How Low Payroll Teams Are Dominating the MLB Playoffs

It’s October. For baseball enthusiasts like myself, there’s simply nothing else like it. Even if my beloved Red Sox failed to put up a fight once again. There’s just something about postseason baseball that reminds me of why I love America’s Pastime. The matchups. Big names going up against big names, all over the league. The tension hanging in the cool autumn night sky in ballparks across the country. Role players becoming cult heroes in an instant. There’s a uniquely romantic charm to playoff baseball, and this season, there seems to be something else that makes it special.

With all the talk about the Los Angeles Dodgers frivolous spending leading to a potential lockout, there’s one pattern that couldn’t help but catch my eye. Although the Dodgers and their high payroll have made it to the NLCS, the look around the league seems to be different. 

Despite the Dodgers 100-62 season, they didn’t actually come away with the best record in the league. That would belong to the Milwaukee Brewers, the Dodgers’ eventual NLCS opponent. The Brew Crew’s superb 103-59 record wasn’t only the best in baseball this season, but it was the best in their 57-year history.

There isn’t a single team that has a higher payroll than the Dodgers, but when it comes to the Brewers, there are an astonishing 18 teams that rank higher. In fact, four of the six last placed teams this year actually have higher payrolls than the Brewers.

When you look across the aisle to the American League, it’s a similar story. The ALCS will be contested between the Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays, both of whom rank in the bottom three payrolls in the MLB. Only the Miami Marlins have a smaller allocation than the 28th-ranked Rays, and 29th-ranked Guardians. Not only that, but the Dodgers are the only team that will be competing for a spot in the World Series who is above the average payroll of $183 million. It’s not just a one off. It’s not an anomaly. There’s a significant trend of teams having some of the best production in baseball with the smallest budgets. It begs the question as to why, but each team is different. 

Milwaukee Brewers - 103-59 Record (1st in MLB) | $142M Payroll (19th in MLB)

Let’s start with the Brewers, which is probably the most interesting case. Because if money is really ruining baseball, then how on earth does the team with the best record have a payroll that sits over $40 million below the league average? It’d be impossible to mention the Brew Crew without the name Jacob Misiorowski coming up. The 24-year-old enjoyed an impressive first full year in the big leagues, leading the MLB in both ERA and strikeouts. Misiorowski was selected by the Brewers as the 63rd overall pick in the 2022 draft. Although his career has been brief so far, the right hander is already being dubbed as a potential candidate for the Cy Young Award. 

Second baseman Brice Turang led the Brewers in WAR with 7.3, and the 2024 Gold Glove recipient was also a product of the Brewers draft room. Turang was chosen as the 21st overall pick of the 2018 draft, and made his big league debut for the Brewers on Opening Day in 2023, at the age of 23. The next highest WAR from a batter is Jackson Chourio’s 4.9. The 22-year-old Venezuelan signed with the Brewers as an international free agent in 2021, and has been one of the most exciting prospects in baseball since making his big league debut in 2024.

The bottom line is that the Brewers have incredible recruitment. When teams like the Mets and Yankees spend substantial amounts of money on big contracts to lure free agents, the Brewers prefer to build from the ground up. Turang and Misiorowski were selected as 21st and 63rd, respectively. Meaning that practically the entire league passed on who would eventually become the offensive and defensive core of the best team in baseball. Chourio was signed as a free agent at the age of 17, after being on the Brewers radar since he was 14. Of course hindsight is 20/20, but what matters here is that the Brewers put in the dirty work. They did the scouting when nobody else did. They gave their prospects time when other franchises may have not. What is perhaps most intriguing about the Brewers is that they have just one player (Jackson Chourio) appear in the top 25 ranking for regular season batting average this year. What this means is that although they have names that stick out, they’re just a good team. A strong, solid, deep, team. And they built it from the inside, and from the ground up.

Tampa Bay Rays - 98-64 Record (3rd in MLB) | $90M Payroll (28th in MLB)

The AL East was an absolute dogfight this season, and the Rays spent most of the time looking down on the carnage from pole position. Their 98 wins speak for themself, but their $90 million payroll is what raises a few eyebrows. How is it possible to play 162 games in what is arguably the hardest division in baseball, in which the Red Sox were spending over double as much, and the Yankees were spending over triple as much and come out on top? Not only in the division, but the Rays boasted the best record in the entire American League. Third baseman Junior Caminero has undoubtedly been the Rays’ star performer this season, and was acquired by the Rays from Cleveland in 2021, in an exchange that included pitcher Tobias Myers. Caminero spent the start of the 2022 season in the Rays’ Rookie League affiliate before being promoted to Single A later that same season, and making his big league debut in September of 2023. 

Caminero led the Rays in WAR with 5.7 this season, and his home run total of 42 was the fourth best in all of baseball. Other star performers for Tampa include starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen, who was also acquired in a trade. Rasmussen was dealt to the Gulf Coast from Minnesota in 2022, and posted a career ERA of 5.01 at the time. Fast forward to today, and his 2026 season, which included an All-Star selection, saw an ERA of 2.67, and a strikeout count of 174. Just like how Caminero had to prove himself in the minor leagues, Rasmussen had four full seasons with the Rays before putting up the numbers that he currently is. The Rays may not be as focused on draft picks like the Brewers, but their ability to identify a talented player that can fit their team, and develop them in house before other teams even catch in is second to none. Further proof that it isn’t all about throwing money at a problem, and hoping it goes away. 

Cleveland Guardians - 85-77 Record (11th in MLB) | $87M Payroll (29th in MLB)

And last, we have the Cleveland Guardians. The AL Central side clinched a playoff berth via a wild card spot. However that doesn’t seem to matter now, given they’ve made it all the way to the ALCS. And the fact that they’ve done it with less than a quarter of the payroll as the Los Angeles Dodgers is insanely intriguing. Starting pitcher Parker Messick has been a standout star for Cleveland, with his 193 strikeouts and 2.56 ERA warranting a maiden All Star selection, in what is the southpaw’s second season in the majors. Messick was drafted 54th overall by the Guardians in 2022. Standout hitter Steven Kwan was selected in the fifth round of the 2018 draft, and made his MLB debut in 2022. Kwan boasted an average of .282 this season, and a WAR of 5.3. It’s a similar story with other players who are part of Cleveland’s core. Outfielder Chase DeLauter was drafted 16th overall in 2022, and standout reliever Cade Smith was signed in 2021 after going undrafted in the 2020 draft. Once again, this is an example of players that were passed on by nearly everyone else becoming the heart of incredibly successful teams.

Of course, having money helps. It’d be ignorant to suggest otherwise. But, money isn’t everything. And if you can’t make good decisions on draft day or on the trade deadline, then what’s the point? As much as it’s easy to think that the Brewers, Rays, and Guardians would be even better if they had an influx of cash like the Dodgers, they seem to have found a formula that works. And it’s not a matter of getting a good draft pick and banking on that player – Misiorowski was selected 63rd overall, Parker Messick was 54th, and Cade Smith was undrafted.

Baseball is perhaps the hardest sport to succeed in, and no team accidentally wins the World Series. It’s a similar story off the field, and in the General Manager’s office. The Yankees throwing money at everything may have worked in the early 20th century, but times have changed, and the game has evolved. You can’t just outspend somebody, you have to outsmart them. And as long as organizations like the Brewers, Rays, and Guardians will be putting in the work discovering uncut gems and slowly but surely turning them into world class ballplayers- there will be an extra edge to finding success in Major League Baseball. 

Note: Payroll figures were taken from http://fangraphs.com. Numbers may vary site to site