How the 2028 Champion Milwaukee Brewers were Built
Sept 3, 2022 12:55:27 GMT -5
brewersgm and mikereds like this
Post by Commissioner Erick on Sept 3, 2022 12:55:27 GMT -5
The Milwaukee Brewers exceptional drafting, development, and talent acquisition have led them to back-to-back championships, four straight NL Central titles, four seasons in a row of at least 108 wins, and the makings of a potential dynasty. The future may get prohibitively expensive for Milwaukee’s title hopes, but how the built their current team is a remarkable display of drafting wins. Because they won last year’s title with virtually the same team, this article involves a lot of copying and pasting, making my work so much easier.
Players
Draft Picks
Zach Prajzner (2018, 6th Round, 183rd Overall, $4.8 million arbitration contract in 2028)
Tim Kierstead (2019, 15th Round, 452nd Overall, $3.6 million arbitration contract in 2028)
Branden Andexler (2020, 1st Round, 3rd Overall. Minimum contract in 2028)
Greg Jacks (2020, 3rd Round, 80th Overall. $13.7 million contract in 2028)
Luis Rivera (2020, 3rd Round, 82nd Overall. $6.3 million contract in 2028)
Josh Young (2020, 8th Round, 242nd Overall. Minimum salary in 2028)
Mike Perches (2021, 1st Round, 5th Overall, $5 million contract in 2028)
Mike Gaylord (2021, 1st Round, 16th Overall, Minimum contract in 2028)
Mike Arnold (2021, 4th Round, 155th Overall. $10.1 million contract in 2028)
Josh Blystone (2021, 6th Round, 191st Overall. Minimum contract in 2028)
Danny Tammaro (2022, 1st Round, 6th Overall. $1.8 million contract in 2028)
David Meeks (2023, 1st Round, 7th Overall. Minimum contract in 2028)
Rob Whalen (2023, 3rd Round, 8th Overall. Minimum contract in 2028)
Brock Straub (2023, 3rd Round, 82nd Overall. Minimum contract in 2028)
Nick Rollins (2024, 1st Round, 11th Overall. Minimum contract in 2028)
Hideki Yamada (2025, 1st Round, 23rd Overall. Minimum contract in 2028)
Kenny McMahon (2026, 1st Round, 36th Overall. Minimum contract in 2028)
The Brewers clearly built their team through a draft and development focus. Their scouts deserve a ton of credit as the Brewers have hit a first rounder every year from 2019 to 2026, with eight first rounders on their title team. Milwaukee had an other-worldly 17 players drafted on their club, with only five of them taken after the first three rounds.
Milwaukee did a few things very well. One, identifying the right talent in the first round kept talent coming into the organization every year. Also, while most of their players were early draft picks, they were able to develop some mid and late picks into superstars, altering their franchise. Mike Arnold is on a Hall-of-Fame trajectory, but was only a fourth rounder. Zach Prajzner has been a long-term Shortstop. He was plucked in the sixth round. Time Kierstead is a Cy Young caliber arm. He was grabbed in Round 15!
The Brewers have also timed their talent to reach the majors peaking. None of their picks are particularly experienced with most of them on minimum contracts or a few bargain contracts to buy out an arbitration year. Big contracts are coming, but Milwaukee has been able to build an affordable dynasty.
There’s not much to say about anything specifically, just that the Brewers are the gold standard on drafting and developing talent. Identifying who to retain as arbitration and Free Agency come for their stars will be a challenge, but Milwaukee has built a juggernaut and built it on the cheap.
Free Agents
Steve Eckroat (8/7/2024—Minor League contract. Minimum salary in 2028)
Will Dulihanty (4/26/2025—3 Year, $28 million contract. $6.7 million automatic renewal contract in 2028)
Mark Warf (6/21/2025—2 Year, $6.4 million contract—$3.2 million automatic renewal contract in 2028)
Tyler O’Neill (7/23/2028—Minor League contract)
The Brewers have been active in Free Agency, but often at unusual times of the year, snapping up Cuban Free Agents after their seasons end in March, or signing Independent League Free Agents who pop up from time to time. Will Dulihanty and Mark Warf were two such examples.
Nicknamed Wombat due to being from Australia and relatively slow, Dulihanty had a great eye with big power and was snapped up for $28 million in 2025. He’s been decent in the regular season the last two years, after a huge 2026. He’s been a good playoff performer over his career, providing production at a relatively cheap price.
