Brewers Fantasy Baseball Draft Preview | Freddy Peralta, William Contreras, Devin Williams, Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio and More
Discussing the top fantasy players from the Milwaukee Brewers as the 2024 season approaches.
The fantasy baseball season is closing in quickly. FantasySP has published a number of articles relating to 2024 fantasy baseball draft prep and will continue to do so through the start of the MLB season.
Recently, we’ve been looking at things on a team-by-team basis. We’ve covered several teams already, and those articles can be found at the links below:
American League - Texas Rangers (hitters and pitchers), Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros (hitters and pitchers), Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays (hitters and pitchers)
National League - Los Angeles Dodgers (hitters and pitchers), Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies, Atlanta Braves (hitters and pitchers), Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami Marlins
Now, we’ll take a look at the Milwaukee Brewers.
Get ready for draft season! Check out our Mock Draft Simulator, Average Draft Position list and Draft Genius!
Top Fantasy Pitchers
The first Brewers' pitchers off fantasy draft boards, according to FantasySP Average Draft Position data, are starter Freddy Peralta and reliever Devin Williams. Peralta ranks 46th overall with an ADP mark of 50.91, while Williams ranks 54th with a mark of 61.42.
Peralta should be the team’s starter on Opening Day after the trade of Corbin Burnes and season-long injury to Brandon Woodruff. Peralta had one of his better seasons in 2023, going 12-10 with a 3.86 earned run average, striking out 210 batters over 165 2/3 innings.
It was the first time Peralta made 30 starts in a season, so durability is a bit of a concern, which offsets those high strikeout numbers and puts his ADP a bit later than you might expect. He’s a good second SP option and great third option, with the chance of being a top-25 fantasy pitcher, like he was in 2023. I’m fine taking the chance on him near his ADP, but wouldn’t take him much earlier than his current mark.
Williams was arguably the best fantasy reliever in 2023, which was his first full season as the team’s closer. He went 8-3 with a 1.53 ERA and 36 saves, striking out 87 over 58 2/3 innings.
Williams is currently the top RP being taken in fantasy drafts and should be in the hunt for the best option by the end of the season. Like with all closers, it comes down to how comfortable you are using a pretty early pick on a guy who only pitches one inning every couple games. I’d prefer to land my first closer a couple rounds later, but also have seen well-assembled teams that took a closer in an earlier round.
All the other Milwaukee players on the ADP list right now are hitters, but it won’t just be Peralta and Williams that help fantasy teams out this year from a pitching perspective.
Wade Miley, Jakob Junis, Colin Rea and DL Hall are the other projected members of the starting rotation, with Joe Ross and Bryse Wilson being other possible options.
Miley started 23 games a season ago, posting a 9-4 record and 3.14 ERA across 120 1/3 innings. He’s struggled to stay healthy over his career, and could start this season on the injured list. If he isn’t a late draft pick in your league’s fantasy draft, Miley will be one of the better streaming options to start the season.
Rea made 22 starts across his 26 appearances in 2023, going 6-6 with a 4.55 ERA across 124 2/3 innings. He struck out 110 batters along the way. He’s another streaming option to start the season.
Junis was the only other pitcher among that group to start games in 2023, and he made just four starts across 40 appearances. He went 4-3 with a 3.87 ERA across 86 innings for the San Francisco Giants. He’s another streaming option against weaker hitting teams.
Hall and Wilson strictly pitched out bullpens in 2023. Wilson made 53 appearances, going 6-0 with a 2.58 ERA and 61 strikeouts across 76 2/3 innings. Hall pitched in 18 games for the Baltimore Orioles, going 3-0 with a 3.26 ERA and 23 strikeouts across 19 1/3 innings.
Ross hasn’t pitched in the MLB since 2021. He’s got a career 4.26 ERA across 76 starts and 98 total appearances.
Aaron Ashby and Janson Junk could be a couple other starting options at points this season. They join a long list of possible streaming options in Milwaukee.
Top Fantasy Hitters
The first Milwaukee hitter off draft boards is catcher William Contreras. He ranks 70th with a mark of 73.98.
