Milwaukee Brewers: Grading the Crew's Performance in March and April

Grading the Brewers pitching for March and April: A-

The Milwaukee Brewers' success has been, and still is, built on the back of strong pitching. And unless the roster undergoes some significant changes at some point, not to mention the organizational philosophy, that will continue to be the case.

Luckily, that is turning out to be a winning formula once again in the 2023 season. The Brewers pitching staff as a whole has a 3.44 ERA through the end of April, the fifth lowest mark in MLB and not far behind the league leading Rays at 3.10. It's also a good amount below the league average of 4.36.

Though the rotation has been short co-ace Brandon Woodruff lately to a shoulder injury, the starters have performed well overall with a 3.74 ERA as a unit that ranks eighth in MLB. They are also holding batters to the sixth lowest average at .233

A big reason for this is ageless wonder Wade Miley, who is 3-1 on the season with a 1.86 ERA. Freddy Peralta and Corbin Burnes join him with three wins on the season and ERAs of 3.77 and 4.01, respectively.

Meanwhile, a Brewers bullpen that was inconsistent at times in 2022, particularly down the stretch when they led the league in blown saves after the All-Star break, has been greatly improved in 2023. They come in to May tied for the third best bullpen ERA at 2.97 despite having the second least amount of strikeouts with 82.

Outside of two pitchers who are either injured (Matt Bush) or no longer with the team (Javy Guerra), every reliever has an ERA under 4.00. Leading the way is stud closer Devin Williams, who has given up just five hits and three walks in 9.1 scoreless innings, and Peter Strzelecki, who has surrendered just a single run over 10.1 IP (0.66 ERA) and could be a good candidate for setup duties.

Despite the positive results, the Brewers pitching staff is actually just 17th in the league in fWAR at a combined 2.2, so there are some underlying analytics that could be better. That's the only thing keeping the unit from an A or A+.

Grading the Brewers overall for March and April: A-

When you combine everything, the fact of the matter is that the Brewers have performed as one of the best teams in MLB as far as their record shows. For 22 out of 30 days in April, they led their division and if not for a crazy stretch by the Pirates in the second half of the month, they'd still be there.

It's worth mentioning the Brewers' strong defense so far in 2023 as well. The Milwaukee defense has a combined 25 defensive runs saved, by far the most in the league over the second place Diamondbacks who have 18. Their four outs above average also rank them seventh in the league.

This has all been despite a rash of injuries to start the season yet again. Besides the aforementioned Woodruff, injuries have also befallen players such as Aaron Ashby, Adrian Houser, Tyrone Taylor, Gus Varland, Garrett Mitchell, and Luis Urias among others. And yet, they continue to win.

The challenge will be continuing to do so.

Last year, the Brewers started strong as well before the Cardinals ultimately caught them and took the division lead. Not only did Milwaukee not catch back up to them, but they fell out of the playoff race altogether and ended up missing the postseason for the first time in five years.

With St. Louis struggling and currently at the bottom of the NL Central, the Brewers have a great opportunity to continue to distance themselves from their division rivals. Do that while keeping better pace with the top of the National League, and it will be time to start a new franchise playoff streak.