Original Story Published By Ryan Pollak On Brewer Fanatic (4/25/24).
MILWAUKEE — While Wade Miley, DL Hall and Jakob Junis landing on the injured list, what can the Brewers do to better the starting rotation for the short term?
There was a time when the Brewers couldn’t decide who would be in their starting rotation. Freddy Peralta, Wade Miley, and Colin Rea were all locks to earn their places. The rest could’ve been decided between Joe Ross, Jakob Junis, Aaron Ashby, DL Hall, Janson Junk and Robert Gasser — six names for two vacancies.
By April 22, the Brewers didn’t even have a set rotation for three-quarters of a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. This is all thanks to their ever-growing injured list. With Junis, Hall and now Miley all on the 15-day injured list, the Brewers seem to be running out of options.
The Brewers don’t have another off day until May 2. What can they do to stay afloat in the meantime? Let’s take a look at what avenues they can explore while they try to get healthy.
Of the names listed above, Peralta, Rea and Ross are the only ones who are currently healthy and on the MLB roster. Peralta has proven to the team and the league that he is a potential Cy Young candidate. In four starts, he currently has a 1.90 ERA, with 33 strikeouts, 4 walks and a 0.76 WHIP over 23 2/3 innings. While Fastball Freddy still has his fastball, his slider has really matured, becoming his next reliable pitch with a 48.9% whiff rate. Might be time to get a new nickname for the ace
Rea has continued his successful starting pitching from last season. He isn’t one for strikeouts (14), but he has a shiny 2.08 ERA and a solid 1.29 WHIP in 21 2/3 innings. There are concerns about his opponent slash line (.253/.309/.356), and his fly ball percentage is the highest it’s ever been (28.8%). His two favorite pitches have led to 18 hits in 50 at-bats, a .360 batting average. He’s getting away with it now, but some regression does seem to be looming ahead.
Ross is an interesting final piece, as skipper Pat Murphy has always had confidence in the pitcher. Before this season, the last time Ross saw the big leagues was 2021, as part of the Washington Nationals. Ross is currently carrying a 4.05 ERA, with a 1-2 record and a 1.55 WHIP. He is striking out around eight batters per nine innings and has a 50.8% ground-ball percentage, according to Baseball Savant. He isn’t a superstar, but he has shown he can get the job done as a back half of the rotation starter.
The Brewers have already given Bryse Wilson a pair of spot starts. He has starting experience, as part of the Atlanta Braves and the Pittsburgh Pirates. He’s neither stretched out to a traditional starter’s workload, nor a well-rounded enough hurler to work deep into games, but he’s given the team eight solid innings in those two starts and could make another handful of such appearances this season.
Tobias Myers made his major-league debut Tuesday, and he didn’t disappoint. He did get a rude welcome to the bigs, thanks to former Brewer Andrew McCutchen sending his first pitch over the wall. However, the 25-year-old right-hander struck out four batters in five innings, in a game that (on almost any other day) could’ve led to his first career win.
For the next couple of days, the Crew are set. Peralta will be on the hill for the series finale, and both he and Rea will be available on a full five days’ rest this time through the rotation. But with the Crew eight days away from their next off day, what could we see from the rotation going forward?
The Brewers could continue to use this rotation, where there will be four starters and a bullpen day. However, if any of the regular starters have a bad outing, the bullpen could be burned out before their spot in the rotation. It might be best to find a fifth regular for the time being.
Murphy mentioned the possibility of Robert Gasser making his major-league debut. However, he is just returning from the minor-league injured list with a bone spur in his left elbow. If it happens, it won’t be until next week, as he pitched four solid innings for the Sounds Wednesday. Gasser did have his best fastball in that outing, though, suggesting that he might be out of the woods (for now) in terms of his arm trouble. Gasser is the highest-upside short-term answer.
Back in spring training, Murphy hinted at the possibility of seeing Gasser in Milwaukee sooner rather than later. With Hall and Miley both on the injured list, the Brewers do lack a left-handed arm in the rotation. If he impresses at the major-league level, we might be seeing a lot more of Robert Gasser going forward.
The big drawback with Gasser (beyond the fact that they need to see how he bounces back from that first outing for Nashville) is that he’s not yet on the 40-man roster. Aaron Ashby is, and he made a start earlier this season, but it wasn’t the start the Brewers were hoping for. Ashby only got through 3 2/3 innings, allowing six hits and four earned runs. That doesn’t exactly scream masterclass, but the Brewers have invested for multiple years in the former fourth-rounder, and Ashby will get another shot this year, one way or another.
Given that Ashby is also struggling with the Nashville Sounds (9.28 ERA and 2.16 WHIP), though, the organization might prefer to call up another arm who’s enjoyed more success. Although Janson Junk isn’t a lefthander, he has been a little more successful at the Triple-A level.
Junk was one of the three arms acquired in the Hunter Renfroe trade back in November 2022. He did have a few appearances in 2023, but those weren’t entirely impressive. In 7 1/3 innings, Junk struck out five batters with a 4.91 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. In four outings this season for Nashville, Junk has a 4.70 ERA, a 1.43 WHIP and a .246 opponent batting average. It hasn’t opened enough eyes to get him another shot in MLB, but he made a good impression on the team this spring and (again, being already on the 40-man roster) has a clear path to such an opportunity.
The Brewers had the injury bug during the season last year. What they ended up doing was adding Julio Teherán, who signed a minor-league deal with the Padres and opted out of the deal in early May. Teherán wasn’t a world-beater, but he was a good stand-in while the likes of Miley, Brandon Woodruff and others were recovering from injuries.
There aren’t any great options available this spring, but they just need someone who can fill in and pitch here or there. While there are tweets out there that have suggested the return of Zack Greinke, perhaps a player like Noah Syndergaard makes the most sense.
According to Sports Illustrated a few months ago, Syndergaard received multiple minor-league offers this offseason. If he’s stayed in shape, perhaps the Brewers could offer him a major-league offer and give him a chance. The last time we saw Syndergaard pitch in the big leagues was with the Cleveland Guardians, after he was traded from the Los Angeles Dodgers last summer. The season was not kind to him, with a 2-6 record, a 6.50 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP in 18 starts. But he isn’t that far removed from a season wherein he made 24 starts with a 3.94 ERA. The Brewers have been great at developing and revitalizing the careers of pitchers. Maybe they can get themselves a Norse God in Syndergaard.
If they still prefer a southpaw, Matthew Boyd is still available. Like Thor, Boyd had quite the inauspicious 2023 season. In 15 starts, he had a 5-5 record with a 5.45 ERA, 9.3 strikeouts per nine, and a 1.32 WHIP.
Back in 2019, though, Boyd struck out 238 batters and maintained a 1.23 WHIP. He does have a bit of a home run problem, allowing a 162-game average of 31 home runs. His career 4.94 ERA doesn’t inspire confidence, either. But the Brewers don’t need to find an ace. They just need someone to get by while their best guys heal up for the eventual home stretch.
While Miley, Hall, and Junis all are on the injured list, the Crew are going to have to find someone to fill the void. They have a bunch of options available to them. The system they have now with Wilson and Myers works, in a limited way. But with Miley’s looking like a long (or even permanent) absence, they might need to come up with another solution. While all signs point to an eventual Gasser call-up, you can’t rule out other in-house moves, or even free agency.