Warf was signed in 2025, a few months after entering the league as an independent free agent. He was a great sinker/slider pitcher, who threw strikes and was in the prime of his career. He’s been strong in relief for Milwaukee since signing, with a 2.67 career regular season ERA, and a 2.87 postseason ERA.
After graduating from UC Irvine and going in the second round in the 2024 Draft, Atlanta failed to sign the outfielder, making him a free agent. Milwaukee pounced, gave Eckroat a minor league deal, and watched him slowly progress through the minors, dominating the upper levels when he arrived. He got called up to Milwaukee halfway through the year and had a nice postseason run, hitting .353 during the playoffs.
Tyler O’Neill was cut by the Cardinals in June and scooped up to a minor league deal in July. He had a big regular season with three homers and seven doubles in only 66 Plate Appearances, but he went 0-8 in the playoffs. O’Neill once needed experimental eye sight to fix his vision, and he’ll need more experimental surgery to become a postseason threat.
With such a deep team from the draft, Milwaukee could allocate resources to indy league free agents and develop them into veterans. The Brewers mostly targeted young or unheralded guys and had them fill a role, even though some players like Dulihanty have exceeded the role
Trades
Blayne Enlow (4/26/2021—Traded from the Astros along with Carson LaRue in exchange for Dylan Bundy. $1.8 million contract in 2028)
Mike Becker (5/13/2024—Traded from the Dodgers in exchange for $4 million. 760K contract in 2028)
Elih Marrero (5/20/2024—Traded from the Astros in exchange for Luke Shilling. $5.5 million arbitration contract in 2028)
Matt Aceto (7/22/2024—Traded from the Blue Jays in exchange for German Marquez and Tristan Casas—$4.6 million contract in 2028)
Joe Dyck (12/2/2024—Traded from the Astros in exchange for Jean Carlos Carmona. Minimum contract in 2028)
Yoelkis Cespedes (7/31/2028—Traded by the Mets in exchange for Alfredo Guerrero and Donovan Rickman. $2.2 million automatic renewal contract in 2028)
Unlike the Dodgers, who largely built their title teams with trades and supplemented the club through the draft, Milwaukee built their team through the draft and supplemented it through trades.
Milwaukee didn’t have a single first-division player on their team acquired through trade, though Marrero was s starting Catcher. In fact, the one player who was acquired via trade and previously put up big numbers was Aceto, and he had an awful 2028.
Instead, Milwaukee was able to fill its bullpen and backup spots via trades
Joe Dyck was electric for Milwaukee during their title run. He produced a 1.29 ERA in 11 Games, with a dominant postseason. Blayne Enlow has had some postseason struggles, but he’s been one of the best non-closer relievers the past four seasons. He’s been a very strong acquisition, considering Dylan Bundy produced negative WAR the rest of his PBA career and is currently in the Meridian League.
Milwaukee also acquired Mike Becker, Elih Marrero, and Tim Elmore in 2024, grabbing a pair of bats to mash lefties, and a defense-oriented Catcher. Marrero’s been a solid Catcher in his career, earning an All-Star nod in 2025 and improving his defense every season. Luke Shilling has turned into a fine reliever, but Milwaukee has had better relievers and needed a Catcher.
Becker, meanwhile, just had a dominant postseason hitting .423, clubbing three home runs, and providing the lefty-mashing the Brewers desperately needed. He was purchased from the Dodgers for cash to help their aspirations. They made the World Series in 2024 with $4 million being a key contributor—in actuality, the cash was mostly used to help sign first round pick Arthur Price for $3.4 million. Either way, the Dodgers made three straight World Series, winning two of them, so they clearly didn’t miss Becker, though the righty has helped the Dodgers rival surpass them the last two years.
Yoelkis Cespedes was a luxury Cuban Free Agent the Brewers moved on from after a 2027 season spent mostly in Colorado Springs. With the New York Mets out of it, Milwaukee reacquired Cespedes at the deadline and watched him hit .295 in the regular season before struggling brutally in the playoffs. He was a bit player the Brewers ultimate didn’t need, though he was acquired for a low price of a pair of defense-oriented infielders.
