Burnt Toast Sports – Brilliantly Stupid

As you know, the Brewers have won seven straight and now trail the Chicago Cubs by just one game for the NL Central lead. Nationally, the Brewers have long played the role of underdog—rarely taken seriously when it comes to October baseball. This year PECOTA projected them to win just 80 games this season and finish third in the division.

And yet, as we head into the second half, the Crew stands tall with a franchise-record 56 wins at the All-Star break.

Of course, Brewers fans have seen this movie before: a hot team in July, sometimes even leading the division. But what has it gotten us? A string of October heartbreaks—from Pete Alonso metaphorically vomiting in our mouths, to a two-game sweep by the Diamondbacks, to getting steamrolled by the Braves, and, of course, that thing Trent Grisham did in right field against the Nationals.

So now we ask the question: is this team actually different from past versions of the Brewers? Here are some reasons to believe 

1. Starting Rotation

This team has legit pitching depth. Long live the days of Colin Rae dominating but this team has some elite pitching talent. The Nashville Sounds at one point had a pitching rotation that is better than at least 5 major league rotations with Logan Henderson, Chad Patrick, Nestor Cortez, and Tobias Meyers (nevermind the old high leverage bullpen arms of Elvis Peguero, and Joel Payamps).  The brewers are currently 5th in baseball in opponent batting average (.233), this is the only time in recent brewers history (last 5 years) where the crew has had a to 5 pitching staff and a top 7 scoring offense in runs scored. 

2. Less Red Head Position Players

The ancient Egyptians—yes, the same people who built the pyramids without cranes, invented the 365-day calendar, written language, believed redheads brought bad luck—might’ve been onto something. The 2025 Brewers roster features the second-fewest redhead position players in the last four seasons. Contrast that with the cursed 2022 squad, which sacrificed 1,159 plate appearances to players with a reddish hue (Mike Brosseau: 160 ABs, Rowdy Tellez: 599 ABs). That was the same year Milwaukee missed the playoffs—despite MLB expanding to a 12-team format. Could this be the reason why this year’s Crew feels different? 

3. No Leader

Unlike previous Brewers teams led by Willy Adames flailing at sliders in the other batter’s box, this team has no position player clearly paving the way. Sure, Christian Yelich leads by example—but that’s not the same as having a vocal leader who talks the talk and walks the walk. And in a weird way, that might be a good thing. Without a dominant personality at the top, there’s less room for ego clashes—because, frankly, no one really has one.

4. Bend but don’t break

The Brewers have never had a catcher who has a fractured middle left finger, and still want to play every day. William Contreras has been, let’s say, fine—especially for a guy catching every day with a fractured middle finger on his throwing hand. But at the plate, the production is clearly down: .245 average, and just a .347 slugging percentage. His power has taken the biggest hit, with only 27% of his hits going for extra bases this year (down from 37% in 2024). The decline tracks— his bat speed is down 2 MPH, his hard-hit rate has dipped 7 points, and his barrel rate’s been cut from 10% to 4%.

So yeah, he looks like a wounded gazelle. Slowing. Vulnerable. Pitchers are smelling the blood and picking up on it—they’re attacking him more boldly. But here’s the thing: sometimes the lion wants you to think he’s weak. Could Contreras be playing the ultimate slow game? Could he be playing dead just to bait more pitches within the zone to crush?

5. Less Homeruns, more energy for other activities

Let’s face it: hitting home runs is hard. Experts estimate it takes between 12,000 and 14,000 newtons of force to launch one over the fence—that’s about the same as getting punched by Mike Tyson twice or being in a head-on car crash at 15 mph. In other words, hitting a homer sounds both difficult and painful.

So it’s no surprise that the 2025 Brewers are struggling in the power department. They’re currently on pace to hit just 157 home runs, which would be their lowest total since 2015, when they lost 94 games. With just 93 homers through 96 games, the Brewers rank 24th in MLB. It’s not just home runs either—they’re also 25th in doubles with 137. That’s a historic lack of extra-base power for a franchise that’s spent decades in hitter-friendly ballparks.

In fact, the Brewers have only had one season in franchise history where they won 90+ games while finishing bottom-five in home runs—back in 1992. Since 1990, they’ve finished 24th or lower in homers just four times, and the results have mostly been disastrous:

• 2004 – 25th in HRs – 67 wins
• 2002 – 27th – 56 wins
• 1994 – 24th – 53 wins
• 1992 – 24th – 92 wins

This 2025 team is doing something rare: winning games without hitting the ball over the fence. Whether that’s sustainable—or another mirage—remains to be seen.

The 2025 Brewers are making history with their lack of power, leadership, and redheads—and somehow, it’s working. As we dive headfirst into the second half, one thing is clear: this team is different. They’re defying baseball sabermetrics with soft contact, infield singles, and Joey Ortiz in the everyday lineup—yet they keep winning. Could this be the year it all clicks? Add a bat at the deadline, and suddenly, this quirky roster might just have the pieces to make a real October run.

@burnttoastsports

Is this years Brewer team different? Or are we watching a movie we have all seen before that ends with a tragic October demise. Here are some reasons to believe this team is different. #Brewers #BrewCrew #MLB #thisismycrew

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