The Brewers are ready to be viewed as a legit threat to win the World Series

As the days go by, this year's Milwaukee Brewers are doing nothing but cementing their chances to enter the playoffs as one of baseball's best teams. They're 81-57 (second-most wins in the majors), have a +139 run differential (best in the majors) and have a comfortable 10-game lead over the second-place Cubs in the NL Central. Oh, and that gap is the best in the majors, too.

This year's Brewers just feel different. There's no glaring roster holes for the first time in what feels like forever, which is a damn good start. The offense has been firing on all cylinders, the starting pitching is coming around and the bullpen has consistently been one of the best in the game since the season began.

We'll break down the individual categories here in a bit, but the team as a whole has been steamrolling over the opposition for weeks now. The Brewers remain the only team in baseball that does not have a four-game losing streak this season, which speaks volumes to their consistency. That's a word that can be used when talking about virtually any part of this roster and how they've been performing. They're simply as consistent as they come.

The offense is indestructible

Having scored the third-most runs in the NL this year, the Brewers have clearly established themselves as one of the top run producers in the game. However, an interesting wrinkle to that is that they are doing so without hitting very many home runs.

In fact, the Crew ranks third in runs scored but they're eighth in home runs and ISO, which is lower than where such a dangerous team would typically rank. William Contreras, Willy Adames and Rhys Hoskins are the only players with 20 or more home runs.

Instead of leaning on the home run, they're drawing a ton of walks (9.9 BB% leads the NL) and immediately advancing via stolen base once they reach. The Brewers are third in the NL in steals behind only the Nationals and Reds.

Over the years, the Brewers have always been a lineup with big boppers. Think Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Chris Carter, Rowdy Tellez, Mike Moustakas, etc. They've always been perhaps a bit too reliant on the long ball to keep them in games. It's interesting to see them hit home runs when they matter most, but find a way to put wins together in other ways. This speaks to them being a more complete team as they've found more ways to win games than they have in years past.

Starting pitching is one of their strengths again

If you found yourself worried about a Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff-less rotation heading into the season, you're not alone. The Brewers entered the year planning on a mixture of Freddy Peralta, Colin Rea, DL Hall, Joe Ross and Wade Miley carrying them to the promised land, with Aaron Ashby on his way back from injury, Robert Gasser waiting in the wings and some guy named Tobias Myers occupying the bottom of the depth chart.

Things have a funny way of working themselves out in this sport sometimes. Peralta and Rea have looked great, Myers went from organizational filler to star-in-the-making and a pair of deadline acquisitions - Aaron Civale and Frankie Montas - have helped fill in any gaps in the rotation.

Since June 2, this rotation ranks No. 1 in the NL in ERA (3.80) and strand rate. For a little bit more recency to factor in some of the new additions, Brewers starting pitchers are also first in the league in ERA since Aug. 1, as well as fourth in strikeouts and have the second-lowest batting average against in that span.

Point blank: there's no starter on this staff that couldn't be trusted right now to make a high-stakes postseason start. That is an excellent situation to be in, and one the Brewers haven't comfortably been in for a while now.

Don't you dare forget about that bullpen

The Brewers' bullpen deserves a ton of credit, because it's almost completely made up of other teams' outcasts. Outside of Devin Williams and Ashby, the entire 'pen is made up of players that were claimed off of waivers, signed to minor league contracts or acquired for pennies on the dollar over the course of the past year or so.

When Williams missed a chunk of time earlier this year, Trevor Megill, who underperformed on the 2021 Cubs and 2022 Twins before landing in Milwaukee, stepped in as the closer. This was a role he had never filled before at any level and he took to it immediately.

Then there's Jared Koenig and Bryan Hudson, who had cups of coffee on the A's and Dodgers before landing in Milwaukee and finding more playing time and a more permanent home. To put into perspective how strong they've been, the highest ERA between the two of them belongs to Koenig and he's currently sporting a 2.25 in 52 innings.

Heading into Tuesday's action, this 'pen has logged the third-most innings in the NL and still has the lowest ERA and highest strand rate in the league. They may be only 11th in K/9, but they also don't walk anybody (fifth-lowest BB/9) and have done an excellent job of limiting damage anytime they find themselves in a pickle.