The unlikely position from which the Brewers are getting impressive production in 2025

Eight more games. That is all that remains for the Milwaukee Brewers before they embark on what is one of the most anticipated playoff runs in franchise history. The combination of the Crew clinching a spot in the postseason earlier than ever before and their position atop the MLB standings has left Brewers fans in an uncomfortable limbo, with plenty of time to ruminate on the team's chances in October.

The national media continues to flip-flop on their belief in Pat Murphy's scrappy band of "Average Joes," with many citing the team's apparent lack of power as the sole reason that Milwaukee will not succeed in the postseason. Others are more bullish on the Brew Crew's playoff dreams, noting that Matt Arnold and the team's front office have assembled the most complete group in all of baseball. The supporters point to the team's unparalleled defensive acumen and pesky offensive approach, which, paired with a deep pitching staff that has quietly been one of the best in all of baseball throughout the season, could certainly be a recipe for success when every pitch matters that much more in October.

Even still, praise rings out for the expensive superstars at the top of the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers' lineups, with harmonies of playoff experience and light-tower power supporting the chorus. But as the likely second and third seeds in the National League continue to hear their names called out as the teams to watch out for in October, one key strength of the prospective top seed continues to be ignored: the Brewers have received more production from their nine-hole hitters this season than any other team in baseball.

The Milwaukee Brewers lead MLB in production from the ninth spot in the batting order

The final hitter in a team's batting order is not supposed to be a league-average bat. In fact, all but one MLB team this season has received below-league-average production from the final spot in their lineup. The lone outlier? The Milwaukee Brewers, whose nine hitters this season have a combined wRC+ of exactly 100, which is the league-average mark.

It may come as a surprise to Brewers' fans who have seen a struggling Joey Ortiz batting ninth in a majority of the team's games this season, but that occurrence may be less common than you think; Ortiz has batted ninth in just 88 of the Brewers' 153 games played so far this season. Additionally, Ortiz has been a much better hitter when batting ninth this year compared to when he's been placed in other spots in the lineup. For example, Ortiz's .659 OPS when batting ninth is nearly 200 points higher than when he bats eighth — his second-most common spot in the order.

While Ortiz's numbers batting ninth better than expected, the Brewers have also received impressive production from the other players that have batted ninth this season. Brice Turang, who has started 12 games in the nine-hole, generally when the team is facing a lefty, has posted an OPS of .896 when batting at the bottom of the lineup. Additionally, Andruw Monasterio has an OPS of .993 in the 62 plate appearances that he's made in the final spot of the order. Eric Haase, who is currently with the Triple-A squad, holds a .752 OPS when batting ninth for the Brewers this season.

Overall, the Brewers' nine-hole hitters this season have an impressive slash line of .261/.324/.386, good enough for a .710 OPS. Meanwhile, the Dodgers have received a meager .633 OPS from the final spot in their order this year, and the Phillies' nine-hole hitters have posted a fine .699 OPS in 2025.

When the postseason rolls around, it will more than likely be Joey Ortiz in the final spot in the order for all of the Brewers' playoff games, so the pressure will be on for the Brewers' shortstop to continue the unexpected production that the team has received from the bottom of their order. However, the individual statistic speaks to a larger characteristic that has often been ignored when discussing the Brewers' chances in October. The Brewers, unlike some of their NL counterparts, have a surprisingly deep lineup. The bottom of their lineup consistently finds a way on base and then has the ability to wreak havoc on the basepaths, once they do.

If Milwaukee is going to make some noise in the playoffs this year, they will need the bottom of their order to continue to produce at the impressive clip that they have been all season.