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The Brewers are looking for an NL Central repeat in 2024 -- but this year's club will have a much different look than the one that won the division in 2023.

Corbin Burnes might be with the Orioles now, and Brandon Woodruff might be out for the season, but four of the core stars that drove Milwaukee's postseason run last year will still be the leaders of the team on Opening Day 2024: left fielder Christian Yelich, catcher William Contreras, shortstop Willy Adames and now-ace Freddy Peralta. A fifth, closer Devin Williams, will be back in the summer, ideally just in time for a second-half playoff push.

But if first-year manager Pat Murphy's Brew Crew is going to contend in a division that could be much more competitive this season, the next wave of players is going to have to step up -- from heralded prospect Jackson Chourio, to new slugger Rhys Hoskins, to electric young left-hander DL Hall, to up-and-coming returners like Sal Frelick and Brice Turang.

It's far from a guarantee, but the Brewers do have the pieces to win the Central again. Here's a preview of the team's outlook for 2024.

What needs to go right? Players have to seize their opportunities

Peralta is no longer waiting in the wings behind Burnes and Woodruff; he needs to be a No. 1, and ideally reach the goal he's set for himself of becoming a 200-inning workhorse. Hoskins is on a new team after missing all of 2023; he needs to prove he's still the 30-plus-homer hitter who can anchor the middle of an order. Someone needs to emerge as a reliable closer while Williams recovers from the stress fractures in his back. Promising pitchers like Hall need to prove they can pitch valuable innings. Young players like Frelick, Turang, Blake Perkins and Joey Wiemer need to take steps forward with playing time up for grabs -- especially after Monday's news that Garrett Mitchell suffered a fractured left hand just before Opening Day. And Chourio needs to stay calm through the hype and show the Brewers he belongs in The Show.

Great unknown: Who's getting the wins -- and the saves?

The Brewers have a lot of important innings to fill in 2024, all across their pitching staff. Peralta is stepping into the ace role for the first time -- how will he handle leading the rotation? Behind him, there are even more innings up for grabs in the rotation, especially since No. 2 Wade Miley won't be ready to start the season -- can Hall, Colin Rea, Joe Ross and Jakob Junis eat those innings? And Milwaukee needs someone to lock down the ninth inning until Williams returns -- does Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe or Joel Payamps (or all three) have what it takes?

The team MVP will be … William Contreras

The 26-year-old is already one of the best all-around catchers in the Major Leagues, and he's hungry to establish himself as the very best at his position. Contreras is coming off a season in which he batted .289 with 17 home runs, 78 RBIs and a 125 OPS+, while also being one of just three catchers to rank as a top-10 framer and blocker by Statcast's defensive metrics. By wins above replacement (WAR), Contreras was the most valuable player in the NL Central last season, and the most valuable catcher in all of baseball, ahead of even Baltimore's Adley Rutschman. If he's this good again in 2024 -- or, somehow, even better -- Contreras might not just be the Brewers' MVP, he could be in the NL MVP conversation.

The team Cy Young will be … Freddy Peralta

Hall would be the most exciting pick -- and he has the dominant stuff to turn into an MLB ace, which is how the Brewers are talking about his future -- but Peralta has proven what he can do for Milwaukee. Over the last three seasons, since he joined the starting rotation, Peralta has a 3.41 ERA and 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings. He's been an All-Star, and he just broke the 200-strikeout mark for the first time. With any luck, the 200-inning mark will be next in 2024, but even if he doesn't reach that, Peralta is still projected for an ERA in the mid-3s and in the range of 200 K's.

Bold prediction: Chourio goes 20-20

Chourio, MLB's No. 2 overall prospect, played his way onto the Opening Day roster, and now it's time for the 20-year-old phenom to show the hype is justified. Chourio plays a power-speed game like Ronald Acuña Jr. and Julio Rodríguez. He just had 22 home runs and 44 stolen bases in the Minors as a 19-year-old -- which looks a lot like the 21-homer, 44-steal season Acuña had when he was 19 in the Minors in 2017, just before he debuted in 2018 with 26 homers and 16 steals and won NL Rookie of the Year. Chourio has what it takes to follow in Acuña's footsteps. He could easily end up in the 2024 Rookie of the Year mix.