Milwaukee did a great job of identifying relievers who could really help them win in the playoffs, plus righty-bats who could supplement the club’s offensive stars. Aceto was a stalwart early in Milwaukee’s tenure, and while he had a brutal 2028, has also been an All-Star who has come through in the postseason. The moves showcase an excellent pattern of identifying team needs and dealing the right players or financial commitments to round out a complete roster.
Scouting Discoveries
Rodolfo Rivera (8/27/17. Minimum contract in 2028)
The Brewers title run wouldn’t have happened without some fortune from their scouting. The Brewers found Rodolfo Rivera as a 16-year-old in the Dominican Republic as a player with huge slugging potential. He really started to put things together in 2025 as a 23-year-old. He clobbered the minors up to that point, but then began to clobber the majors. He was a Silver Slugger in 2026, slugged 48-home runs this year, and was acquired for free.
Rule V Draft
Noah Campbell (2021, 1st Round, 5th Overall from Yankees—$6.3 million contract in 2028)
Steve Mulvey (2024, 1st Round, 19th Overall from Twins—Minimum contract in 2028)
Speaking of free talent, Milwaukee was able to continue to build on the margins with the Rule V Draft. They plucked Noah Campbell from the Yankees before the 2022 season, paid them for the right to demote Campbell, then saw Campbell develop into a premier defensive player as he aged. He’s never been huge with the bat—though his empty averages have sometimes been high enough to provide value—but his Second Base defense has always been stellar and helped Milwaukee be an elite run-prevention unit.
Steve Mulvey was also a Rule V guy who the Brewers paid to keep in the minors. He’s similar to Becker and in that he hits lefties well, had a down 2027, and a huge 2028 postseason. He’s a good defensive Second Baseman that scouts like and Milwaukee can employ situationally at the back of the roster.
Like with their trades, Milwaukee has found ways at the margins to find useful talent.
Waiver Claims
Quadir Murriel (8/12/2025 from Mets—$3.2 million contract in 2028)
Calvin Greenfield (6/1/2027 from Dodgers—$3.0 million contract 2028)
Speaking of the margins, Milwaukee has even found useful pieces among players deemed too marginal to make a difference by others.
Quadir Murriel was squeezed out of a crowded Mets infield in 2025, but the former Top 50 Prospect emerged as a starter in Milwaukee thanks to his defense and doubles pop. Murriel is slick in the field, and improved his bat enough to hit .263 this year, enough to have his extra base pop really play. Murriel went from an afterthought to a backup to a starter in Milwaukee’s development system.
Calvin Greenfield had a down season after a strong 2027, but played strong defense as an inexpensive backup Catcher. He didn’t need to do too much with Milwaukee’s offense, and his defense was appreciated by the staff.
Staff
Scouting Director: Theo Epstein
Epstein was the Scout for the Yankees for five seasons during their glory years, including two World Series trips. Epstein took on a huge salary to be the team’s scout for four seasons starting in 2022, but has worked at a discount the last two years. Epstein’s reputation is unimpeachable. While he’s excellent at scouting the majors, established players are easier to evaluate than foreign or international players. Epstein has a fantastic eye for scouting amateur players, a key reason why the Brewers have been able to build their dynasty. He’s excellent in international scouting, a reason why Milwaukee has plucked several Cuban free agents with success, and he’s tremendous at scouting the minors, a key reason why Milwaukee was able to identify how good their prospect talent coming through the system. Knowing what Milwaukee had internally allowed the Brewers to know where to focus or remove resources in other avenues like free agency. He’s probably the coach most attributed to the team’s success.
Pitching Coach: John Farrell
Hitting Coach: Miguel Centena
Farrell took over for the 2024 season just as Milwaukee’s crop of super-prospects were hitting the upper minors. He’s a fantastic teacher, especially among power pitchers, which made him perfect to guide the Brewers crop of phenoms. Despite a poor job with Cincinnati, his ability to develop power arms has led to Milwaukee being the best pitching team in baseball.
Centena is a hitting coach without a specific focus, allowing all types of Brewers hitters to grown under his tutelage. He’s a fantastic teacher, who leans towards patience over average, allowing Milwaukee to grow into a club good at walks and power. With Milwaukee’s offense at the top of the league despite a number of glove-first players, Centena should be graded very favorably.
