Brewers announce NLCS roster

The Brewers have announced their roster for the National League Championship Series, and it’s the same as the Division Series roster, which should surprise no one. The likelihood that the Brewers were going to make any changes was always low. We’ll still do a quick rundown.

Catchers (2): William Contreras, Gary Sánchez

Infielders (6): Jake Bauers, David Hamilton, Joey Ortiz, Cooper Pratt, Brice Turang, Andrew Vaughn

Outfielders/DH (5): Jackson Chourio, Sal Frelick, Luis Lara, Garrett Mitchell, Christian Yelich

Pitchers (13): Aaron Ashby (L), Shane Drohan (L), Robert Gasser (L), DL Hall (L), Kyle Harrison (L), Logan Henderson (R), Dustin May (R), Trevor Megill (R), Jacob Misiorowski (R), Chad Patrick (R), JoJo Romero (L), Antonio Senzatela (R), Abner Uribe (R)

None of Drohan, Harrison, nor Patrick pitched in the Division Series against the Padres, but the Padres’ lineup was heavy on right-handers, while four of the Dodgers’ regular starters (Shohei Ohtani, Max Muncy, Freddie Freeman, and Kyle Tucker) are lefties. Combined with the longer series, one would expect that the extra lefties in the lineup would create more opportunities for Drohan and Harrison. Patrick did not have a role against the Padres; it seems his control issues in September have left him on the outside looking in for now.

As for lineup questions on the Brewers, it remains to be seen exactly how they handle left/right platoons. Sal Frelick started all three games in which right-handed pitchers started for the Padres, with Lara’s only playing time in the series coming in game one, when lefty Robbie Ray started. I’d expect this to continue, and given how well Frelick played in the DS, it will be interesting to see if he manages a start against one of the Dodgers lefties, Blake Snell and Tarik Skubal.

The bigger questions, though, center around Andrew Vaughn. Vaughn got only two plate appearances in the Padres series, as Pat Murphy opted to go with Jake Bauers at first base and a better defensive option in right field rather than start both Vaughn and Bauers. He also kept Christian Yelich in the lineup even against the left-handed Ray, and given Yelich’s leadership position and his strong showing against the Padres, it doesn’t seem likely that he’s going to start on the bench, even with the tough Skubl and Snell matchups. Would the Brewers sacrifice some defense by starting Bauers in right field and Vaughn at first base against those lefties? Is Vaughn too valuable as a high-leverage pinch-hitter? Vaughn was also recovering from what sounds like a pretty nasty illness, so his diminished playing time may not have been solely related to strategy.

The bigger roster questions came from the other side. The Dodgers carried only 12 pitchers in the Division Series, a number that was expected to get bumped up for the Championship Series. There were also some health questions around Miguel Rojas, but reports on Saturday suggested that he’d be ready. The expected move did end up happening: utility infielder Hyeseong Kim was taken off the roster, while lefty Justin Wrobleski—who started 22 games and made the All-Star team this season—was added for what will presumably be a long relief role.