The 3 starting pitchers who will determine the Brewers late-season success

Despite the series loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, the Milwaukee Brewers still hold the best record in baseball and a comfortable 5.5-game lead over the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. Not only are they the top dog in MLB right now, but two of their key players just won impressive awards for their performances in the month of August. Second baseman Brice Turang took home the NL Player of the Month after slugging a ridiculous 10 home runs during the month. Meanwhile, Brewers' ace Freddy Peralta earned the NL Pitcher of the Month in the penultimate month of the season.

Peralta is catching fire at just the right time. He's currently riding an unbelievable 29-inning scoreless streak which covers his last five starts. Already the MLB leader in starting pitcher wins, Peralta now has his season ERA down to a sparkling 2.50, while not missing a single start all season.

While it's apparent that Peralta, who may not just be the best starter on the Brew Crew, but one of the best in the National League, will start game one for the Brewers in a potential playoff series, what is less obvious is who will follow him in the subsequent games. If recent performance is any indicator, it would be Quinn Priester and Brandon Woodruff to follow Peralta in a playoff series, with José Quintana and Jacob Misiorowski likely assuming different roles on the Brewers postseason pitching staff.

Brewers need Freddy Peralta, Quinn Priester, and Brandon Woodruff to have strong performances down the stretch

With a bullpen that is already depleted and continues to suffer injury after injury with each new day, the focus will fall on the Brewers' starters. Whether or not the team allows their starters to go more than two times through the order in the postseason remains to be seen, but the fact of the matter is: the Brewers need strong starting pitching performances to win in October.

Injuries have kept Woodruff out of the postseason in each of the last two seasons, and with the Brewers failing to make the playoffs in 2022, the 32-year-old right-hander hasn't thrown in a playoff game since 2021. Throughout his career, Woody has thrown 28.1 innings in the postseason and holds a solid 3.68 ERA, a 0.85 WHIP, and a 10:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. While his performance has fallen off slightly in his last three starts, Woody continuously gives the Brewers a chance to win every time he takes the mound. With his veteran presence on the mound and his experience in the postseason, there's no doubt that Woody will factor into the Brewers' postseason starting pitching plans.

Then there's Priester, who currently holds the opposite profile to Woody: he is pitching great as of late, but he has zero innings of playoff experience. That said, Priester hasn't earned a losing decision in more than three months. If that doesn't scream "giving your team a chance to win," I'm not sure what does. Priester has a steady 3.28 ERA in 25 appearances this season and constantly displays impressive efficiency on the bump. The 24-year-old early-season trade acquisition has solidified himself as at least the Brewers' game three starter.

That leaves Quintana and Misiorowski, both of whom could certainly start a playoff game, especially if the Brewers find themselves in a longer seven-game series. However, in a shorter series, both Quintana and The Miz may find themselves in different roles. Whether it's starting a game and throwing just a couple of innings, or entering from the bullpen for a few frames, it's possible that the duo doesn't assume a traditional starters' role early on in the postseason.

While The Miz generally has one bad inning that could be mitigated by a shorter stint, Quintana tends to struggle when facing a lineup the third time through. Such was the case on Wednesday night, when Quintana was nearly spotless before allowing a two-run moonshot to Weston Wilson in the top of the seventh. Limiting Quintana and Misiorowski to just two innings in the postseason could optimize their effectiveness and give the Brewers their best chance to win.

It will take strong performances from the entirety of the Brewers pitching staff for Milwaukee to make a deep postseason run, but the spotlight will still fall on Peralta, Woodruff, and Priester, who will be asked to set the tone as the Brewers' top three starters in October.