Bench Coach: Luis Figueroa
After doing excellent work managing Milwaukee’s Arizona League team for three years, Figueroa was promoted to the main club to serve as the team’s Bench Coach. He’s not a great teacher of hitting or pitching, but his personality and tutelage is great at allowing players to develop to their potential. He’s also great at teaching defense, helping Milwaukee continue to be a strong defensive unit.
Assistant GM: Ray Durham
First Base Coach: Justin Bloxom
Third Base Coach: Daniel Garce
Durham signed in 2026 and proposed signing Bloxom and Garce soon after. Durham only has an average reputation, a product of only having two years of experience as a coach. He has a good reputation with his players though, which is one of the most important things in his position—getting his players and coaching staff pulling together.
Bloxom is a solid first base coach, and an excellent teacher. He’s part of the reason Milwaukee’s outfield is as good as it is, and why Marrero has grown into an elite defensive Catcher. Daniel Garce has done the same for the infield, helping the Brewers play strong infield defense. He’s good at teaching running, though Milwaukee did struggle as a baserunning team this year. With Milwaukee’s sluggers though, trading baserunning for defense has been a choice that has worked.
Team Trainer: Adam Nevala
Nevala has been with the club since 2021 and has largely done a good job, but has also suffered the wrath of Luke Grimmelbein’s ire.
This year, he did a really good job with pitchers’ arms. Hideki Yamada tore his UCL, but was the only player to suffer a significant arm injury. However, leg injuries were abundant and ended up cropping up late in the season before Milwaukee’s playoff run. Mark Warf spraining his ankle was more of a freak injury, but Milwaukee lost Zack Prajzner and Tyler O’Neill to muscle injuries that hurt O’Neill’s ability o contribute in the postseason, and knocked Prajner from appearing in the postseason altogether.
He also struggled to navigate Nick Rollins’ fragile body, though Rollins himself appears to be very injury prone. He’s suffered nagging knee injuries, and serious abdominal injuries over the course of his career, and a torn abdominal muscle in late September knocked him out of the postseason.
However, Milwaukee was in the bottom third of the league in roster injuries, and their star pitchers were largely healthy for the duration.
Summary:
Milwaukee's draft record and scouting have been impeccable during the Luke Grimmelbein era, allowing the team to build a contender without major Free agent splashes. The team has been patient and relied on outstanding scouting from Theo Epstein. As a result, their team has been young and also cheap. The Brewers of the last four years were the gold standard for this kind of approach, and it will be fun to see them navigate the challenge of having all their superstars entering a higher salaried era as they navigate arbitration and contract extensions.
Players
Draft Picks
Zach Prajzner (2018, 6th Round, 183rd Overall, $4.8 million arbitration contract in 2028)
Tim Kierstead (2019, 15th Round, 452nd Overall, $3.6 million arbitration contract in 2028)
Branden Andexler (2020, 1st Round, 3rd Overall. Minimum contract in 2028)
Greg Jacks (2020, 3rd Round, 80th Overall. $13.7 million contract in 2028)
Luis Rivera (2020, 3rd Round, 82nd Overall. $6.3 million contract in 2028)
Josh Young (2020, 8th Round, 242nd Overall. Minimum salary in 2028)
Mike Perches (2021, 1st Round, 5th Overall, $5 million contract in 2028)
Mike Gaylord (2021, 1st Round, 16th Overall, Minimum contract in 2028)
Mike Arnold (2021, 4th Round, 155th Overall. $10.1 million contract in 2028)
Josh Blystone (2021, 6th Round, 191st Overall. Minimum contract in 2028)
Danny Tammaro (2022, 1st Round, 6th Overall. $1.8 million contract in 2028)
David Meeks (2023, 1st Round, 7th Overall. Minimum contract in 2028)
Rob Whalen (2023, 3rd Round, 8th Overall. Minimum contract in 2028)
Brock Straub (2023, 3rd Round, 82nd Overall. Minimum contract in 2028)
Nick Rollins (2024, 1st Round, 11th Overall. Minimum contract in 2028)
Hideki Yamada (2025, 1st Round, 23rd Overall. Minimum contract in 2028)
Kenny McMahon (2026, 1st Round, 36th Overall. Minimum contract in 2028)
The Brewers clearly built their team through a draft and development focus. Their scouts deserve a ton of credit as the Brewers have hit a first rounder every year from 2019 to 2026, with eight first rounders on their title team. Milwaukee had an other-worldly 17 players drafted on their club, with only five of them taken after the first three rounds.
