The Milwaukee Brewers owe their place at the top of the National League Central largely to their bullpen, but there’s more to their success story this season.

It’s safe to say that a club whose bullpen ranks in the top three in the majors owes most of its success to its relief pitchers, but Milwaukee also boasts one of the best defensive rosters. One insider listed the biggest strengths of all the teams in playoff contention and praised the Brew Crew’s defense.

“Biggest strength: Defense,” ESPN’s David Schoenfield wrote Friday morning. “I could have gone with the bullpen here — it was extraordinarily decisive, ranking second in the major leagues in win percentage, and that was without Devin Williams for most of the season — but I think the best summary of the Brewers is youth, speed and energy, which in this context translates into an excellent team defense that ranks third in the major leagues in defensive runs saved.”

Milwaukee’s bullpen has a combined ERA of 3.38, which is the third-best in MLB, behind the Atlanta Braves’ 3.27 ERA and the Cleveland Guardians’ 2.68 ERA.

Throughout the 2024 season, it was said that the Brewers’ elite bullpen had taken the club to new levels and was instrumental in the team’s success, but Milwaukee’s defense went unnoticed.

The combination of an elite defense and an elite bullpen is undoubtedly a recipe for success, and Milwaukee may have found the recipe for a deep postseason run with the roster they have assembled.

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