Milwaukee Brewers Microbrew

The Brewers had a brutal week, suffering a five-game losing streak for the first time since mid-2023 and playing some of those games in jerseys that nobody seems to like. The pitchers are struggling, particularly in the bullpen. Christian Yelich left Sunday's game ominously. The defense has been suspect. The hitting has been suspect. The Brewers have gone from 8-2 to barely above .500, and that was against teams that were ostensibly struggling. Brewers reporter Curt Hogg and host JR Radcliffe go through the ugliness, from bullpen usage to dropped velocity to a dearth of options to fix the offense. And what is WITH those City Connect jerseys, anyway? In Three Up Three Down (38:00), they discuss Willson Contreras, promising work from Jacob Misiorowski, the excellent Jake Bauers experience and a brief first big-league appearance from Shane Drohan. In Remembrew When (58:30), JR looks back at a memorable Phil Garner moment in a week where two ex-managers died: Garner and Davey Lopes. Curt Blanche (1:02:30) discusses one of baseball's cathedrals. Then, JR chats with new starting pitcher Kyle Harrison (1:07:00) about his tweaked repertoire, his California upbringing, a high-school teammate also employed by the Brewers and his grandfather, once teammates in Milwaukee with Hank Aaron.

The early returns remain positive for the Milwaukee Brewers, now out to a 7-2 start in 2026 after series wins against the Rays and Royals. Garrett Mitchell has a breakout game and confounds us still, the bullpen has been concerning a bit, and the rotation has been excellent (with one exception). Brewers reporter Curt Hogg and host JR Radcliffe look back on the week and start with the most surprising story: An extension for prospect Cooper Pratt. Plus, newcomer Luis Matos and important Easter candy discourse. In Three Up Three Down (36:00), they discuss Milwaukee's newest pet tortoise, Bobby Jr., and the impulse purchase power of Pat Murphy, plus a very weird week for much-maligned umpire C.B. Bucknor in Milwaukee. Remembrew When (54:00) looks back at a more Easter-thematic Brewers/animal crossover during the days of the Rally Rabbit, and Curt Blanche ponders the NCAA Tournament and Wisconsin basketball (58:30). Then, JR sits down with new infielder David Hamilton (1:04:15), who returns to his old haunts at Fenway Park when the Brewers open a series there this week. They discuss his freak injury in college, his smooth transition to third base, and the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers jersey he wore when he was just a kid, years before he played with them for real.

Brewers reporter Todd Rosiak and host JR Radcliffe discuss a thrilling season-opening series that ended with a late rally and a Christian Yelich moon shot March 29. They discuss another key hand injury, this time to Andrew Vaughn, the rough debut of Brandon Sproat, a surprise debut and opportunity for Jeferson Quero and the very 2025 way that the Brewers have collected three quick wins in 2026. The bullpen might be seriously legit. Could Joey Ortiz be able to take a leap this year? Plus: Three Up Three Down is back, looking at a surprising ex-Brewer making an historic start with a new team, plus David Hamilton, Jared Koenig and Luis Rengifo. Remembrew When re-winds 40 years for a similar start to the year (complete with a thrilling homer), and Todd's Take of the Week examines some promising changes on the TV broadcast front.

The Brewers turned opening day into a laugher, a 14-2 victory over the White Sox that hopefully proves to be a good omen for the 2026 season. Brewers reporter Curt Hogg was on the scene, and he joins host JR Radcliffe to discuss the ins and outs, starting with an early-morning announcement that Jackson Chourio would be opening the year on the injured list with a surprise injury incurred three weeks ago. Jacob Misiorowski shines with 11 strikeouts, part of a record-setting 20 for Brewers pitchers. William Contreras debuts a new look and gets a big hit. David Hamilton might be the most Brewers player of all time, two guys go deep, newcomer Jake Woodford makes his debut, a huge outcome for JR's preseason predictions and more.

We made it! Opening day for the 2026 Milwaukee Brewers season arrives this week, and we've got one last report from Arizona with Journal Sentinel beat writer Curt Hogg, who joins JR Radcliffe to give one last look at the team. Brandon Lockridge's big spring got him a spot. Jake Bauers has been raking. Jacob Misiorowski is the opening-day starter but once again, what is going on with Brandon Woodruff? Andrew Fischer looks like the future. What's the primary opening-day story line in 2026? Who's next up once the Brewers need a player?