Milwaukee did a few things very well. One, identifying the right talent in the first round kept talent coming into the organization every year. Also, while most of their players were early draft picks, they were able to develop some mid and late picks into superstars, altering their franchise. Mike Arnold is on a Hall-of-Fame trajectory, but was only a fourth rounder. Zach Prajzner has been a long-term Shortstop. He was plucked in the sixth round. Time Kierstead is a Cy Young caliber arm. He was grabbed in Round 15!
The Brewers have also timed their talent to reach the majors peaking. None of their picks are particularly experienced with most of them on minimum contracts or a few bargain contracts to buy out an arbitration year. Big contracts are coming, but Milwaukee has been able to build an affordable dynasty.
There’s not much to say about anything specifically, just that the Brewers are the gold standard on drafting and developing talent. Identifying who to retain as arbitration and Free Agency come for their stars will be a challenge, but Milwaukee has built a juggernaut and built it on the cheap.
Free Agents
Steve Eckroat (8/7/2024—Minor League contract. Minimum salary in 2028)
Will Dulihanty (4/26/2025—3 Year, $28 million contract. $6.7 million automatic renewal contract in 2028)
Mark Warf (6/21/2025—2 Year, $6.4 million contract—$3.2 million automatic renewal contract in 2028)
Tyler O’Neill (7/23/2028—Minor League contract)
The Brewers have been active in Free Agency, but often at unusual times of the year, snapping up Cuban Free Agents after their seasons end in March, or signing Independent League Free Agents who pop up from time to time. Will Dulihanty and Mark Warf were two such examples.
Nicknamed Wombat due to being from Australia and relatively slow, Dulihanty had a great eye with big power and was snapped up for $28 million in 2025. He’s been decent in the regular season the last two years, after a huge 2026. He’s been a good playoff performer over his career, providing production at a relatively cheap price.
Warf was signed in 2025, a few months after entering the league as an independent free agent. He was a great sinker/slider pitcher, who threw strikes and was in the prime of his career. He’s been strong in relief for Milwaukee since signing, with a 2.67 career regular season ERA, and a 2.87 postseason ERA.
After graduating from UC Irvine and going in the second round in the 2024 Draft, Atlanta failed to sign the outfielder, making him a free agent. Milwaukee pounced, gave Eckroat a minor league deal, and watched him slowly progress through the minors, dominating the upper levels when he arrived. He got called up to Milwaukee halfway through the year and had a nice postseason run, hitting .353 during the playoffs.
Tyler O’Neill was cut by the Cardinals in June and scooped up to a minor league deal in July. He had a big regular season with three homers and seven doubles in only 66 Plate Appearances, but he went 0-8 in the playoffs. O’Neill once needed experimental eye sight to fix his vision, and he’ll need more experimental surgery to become a postseason threat.
With such a deep team from the draft, Milwaukee could allocate resources to indy league free agents and develop them into veterans. The Brewers mostly targeted young or unheralded guys and had them fill a role, even though some players like Dulihanty have exceeded the role
Trades
Blayne Enlow (4/26/2021—Traded from the Astros along with Carson LaRue in exchange for Dylan Bundy. $1.8 million contract in 2028)
Mike Becker (5/13/2024—Traded from the Dodgers in exchange for $4 million. 760K contract in 2028)
Elih Marrero (5/20/2024—Traded from the Astros in exchange for Luke Shilling. $5.5 million arbitration contract in 2028)
Matt Aceto (7/22/2024—Traded from the Blue Jays in exchange for German Marquez and Tristan Casas—$4.6 million contract in 2028)
Joe Dyck (12/2/2024—Traded from the Astros in exchange for Jean Carlos Carmona. Minimum contract in 2028)
Yoelkis Cespedes (7/31/2028—Traded by the Mets in exchange for Alfredo Guerrero and Donovan Rickman. $2.2 million automatic renewal contract in 2028)
Unlike the Dodgers, who largely built their title teams with trades and supplemented the club through the draft, Milwaukee built their team through the draft and supplemented it through trades.
Milwaukee didn’t have a single first-division player on their team acquired through trade, though Marrero was s starting Catcher. In fact, the one player who was acquired via trade and previously put up big numbers was Aceto, and he had an awful 2028.
