The Milwaukee Brewers became the first team in MLB to reach 70 wins in 2026, leading the NL Central with a +134 run differential — 558 runs scored, 424 allowed. What makes the milestone even more striking: on April 26, Milwaukee was sitting at 13-13 in last place in the division. Since that date, no team in the league has played better baseball.
From the NL Central basement to the best record in baseball
The Brewers’ start to the season was anything but promising. At 13-13 through April 26, Milwaukee was buried at the bottom of the NL Central and barely on anyone’s contender radar. Then came the turnaround.
From that low point, the Brewers went 27-10, the best record in all of MLB over that stretch. The returns of Jackson Chourio, Andrew Vaughn, and Christian Yelich — all three missed roughly a month during the first ten weeks of the year — were the spark. With the trio back in the lineup, Milwaukee caught fire and became the first team to cross the 70-win mark in 2026.
The underlying numbers back it up: Baseball-Reference’s Pythagorean W-L of 70-42 confirms this isn’t a team getting lucky in close games. The Brewers are simply outscoring almost everyone else in the league on a consistent basis.
Jackson Chourio: the 22-year-old redefining Milwaukee’s lineup
If one name captures Milwaukee’s 2026 season, it’s Jackson Chourio. The 22-year-old Venezuelan outfielder put up a .322/.370/.572 slash line with a .942 OPS through his first 35 games, accumulating 2.0 WAR in that span.
His Statcast profile reinforces the production: 91.9 mph average exit velocity, 45.8% hard-hit rate, 12.6% barrel rate, and a .341 wOBA. In June he hit his peak — a 13-game stretch where he slashed .414/.453/.845 with a 1.298 OPS, 7 home runs, and 18 RBI. Those June numbers represent a hot streak, not his season-long average, but they show the ceiling on a player who’s still an age where most prospects are figuring out how to stick in the big leagues.
A complete roster effort
Chourio isn’t carrying this alone. The rest of the lineup has contributed throughout:
- Brice Turang leads the team with 106 hits.
- Jake Bauers had connected for 18 home runs before breaking a finger.
- Rookies Cooper Pratt and Luis Lara have delivered in key spots.
All of this while the rotation operated without Brandon Woodruff and Quinn Priester, both sidelined for much of the first half with injuries.
A franchise built to compete — in a division that makes it harder
The historical context matters. The 2025 Brewers finished 97-65 — a franchise record — won the NL Central for the fourth straight year, and reached the NLCS before falling to the Dodgers. They went 93-69 in 2024 and 92-70 in 2023. Milwaukee has been one of the most consistent teams in baseball for several years running, in a mid-size market, and that doesn’t happen by accident.
The 2026 pace points toward surpassing that 97-win mark, though the regular season isn’t over and any projection is exactly that. What is a fact: the NL Central is historically competitive in 2026. MLB.com reported the division was posting a combined .600 winning percentage at midseason, with projections showing all five teams finishing above .500 — something that has never happened in the Divisional Era, which began in 1969.
Seventy wins in a division like that aren’t handed to anyone. They’re the result of a team that absorbed a rocky start, got its key players healthy, and played the best baseball in the league for two straight months.
