The Milwaukee Brewers land a diamond in the rough by signing Jhoulys Chacin, a move which could put them over the top in the NL Central.
The 2017 Milwaukee Brewers took MLB by storm, nearly dethroning the Chicago Cubs from their NL Central throne. However, down the stretch, the Brewers ran out of gas — due to their lack of experience — barely missing out on the postseason.
With a loaded and talented young lineup, a robust pitching arsenal, and the perfect manager in Craig Counsell, the Brewers are ready to take that next step in 2018.
The Milwaukee Brewers might have found that missing ingredient, locking up (former) San Diego Padres ace Jhoulys Chacin to a two-year, $15 million contract.
Jhoulys Chacin agrees to two-year, $15M deal with Brewers, per @Ken_Rosenthal, @JonHeyman pic.twitter.com/UKZq1hJUv8
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) December 21, 2017
Last season, Jhoulys Chacin logged 180 plus innings, sporting a 3.89 ERA, 153-72 K-to-walk ratio.
"His 20.0 percent strikeout rate was the second-highest mark of his career and the highest since his rookie season in 2010."
His 2017 numbers are especially impressive, due to the fact he had multiple starts both in Coors Field in Colorado and Chase Field in Arizona, which inflated his ERA a bit.
However, he did pitch the majority of his starts at Petco Park, a pitchers friendly park..
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Chacin’s slider rivals that as numerous All-Star Chris Sale. Sale’s slider produced 136 swings-and-misses in 2017 — Baseball Savant’s Statcast.
Chacin’s 139 whiffs on his slider were three more than Sale’s, ranking him twelfth best in all of MLB.
The Milwaukee Brewers didn’t pay an arm and a leg or even sell the farm in the process locking up a quality arm in Chacin. Low risk, high reward is precisely what the Doctor ordered for the Brew Crew.
Chacin’s asking price is far less than a Lance Lynn, Jake Arrieta, yet, he could be as productive or not more than any free agent on the market.
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If the Milwaukee Brewers can leapfrog the Chicago Cubs and hold off the surging St. Louis Cardinals in 2018, Jhoulys Chacin will be a significant reason why.