Instead, Milwaukee was able to fill its bullpen and backup spots via trades
Joe Dyck was electric for Milwaukee during their title run. He produced a 1.29 ERA in 11 Games, with a dominant postseason. Blayne Enlow has had some postseason struggles, but he’s been one of the best non-closer relievers the past four seasons. He’s been a very strong acquisition, considering Dylan Bundy produced negative WAR the rest of his PBA career and is currently in the Meridian League.
Milwaukee also acquired Mike Becker, Elih Marrero, and Tim Elmore in 2024, grabbing a pair of bats to mash lefties, and a defense-oriented Catcher. Marrero’s been a solid Catcher in his career, earning an All-Star nod in 2025 and improving his defense every season. Luke Shilling has turned into a fine reliever, but Milwaukee has had better relievers and needed a Catcher.
Becker, meanwhile, just had a dominant postseason hitting .423, clubbing three home runs, and providing the lefty-mashing the Brewers desperately needed. He was purchased from the Dodgers for cash to help their aspirations. They made the World Series in 2024 with $4 million being a key contributor—in actuality, the cash was mostly used to help sign first round pick Arthur Price for $3.4 million. Either way, the Dodgers made three straight World Series, winning two of them, so they clearly didn’t miss Becker, though the righty has helped the Dodgers rival surpass them the last two years.
Yoelkis Cespedes was a luxury Cuban Free Agent the Brewers moved on from after a 2027 season spent mostly in Colorado Springs. With the New York Mets out of it, Milwaukee reacquired Cespedes at the deadline and watched him hit .295 in the regular season before struggling brutally in the playoffs. He was a bit player the Brewers ultimate didn’t need, though he was acquired for a low price of a pair of defense-oriented infielders.
Milwaukee did a great job of identifying relievers who could really help them win in the playoffs, plus righty-bats who could supplement the club’s offensive stars. Aceto was a stalwart early in Milwaukee’s tenure, and while he had a brutal 2028, has also been an All-Star who has come through in the postseason. The moves showcase an excellent pattern of identifying team needs and dealing the right players or financial commitments to round out a complete roster.
Scouting Discoveries
Rodolfo Rivera (8/27/17. Minimum contract in 2028)
The Brewers title run wouldn’t have happened without some fortune from their scouting. The Brewers found Rodolfo Rivera as a 16-year-old in the Dominican Republic as a player with huge slugging potential. He really started to put things together in 2025 as a 23-year-old. He clobbered the minors up to that point, but then began to clobber the majors. He was a Silver Slugger in 2026, slugged 48-home runs this year, and was acquired for free.
Rule V Draft
Noah Campbell (2021, 1st Round, 5th Overall from Yankees—$6.3 million contract in 2028)
Steve Mulvey (2024, 1st Round, 19th Overall from Twins—Minimum contract in 2028)
Speaking of free talent, Milwaukee was able to continue to build on the margins with the Rule V Draft. They plucked Noah Campbell from the Yankees before the 2022 season, paid them for the right to demote Campbell, then saw Campbell develop into a premier defensive player as he aged. He’s never been huge with the bat—though his empty averages have sometimes been high enough to provide value—but his Second Base defense has always been stellar and helped Milwaukee be an elite run-prevention unit.
Steve Mulvey was also a Rule V guy who the Brewers paid to keep in the minors. He’s similar to Becker and in that he hits lefties well, had a down 2027, and a huge 2028 postseason. He’s a good defensive Second Baseman that scouts like and Milwaukee can employ situationally at the back of the roster.
Like with their trades, Milwaukee has found ways at the margins to find useful talent.
Waiver Claims
Quadir Murriel (8/12/2025 from Mets—$3.2 million contract in 2028)
Calvin Greenfield (6/1/2027 from Dodgers—$3.0 million contract 2028)
Speaking of the margins, Milwaukee has even found useful pieces among players deemed too marginal to make a difference by others.
Quadir Murriel was squeezed out of a crowded Mets infield in 2025, but the former Top 50 Prospect emerged as a starter in Milwaukee thanks to his defense and doubles pop. Murriel is slick in the field, and improved his bat enough to hit .263 this year, enough to have his extra base pop really play. Murriel went from an afterthought to a backup to a starter in Milwaukee’s development system.
