The National League Championship Series matchup is set. It will be the star-studded Dodgers and the plucky but proven Brewers in a rematch of the 2018 NLCS, which Los Angeles won in seven games.
On the line is the NL pennant, which for the Dodgers would mean a return trip to the World Series for a chance to repeat as champions, and for the Brewers only the second World Series berth in franchise history (Milwaukee — then in the American League — lost the 1982 World Series to the Cardinals in seven games).
Here’s a position-by-position breakdown as we prepare for Game 1 at American Family Field on Monday night:
Will Smith was on pace for a career year at the plate during the regular season, but a hairline fracture in his right hand sustained on a Sept. 3 foul tip in Pittsburgh caused him to miss most of the final month. His playoff status was initially in doubt, and he missed the Dodgers’ NL Wild Card Series against the Reds. But Smith returned for the NL Division Series against the Phillies, in which he went 2-for-13 (.154) with no extra-base hits.
On the other side, William Contreras turned in another solid season both at and behind the plate for the Brewers. Though he didn’t hit for as much power during the regular season as he’s accustomed to, he ranked in the 77th percentile among qualified catchers in Statcast Caught Stealing Outs Above Average (+3). And Contreras had a big NLDS against the Cubs, launching two homers, including a big one in Game 5.
Given that Smith has been slumping since returning from injury and Contreras seems to have found his power stroke, we’ll go with Contreras here.
The Brewers’ starting first baseman to begin the season was Rhys Hoskins, and when he suffered a sprained left thumb on July 5, he had a .767 OPS with 12 homers. But while he was sidelined, Andrew Vaughn — whom Milwaukee acquired from the White Sox in June — produced well enough to supplant Hoskins at the position when Hoskins returned in September.
In 64 games with the Brewers, Vaughn posted an .869 OPS with nine homers. So far in the postseason, he’s 4-for-14 with two homers and has been platooning with the lefty-hitting Jake Bauers, who started in NLDS Game 3 against the Cubs and went 2-for-4 with a homer.
On the Dodgers’ side of the ledger, of course, is the MVP of the 2024 World Series and a nine-time All-Star. Freddie Freeman put together another great campaign at the plate this year, finishing the regular season with an .869 OPS and 24 home runs. Although he’s hitting .217 so far this postseason, this is an elite, veteran hitter with 14 homers and an .869 OPS over 68 career postseason games.
With his resume and wealth of playoff experience, the nod goes to Freeman.
Second base was the position at which the Dodgers got the least offensive production during the regular season — players at the keystone position for Los Angeles had a .239/.293/.357 slash line. Playing time there was mostly split between Tommy Edman, Miguel Rojas and Hyeseong Kim.
Brice Turang had his best offensive season yet in the 2025 regular season, hitting .288/.359/.435 with 18 home runs and 24 steals for Milwaukee. He had a big homer in NLDS Game 5 to give the Crew some late insurance. Defensively, he was tied for eighth among Major League second basemen with +7 defensive runs saved during the regular season.
With the sheer disparity in production at the plate, this one goes to Turang.
It was a trying regular season for Mookie Betts, who became the Dodgers’ full-time shortstop this year after spending his first 10 seasons primarily as a right fielder before splitting time between right and short in 2024. But Betts turned things around late in the season and has been one of the hottest hitters in the Dodgers’ lineup during the playoffs, batting .385 with three doubles and a triple.
Defensively, Betts has been much improved at short this year, leading all MLB shortstops with +17 DRS in the regular season. Betts is also no stranger to postseason heroics — in last fall’s run to a World Series championship, he produced a .951 OPS with four homers.
The Brewers’ starting shortstop, Joey Ortiz, is a glove-first player with a fifth-ranked +12 Outs Above Average among shortstops but a .593 OPS during the regular season.
We’ll likely see a platoon at third base for the Dodgers, with Max Muncy in the starting lineup against right-handed starters and either Rojas or Kiké Hernández in there against lefties.
There’s no shortage of playoff experience in that group, particularly with Muncy and Hernández — Muncy has 13 career postseason home runs, many of which have been in big moments; and Hernández, no matter what his regular season is like, has a knack for big hits in October.
The Brewers have Caleb Durbin at the hot corner, the epitome of manager Pat Murphy’s “above-average Joe” concept for his club. Durbin finished his rookie season with a .721 OPS, 11 home runs and 18 steals to go along with strong defense at third (+5 DRS).
In the end, though, the wealth of experience and postseason track record favors the Dodgers’ group.
Hernández and Alex Call are the main options for the Dodgers in left field. Call was acquired in a trade with the Nationals prior to the July 31 Trade Deadline. In 38 games down the stretch, he posted a .717 OPS with a pair of homers.
