like Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick, Joey Wiemer, Brice Turang, and Jackson Chourio were the focal points. Four of the five played in the majors in 2023.

The results across the board were mostly disappointing. Mitchell was productive until he tore his labrum in mid-April and missed most of the rest of the season. Frelick suffered a thumb injury the very same day and his debut was delayed. Wiemer and Turang stayed healthy, but struggled mightily in extended playing time.

But with all that talent in that group, surely year two in the majors would be more successful for at least a couple of them, and hopefully all of them. So which one has taken that step forward? It's unequivocally Brice Turang. He's taken more than just a step forward, he's taken a quantum leap forward, as manager Pat Murphy predicted in spring training.

Turang is hitting .301 with a 124 OPS+ and 19 stolen bases. He's yet to be caught on the basepaths. He's jumped up to the leadoff spot and thrived in the role. His OPS has jumped 200 points from last year to this year.

Frelick has been solid, but hasn't quite taken a step forward from last year, while Wiemer has seemingly taken a step back and Mitchell has yet to play this year due to injury. Turang's leap forward is the sparkplug of this Brewers offensive renaissance.

Question: Does the MVP version of Christian Yelich still exist?

Answer: Yes

Ever since signing his contract extension in 2020, Christian Yelich has struggled to find the MVP form that convinced the Brewers to sign him to that long-term contract. Injuries and poor performance led many to believe that we would never see the MVP version of Yelich ever again.

This year, the 32 year old Yelich has proven that belief wrong. Through 25 games, Yelich is hitting .323/.411/.570 with four doubles, two triples, and five homers. His .981 OPS is his highest since his 2019 season where he finished 2nd in NL MVP voting.

The return of hitting for both average and power for Yelich has made him a true threat in the heart of the Brewers lineup yet again. The lineup is longer and tougher for opposing pitchers and it just has a different feel when Yelich is in it now. When he comes up in big situations, the confidence that he'll come through is back.

While he did miss a couple weeks with a back injury, when he did return, Yelich did not struggle at the plate. He took a little more time with the back issue this time and the payoff has been there. While he hasn't gone on the home run spree like he did during his runs for MVP, his slugging percentage is nearing his 2018 MVP level. Yelich had a .598 slugging in 2018 and is sitting at .570 entering play on Sunday.

Yelich hasn't homered since returning from the IL, but he's hitting .315 with an .848 OPS in that time.

This kind of production from Yelich was the confirmation needed that he could still be the driving force of this Brewers lineup.

Question: How will the starting rotation shake out without Burnes and Woodruff?

Answer: Shrug

The Brewers starting rotation has been put together with duct tape and chewing gum pretty much since the beginning of the 2024 season. The rotation was the strength of the roster for the past several years, but it was clearly much weaker coming into this season. Brandon Woodruff will miss the whole season while Adrian Houser and Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes were traded away.

Milwaukee's front office patched a rotation together with veteran journeymen. They brought back Colin Rea and Wade Miley, while signing Joe Ross and Jakob Junis to help fill the starting five. Three of those four journeymen are on the injured list. Miley is out for the year while Junis made just one start. DL Hall, acquired in the Burnes trade and a big part of the rotation plans, struggled in his first four starts before an injury hit him as well.

The injuries have forced the Brewers to rely on Bryse Wilson to move from the bullpen to the rotation, something he's done quite well. They've also had to rely on guys like Tobias Myers, Robert Gasser, and Aaron Ashby with varying degrees of success. Injuries have made it hard to truly determine how well the Brewers plans for the rotation post-Burnes and Woodruff are going.

Wilson and Gasser have performed admirably and have possibly even earned spots in the rotation once others get healthy.

The rotation is constantly in flux and there's been very little continuity. They've been successful largely in keeping the team in games and avoiding blowouts, but a clear top five isn't quite yet established and questions on so many starting pitching options remain.

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