The news has been so limited from Brewers camp that JR recorded this while watching the Oscars and Curt while watching the World Baseball Classic. Is no news good news? Or should there be some alarm that the Brewers have some of the same question marks they had last year? How concerned should we be about Quinn Priester's injury? What's been going on with Christian Yelich? Is Andrew Fischer going to be here sooner than we think? For crying out loud, is this roster already set? Then, JR chats with Milwaukee author and historian Matt Prigge (43:30), who discusses what Brewers opening day means in Milwaukee, some of the highlights from opening day and some opening-day Brewers facts you may not have known. The Brewers will open the season March 26 at home against the White Sox.

Curt Hogg is in Arizona and sniffing around at Milwaukee Brewers camp, with some observations he'd like to share on this episode, hosted by JR Radcliffe. The two Milwaukee Journal Sentinel colleagues discuss the plight of Brandon Woodruff, the Quinn Priester injury, the promise of Kyle Harrison and Brandon Sproat and ... have we ruled out Aaron Ashby as a starter for sure? Plus: The center field picture, some early World Baseball Classic takeaways and where pineapple belongs on the fruit hierarchy.

Brewers reporter Todd Rosiak and host JR Radcliffe take a look at the wildly healthy landscape of the Brewers in spring training, with even minor injury question marks like Brandon Woodruff and Trevor Megill seemingly on track. What about prospect Jett Williams? Tyler Black and Brandon Lockridge are the breakout stars of spring so far. How does Luis Rengifo look at third? Could Aaron Ashby still be a starting pitcher? How has the ball/strike challenge system impacted the game? Who else is jumping out? Then, Todd and JR provide the first Three Up, Three Down of the season (31:30), spinning through some intriguing spring highlights including homers robbed by weird ground rules, a viral Jacob Misiorowski video, a three-run single, a dinged-up food truck, Joey Ortiz with the bases loaded and young prospects who have impressed.

Surprise! It's a mid-week episode of Microbrew, where host JR Radcliffe is joined by Spencer Michaelis of Brewer Fanatic to get a full deep dive on the state of the Brewers highly regarded minor-league system. That includes several players in spring training this year and players who will contribute mightily over the next two years. They discuss what traits allow the Brewers to shine, the shift from a pitching haven to a hitters paradise, the reasons we should be stoked for Jesús Made and Luis Peña, a trio of future (or present?) third-base options, the players most likely to impact the team in 2026, the best pitchers in the organization now that Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson are with the big-league team, the breakout stars in waiting, whom we're likely to see if we visit High A in Appleton and a few guys still below your radar. For now. We'll be back Monday morning with our usual episode focusing on the big-league team.

The Baseball Prospectus PECOTA rankings believe the Brewers will finish around .500 and well behind the Cubs. Even though the Brewers won 97 games last year and bring back a ton of the same players. So why does the projection system have such a relatively low opinion of the Brewers (and not for the first time)? Jonathan Judge, the modeling guru of the PECOTA rankings, stops by (31:30) to discuss what his projection system looks for, why it prefers the Cubs so much more than the Brewers, which players are poised for a surprising year (good and bad) and why the Brewers have been able to overperform these rankings in the past. But also, perhaps there's some reason for concern? Before that, Brewers reporter Todd Rosiak discusses the extension for manager Pat Murphy, the status of Trevor Megill in the context of the Milwaukee bullpen and what he's seen - if anything - through the first couple days of actual games. We also get an update on the Maryvale Cat, plus uniform takes!

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Todd Rosiak, now embedded in Phoenix with the start of spring training, and host JR Radcliffe discuss the early story lines in Brewers camp, including the clarifying picture at third base and catcher, Brandon Woodruff's immediate outlook and how the crowded starting rotation might look. It's been a relatively quiet start to camp, and that's a good thing given the lack of injury news. Who benefits when the World Baseball Classic starts? Who's next in line at third base if Luis Rengifo is indeed the starter? What's the best giveaway on the Brewers promotional calendar? And most importantly, do we have a Hank The Ballpark Pup sequel in our midst? And it's a cat?