Although he saw more time in center field during the regular season, Jackson Chourio has been in left during the postseason for the Brewers. He followed up a strong rookie campaign last year with similar numbers during the 2025 regular season — a .770 OPS with 21 homers and 21 steals. And he’s been hot in the playoffs, hitting .389/.421/.667 with two doubles and a home run.
Andy Pages took a big step forward in his sophomore season, belting 27 home runs and upping his OPS over his rookie campaign by 62 points, to .774. He’s just 1-for-24 in the playoffs so far, but he’ll be looking to turn the page with a fresh start in the NLCS.
Center field for Milwaukee during the playoffs has been manned by Blake Perkins and Brandon Lockridge. Both are light-hitting, defense-first outfielders — though Perkins does have three hits, including a double, so far this postseason.
Although his defense leaves much to be desired, Teoscar Hernández has been one of the most important hitters in the Dodgers’ lineup once again this year. His huge three-run homer in NLDS Game 1 at Citizens Bank Park to put Los Angeles ahead demonstrated the Jekyll-and-Hyde nature of his game after he had a rough play in right field earlier on. Overall, he’s hitting .308 with a double and three homers this postseason.
His NLCS counterpart will be Sal Frelick, who himself had a strong season. The 25-year-old had his best campaign at the plate so far in his young career, posting a .756 OPS with 12 homers and 19 steals while playing plus defense in right field — he finished with +6 Outs Above Average in the regular season, which ranked fourth among right fielders.
In this case, the Dodgers’ experience wins out again. The Brewers have a big advantage at this position defensively, but the Dodgers will ride with the net positive they have in Teo.
Well, this one’s pretty straightforward. The greatest baseball talent on the planet is the Dodgers’ designated hitter — and sometimes he pitches, too. Shohei Ohtani has been cold at the plate so far this October, going 2-for-22 (.091) with no extra-base hits after a two-homer performance in NL Wild Card Series Game 1 against the Reds. He’s also struck out 12 times in 30 plate appearances overall.
But this is still Shohei Ohtani, who set a career high with 55 home runs to go along with a 1.014 OPS during the regular season, putting him in line for his fourth career MVP Award.
The Brewers have their own former MVP in the DH spot, and he has quite the resume himself. Christian Yelich isn’t the player he was in his 2018 NL MVP campaign, but he’s still dangerous at the plate after a season in which he belted 29 home runs and drove in 103.
In many cases, Yelich would win a DH matchup, but not in this one.
When the Dodgers committed more than $600 million combined for Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto over the past couple of years, this is the time of year they envisioned getting the most bang for their buck. And unlike during their run to a World Series title in 2024, this October, Glasnow is healthy and Snell — a two-time Cy Young Award winner — is in the fold.
And all of that isn’t even to mention Ohtani, who made his postseason pitching debut in NLDS Game 1, and could be a major factor on the mound in the NLCS. Overall, Dodgers starters have pitched to a 2.02 ERA so far in these playoffs and opponents are hitting .160 against them.
The Brewers, meanwhile, have an ace in Freddy Peralta at the front of their rotation, as well as flamethrowing phenom Jacob Misiorowski and emerging star Quinn Priester. But even a good rotation will have a hard time stacking up with what the Dodgers throw at you.
If there’s a vulnerability for the defending World Series champs, it’s definitely in the bullpen. The Dodgers’ relief corps had a 4.27 ERA during the regular season, tied with the Phillies for 20th in the Majors. And it hasn’t gotten any better in the postseason so far — in 20 1/3 relief innings, Dodgers relievers have combined for a 5.75 ERA.
The one seemingly dependable arm manager Dave Roberts can turn to late is Roki Sasaki, who looks like a completely different pitcher from the one we saw in a starting role at the beginning of the season before he was sent to Triple-A.
The Brewers’ bullpen was one of the game’s best during the regular season, finishing with a 3.63 ERA, good for third in the NL. Abner Uribe has done an admirable job in the closer role since Trevor Megill was sidelined by injury (Megill is back for the postseason, though not closing).
Uribe threw two scoreless innings and picked up his first postseason save in Milwaukee’s Game 5 victory over Chicago.
The Brewers are the very definition of the phrase “sum greater than its parts.” On paper, the Dodgers would seem to have a significant advantage. But by this point, we should know better than to count Milwaukee out — even in the NLCS.
It will be the Dodgers’ star power and wealth of postseason experience vs. the Brewers’ “above-average Joes” who reeled off an MLB-best 97 victories in the regular season.
It should be a fascinating series and a real battle for the NL pennant. But in the end, the Dodgers find a way to get back to the World Series with a chance to become the first team in 25 years to repeat as champion.
