Heading into the regular season, this was one of the first years as a lifelong fan I didn’t have playoff aspirations for the Brewers. I knew it’d be tough replacing Willy Adames in the clubhouse and in the lineup, the departure of Devin Williams was tough, and so many injuries in Spring Training gave me little hope. But after seeing these first 10 games and the resilience of this roster, I believe we can still win the NL Central.
It was obviously going to be a tough April after Curt Hogg published the Brewers opening day roster. On the injured list (IL) section, you see starting pitchers Brandon Woodruff, DL Hall, Robert Gasser and Tobias Myers each started the season on the IL along with relief pitcher Nick Mears and outfielder Blake Perkins, which meant our depth was going to be tested early. Little did we know it’d only get worse.
Starting pitchers Aaron Civale and Nestor Cortes have since joined them on the IL after struggling early in the season with injuries, and also No.6 prospect per MLB Pipeline Tyler Black injured his hip, adding to the already long injured list for Milwaukee.
The Milwaukee Brewers are 5-5 at the time of writing this, and if everyone’s recovery goes along with their timetable, there are even brighter days upon this team. Fielding will improve when Perkins is back, the rotation is going to look completely different and Mears return soon should bolster an already great pen.
Recently coming off their 11th straight series win against the Cincinnati Reds, momentum is picking up for the Brew Crew. Pitchers like Tyler Alexander and Chad Patrick are stepping up massively in a time of desperation, especially in that series.
Milwaukee’s farm system and ability to get the most out of pitchers have stood tall through thick and thin so far. Alexander last season had a 5.0 ERA with the Tampa Bay Rays and Patrick’s playing in his first Major League Baseball season.
They’ve already used 15 different pitchers in nine games, and it’s safe to say that’s thanks to a rough Spring Training. It seems the Brewers prepared for this; according to fangraphs.com, the team brought in four new starters in the offseason. Which I assume was to prepare for the long first month of the season.
Jose Quintana, who was one of the offseason pitching acquisitions, should be ready for the majors soon. Mears has been pitching in Nashville after a recent rehab assignment, before he is eligible to come off the IL April 8, according to mlb.com.
During the process of writing this column the Milwaukee Brewers added even more starting pitching depth to supplement the mass amount of injuries that have occurred.
“Milwaukee made a trade Monday for 24-year-old right-hander Quinn Priester, sending its No. 7 prospect per MLB Pipeline, outfielder Yophery Rodriguez, to the Red Sox plus a draft pick in Competitive Balance Round A and a player to be named,” Brewers beat writer Adam McCalvy broke on mlb.com.
Which to me comes as no surprise. The package Milwaukee is sending out shocks me, but I understand. The Brewers desperately need innings eaters and should be able to get the best out of Priester with some time in the pitching lab. Priester has yet to pitch an inning this season in the majors, but last season had a 4.71 earned run average in 49.2 innings and was previously ranked 60th on MLB Pipeline’s list of top prospects as recently as 2023, so there’s something there.
Brewers general manager Matt Arnold said on mlb.com that the team’s scouts have liked Priester since his high school days. The move wasn’t just for the now, but also for the future.
More pitchers will be joining Mears, Priester and Quintana on the pitching staff if everything goes to plan, and the Milwaukee Brewers will get better, or should I say healthier.
If Milwaukee stays near the top of the NL Central while they get healthy, don’t be shocked when they’re celebrating the club’s fourth division title in the last five years.