Contreras broke out in his first season with the Brewers, posting a .289 average and .367 on-base percentage across 141 games played. He had 156 total hits, 78 RBIs, 86 runs scored and six stolen bases. Contreras clubbed 17 homers among his 56 extra-base hits.
Contreras made 108 starts at catcher last season, and then got 33 additional starts as the designated hitter. Finding catchers that are in the lineup this much is rare, so it definitely boosts his fantasy value. He’s already a good fantasy hitter and should be one of the top-three catchers off the board. If you aren’t sold on some catchers you could draft later, Contreras is a name to target for sure.
Christian Yelich is up next, ranking 83rd with a mark of 84.16.
Yelich looked a bit more like his MVP self in 2023, finishing with a .278 average, .370 on-base percentage, 76 RBIs, 28 stolen bases and 106 runs scored. Yeli had 153 total hits and 19 homers among his 54-extra base hits.
Durability has been an issue for Yelich, but he played 144 games last season after 154 in 2022, so hopefully that’s a thing of the past. He’s expected to hit atop the lineup, which will keep his RBI chances somewhat low, but allow him to score a bunch of runs and steal some bases. Yelich is an on-base machine, so he has a bit of extra value in leagues that value OBP. He’s a good third or fourth outfield option.
Rhys Hoskins and Willy Adames are next up. Hoskins ranks 187th with a mark of 164.81, while Adames ranks 191st with a mark of 167.2.
Hoskins last played in 2022, when he clubbed 30 homers among his 145 total hits for the Philadelphia Phillies. He’s a career .242 hitter but could excel in the hitter-friendly American Family Field.
I like Hoskins as a backup first base option or infield/utility starter. Whatever the case is, I want a backup plan in case he struggles post-injury.
Adames had a rough go of things last season, finishing with a .217 average and .310 on-base percentage across 149 games. He did hit 24 homers among his 55 extra-base hits and 120 total hits. Adames also drove in 80 and scored 73 times.
Hitting in the heart of the lineup, Adames should have plenty of opportunities to be a solid fantasy asset. I expect him to bounce back at least a little bit, which makes him a decent value pick this late in a fantasy draft. I also think he works best as an infield/utility starter, with a backup plan needed if you spend a pick near his current ADP on him.
Jackson Chourio is up next. He’s expected to open the season with the MLB team despite only having just six games of experience at Triple-A.
Chourio is the No. 2 prospect in the league and there’s a ton of hype surrounding him. He hits for a good average and has plenty of pop and speed. I’d expect his ADP to rise quite a bit if it’s announced that he’ll open the season in the big leagues. I like him around pick 170 or so for the time being, which means he’s likely a backup option that could turn into a huge steal if he excels in the MLB.
Sal Frelick is the last Milwaukee hitter on the ADP list, ranking 258th with a mark of 206.75. He played outfield exclusively last season, but is getting infield work in spring training, which could open more playing time for the youngster.
Across 57 games in 2023, Frelick had a .246 average and .341 on-base percentage, with 24 RBIs, 29 runs scored and seven stolen bases. He had 13 extra-base hits among his 47 total hits.
Frelick’s 162-game averages are pretty solid, but having not seen it yet, he’s not going to go much earlier in fantasy drafts. I like that he could add some position versatility later in the season, and think he's a great value pick near his current ADP. Take him as a backup outfielder and you might end up with a massive draft steal by the end of the season.
Garrett Mitchell, Brice Turang and Joey Ortiz are the other projected starters for the Brewers. Mitchell and Turang, along with Frelick, could be in platoons with the likes of Andruw Monasterio, Joey Wiemer and Gary Sanchez.
Catcher Jeferson Quero and the versatile infielder Tyler Black are top-100 prospects (like Chourio and Oritz) who could also factor in at points this season.
It might take some time to work out the everyday starters in Milwaukee, so you’ll want to keep a close eye on the guys who don’t get drafted in your league. The FantasySP team will help you identify the best options, so check back during the season!
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