Spring training has begun, and our annual predictions episode is here. Curt and JR make their picks from "likely" to "spicy" to "controversial" to "insane," trying to imagine how the 2026 season will play out. Topics include Jacob Misiorowski, relief pitching, William Contreras, Joey Ortiz and Jake Bauers. They also discuss the return of catcher Gary Sánchez on a free-agent (!) deal and the gap that still remains at third base.

Didn't see that coming, did you? The Milwaukee Brewers made a surprise trade Feb. 9, sending breakout third baseman Caleb Durbin to the Boston Red Sox along with his primary backups (Anthony Seigler and Andruw Monasterio) for pitchers Kyle Harrison, Shane Drohan and infielder David Hamilton. What in the world is going on? The Brewers don't have any third basemen! Brewers reporter Curt Hogg and host JR Radcliffe re-convened for an emergency look at the motivation behind the move, the players Milwaukee is getting in return and what options remain at the hot corner.

The Milwaukee Brewers are a week away from spring training, and we're celebrating by forecasting the weirdest possible outcomes. Brewers beat reporter Curt Hogg and host JR Radcliffe create their bingo card of highly unlikely -- but not impossible -- outcomes for the Brewers during the 2026 season. It's ridiculous, honestly. You can hear the winter weather taking a toll on their souls.

Brewers reporter Todd Rosiak and host JR Radcliffe discuss the Freddy Peralta deal in greater depth, including the perception of a salary dump, the loss of Tobias Myers and more. Todd also discusses his Hall of Fame vote and how he weighs the "character clause." Who's the next Brewers Hall of Famer? Is it somebody ... already on the ballot? Plus a look at a prospect-heavy group of non-roster invitees ... could any of them make the team out of camp?

The Milwaukee Brewers finally made an offseason splash, trading ace starter Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers to the New York Mets for two young players likely to help the Brewers in 2026. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Curt Hogg and host JR Radcliffe dissect the deal in this emergency podcast, discussing the newcomers and where they fit with the team. Plus: The consternation that comes with trading a top player; can the Brewers ever operate without moving a star before he hits free agency? What's the rotation picture now? What's Freddy's legacy in Milwaukee? Is Joey Ortiz's job in jeopardy?

It's Hot Stove season, not that the Brewers are standing anywhere near the flame. Brewers reporter Curt Hogg and host JR Radcliffe, both of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, each offer five names who might interest the Brewers, but don't expect any exciting names. In fact, one of the rules of their draft: The player can't be obviously exciting. Before that, they discuss the Los Angeles Dodgers signing of Kyle Tucker for an absurd four years and $240 million. Sure, a lockout would be bad for baseball, but they break down at length whether or not it would be bad for the Milwaukee Brewers, if such an action results in an MLB salary cap.

We know you're upset because the Packers lost in the playoffs. But that means it's baseball season. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Brewers reporter Curt Hogg joins host JR Radcliffe to discuss a relatively newsy week even without any fresh player moves. William Contreras appears to be headed toward an arbitration hearing with the team. The Brewers have a bevy of coaching-staff changes, including the addition of Daniel Vogelbach. What's going on with the TV situation? And the Cubs land a big fish in Alex Bregman. Other topics discussed: The McRib, an unhealthy obsession with hating surprises and a second leaky bathroom incident.

The Milwaukee Brewers haven't made many moves, but it's a new year, and we need to talk about baseball. Host JR Radcliffe and Brewers reporter Curt Hogg run the gamut of conversation topics, from geopolitical events and how they impact the Brewers, whether Brandon Woodruff is the best pitcher in Brewers franchise history, Caleb Durbin as an every-day player, Joey Ortiz's offensive woes, Ryan Braun's Hall of Fame candidacy, a former Brewers prospect playing college football, a random name who will make the opening day roster, Christmas hymns and more. Happy New Year!

The Brewers are on the board with a trade (acquiring Ángel Zerpa for Nick Mears and Isaac Collins) and even a Major-League free-agent signing (granted, it's an under-the-radar player in Akil Baddoo). Where are we at with a possible Freddy Peralta trade? Journal Sentinel reporter Curt Hogg joins host JR Radcliffe to discuss the state of the Brewers here in the dead of winter. Topics also include backup catcher, the prospect of stretching Aaron Ashby as a starter, Pat Murphy's long-term future in Milwaukee and Baja Blast Mountain Dew.