LOS ANGELES — For the third time in nine years, the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers will meet in the National League Championship Series, with Milwaukee looking to get past the well-funded Dodgers in the hills of Los Angeles. On paper, Los Angeles is not as strong as the past two seasons when it won back-to-back World Series titles. The starting rotation remains formidable, as good as any in recent years, but Shohei Ohtani is banged up, key lineup contributors are a year older and questions remain about the bullpen.
At catcher, Milwaukee holds a slight edge. William Contreras posted 2.9 bWAR with a 108 OPS+ and 18 home runs, though his OPS+ was his worst in five seasons with more than 52 games. He closed strong, hitting .292/.359/.562 over his final 23 games and going 6-for-16 (.375) with two homers against the San Diego Padres in the Division Series. Backup Gary Sanchez added 0.6 bWAR, a 112 OPS+ and 12 homers, hitting .238/.366/.436 against left-handed pitching with a career-best 16.7% walk rate that showed in his ninth-inning at-bat against Mason Miller in NLDS Game 2 on Sunday. Los Angeles counters with Will Smith, who had 1.7 bWAR, a 115 OPS+ and 10 homers in just 73 games after an inflamed disc in his neck sidelined him for nearly three months. Smith, 31, returned Sept. 1 and hit .290/.400/.548 in the final month but went 1-for-16 in the NLDS. Hunter Feduccia, acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays at the trade deadline as a third-string option, is the emergency backup with Dalton Rushing sidelined by an elbow injury and off the NLDS roster after posting 0.5 bWAR, a 75 OPS+ and 1 homer.
First base also tilts slightly toward Milwaukee. The Brewers platoon of Jake Bauers (3.3 WAR, 140 OPS+, 26 HR) and Andrew Vaughn (1.5 WAR, 130 OPS+, 6 HR) was among the most productive in the majors. Bauers finished seventh among qualified National League hitters in OPS+, while Vaughn posted his best season by rate stats over 331 plate appearances. Vaughn was used strictly as a pinch hitter against San Diego and got only two plate appearances, though he could start against Los Angeles lefties. The Dodgers have Freddie Freeman (2.7 WAR, 118 OPS+, 16 HR), who remains on a first-ballot Hall of Fame track but turned 37 and posted his lowest WAR and worst OPS+ since age 22 in 2012. Freeman still played 153 games and hit .288/.362/.430 with 32 doubles, and homered twice against his former team in the NLDS.
At second base, Milwaukee has a clear advantage. Brice Turang was the league's best second baseman in 2026 by a comfortable margin, posting 7.3 WAR with a 124 OPS+ and 21 homers while providing elite defense and strong baserunning. Los Angeles will rely on Tommy Edman (1.6 WAR, 97 OPS+, 8 HR) and Miguel Rojas (0.8 WAR, 93 OPS+, 4 HR) at the position. The early position breakdowns favor Milwaukee on the infield dirt, but Los Angeles brings championship experience and a top-end rotation into a series where recent form may not hold.