Other Small-Market Teams Rising But Brewers Still In Thick Of NL Central Race

The National League Central has been rather predictable over the last three full seasons.

The Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals, in some combination, finished first or second in 2019, 2021 and 2022. Only during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season did someone else crack the top two when the Chicago Cubs won the division title.

However, with the All-Star break approaching, things have changed this season. The NL Central standings are no longer so stratified.

The Cincinnati Reds are in first place with their contingent of rookies, leading the division by two games over the Brewers. Third baseman Elly De La Cruz – who has been likened to a young Mickey Mantle by Reds veteran first baseman Joey Votto – leads an impressive crew of first-year players that includes third baseman Spencer Steer and shortstop Matt McLain.

Except for Votto, no other player in the Reds’ lineup is older than 26 as Cincinnati chases its first postseason berth since 2015.

While the Pittsburgh Pirates have faded to fourth place and 7 ½ games back, they were one of baseball’s biggest surprises earlier in the season when they broke to a 20-8 start. Nevertheless, the Pirates’ 40-46 record is an indication they are improved after losing 101 and 100 games the previous two seasons.

The Pirates have added a pair of first-round draft picks to their lineup in recent weeks in right fielder Henry Davis and shortstop Nick Gonzales.

The way Brewers manager Craig Counsell sees it, it was time for the NL Central’s bottom tier to make a move.

“That’s what’s supposed to happen,” Counsell said. “Teams that have struggled for a number of years do everything they can to acquire talent for the future so that they can make a run at it. That’s what happening with the Reds and the Pirates. They’ve brought numerous young players with talent to the big leagues. Frankly, that should have been happening with what’s gone on the last couple of years.”

Counsell didn’t use the term “tanking,” though he could have. It was clear the Reds and Pirates were two small-market franchises not trying to win in recent seasons.

The Brewers are also a small-market franchise, but they have acted differently than some others in their situation. Milwaukee has had winning records in each of the last five full seasons – they finished 29-31 in 2020 – and been to the postseason in three of them.

And the Brewers have a winning record again this season at 46-41 despite an offensive that has struggled and two of their top three starting pitchers having subpar years with the third one injured.

The Brewers are 25^th among the 30 major-league clubs with an average of 4.20 runs scored a game. Their .230 batting average ranks 28^th.

Milwaukee’s run prevention has been so-so as its 4.38 runs allowed a game is 17^th. That can’t help the Brewers wonder what might happen if their Big Three starters all have better second halves of the season.

Corbin Burnes is just 6-5 with a 4.00 ERA in 17 starts two years removed from winning the NL Cy Young Award and after losing a bitter salary arbitration case in the offseason. He did show an encouraging sign last Saturday by taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

“It’s always a combination of a bunch of little things,” Counsell said of pitchers’ struggles. “It’s counts. It’s quality of pitches. It’s execution. It all so goes into the total package of making it easier on yourself and that all plays a part of it.

“One day you’re not throwing off-speed well, one day you’re not locating well, one day you throw some noncompetitive pitches to let hitters back into counts, one day you make one pitch to the wrong spot, and it gets hit for a homer. It’s all kind of the sum of a little bit of everything that gets tossed into it.”

Freddy Peralta, an All-Star in 2021, is also scuffling with a 5-7 record and 4.67 ERA in 16 starts.

Two-time All-Star Brandon Woodruff has been limited to two starts and hasn’t pitched since April 7 because of right shoulder inflammation. The Brewers are hopeful Woodruff will be able to throw off a mound in the next few days, which would be a significant step in his rehab.

“It’s obvious what he’s done when he’s healthy and the level he’s capable of pitching at,” Counsell said. “Any team, whoever you are, you take a pitcher that off your team, you just can’t replace a pitcher like that. “Obviously, he’s a pretty special pitcher but you fill in with depth the best you can, and we’ve done a pretty good job of that. We’ve had our share of injuries this season, but we’ve been able to rely on our depth.”