Calvin Greenfield had a down season after a strong 2027, but played strong defense as an inexpensive backup Catcher. He didn’t need to do too much with Milwaukee’s offense, and his defense was appreciated by the staff.
Staff
Scouting Director: Theo Epstein
Epstein was the Scout for the Yankees for five seasons during their glory years, including two World Series trips. Epstein took on a huge salary to be the team’s scout for four seasons starting in 2022, but has worked at a discount the last two years. Epstein’s reputation is unimpeachable. While he’s excellent at scouting the majors, established players are easier to evaluate than foreign or international players. Epstein has a fantastic eye for scouting amateur players, a key reason why the Brewers have been able to build their dynasty. He’s excellent in international scouting, a reason why Milwaukee has plucked several Cuban free agents with success, and he’s tremendous at scouting the minors, a key reason why Milwaukee was able to identify how good their prospect talent coming through the system. Knowing what Milwaukee had internally allowed the Brewers to know where to focus or remove resources in other avenues like free agency. He’s probably the coach most attributed to the team’s success.
Pitching Coach: John Farrell
Hitting Coach: Miguel Centena
Farrell took over for the 2024 season just as Milwaukee’s crop of super-prospects were hitting the upper minors. He’s a fantastic teacher, especially among power pitchers, which made him perfect to guide the Brewers crop of phenoms. Despite a poor job with Cincinnati, his ability to develop power arms has led to Milwaukee being the best pitching team in baseball.
Centena is a hitting coach without a specific focus, allowing all types of Brewers hitters to grown under his tutelage. He’s a fantastic teacher, who leans towards patience over average, allowing Milwaukee to grow into a club good at walks and power. With Milwaukee’s offense at the top of the league despite a number of glove-first players, Centena should be graded very favorably.
Bench Coach: Luis Figueroa
After doing excellent work managing Milwaukee’s Arizona League team for three years, Figueroa was promoted to the main club to serve as the team’s Bench Coach. He’s not a great teacher of hitting or pitching, but his personality and tutelage is great at allowing players to develop to their potential. He’s also great at teaching defense, helping Milwaukee continue to be a strong defensive unit.
Assistant GM: Ray Durham
First Base Coach: Justin Bloxom
Third Base Coach: Daniel Garce
Durham signed in 2026 and proposed signing Bloxom and Garce soon after. Durham only has an average reputation, a product of only having two years of experience as a coach. He has a good reputation with his players though, which is one of the most important things in his position—getting his players and coaching staff pulling together.
Bloxom is a solid first base coach, and an excellent teacher. He’s part of the reason Milwaukee’s outfield is as good as it is, and why Marrero has grown into an elite defensive Catcher. Daniel Garce has done the same for the infield, helping the Brewers play strong infield defense. He’s good at teaching running, though Milwaukee did struggle as a baserunning team this year. With Milwaukee’s sluggers though, trading baserunning for defense has been a choice that has worked.
Team Trainer: Adam Nevala
Nevala has been with the club since 2021 and has largely done a good job, but has also suffered the wrath of Luke Grimmelbein’s ire.
This year, he did a really good job with pitchers’ arms. Hideki Yamada tore his UCL, but was the only player to suffer a significant arm injury. However, leg injuries were abundant and ended up cropping up late in the season before Milwaukee’s playoff run. Mark Warf spraining his ankle was more of a freak injury, but Milwaukee lost Zack Prajzner and Tyler O’Neill to muscle injuries that hurt O’Neill’s ability o contribute in the postseason, and knocked Prajner from appearing in the postseason altogether.
He also struggled to navigate Nick Rollins’ fragile body, though Rollins himself appears to be very injury prone. He’s suffered nagging knee injuries, and serious abdominal injuries over the course of his career, and a torn abdominal muscle in late September knocked him out of the postseason.
However, Milwaukee was in the bottom third of the league in roster injuries, and their star pitchers were largely healthy for the duration.
Summary:
Milwaukee's draft record and scouting have been impeccable during the Luke Grimmelbein era, allowing the team to build a contender without major Free agent splashes. The team has been patient and relied on outstanding scouting from Theo Epstein. As a result, their team has been young and also cheap. The Brewers of the last four years were the gold standard for this kind of approach, and it will be fun to see them navigate the challenge of having all their superstars entering a higher salaried era as they navigate arbitration and contract extensions.