Milwaukee Brewers: Jimmy Nelson likely out for 2018

Well, Milwaukee Brewers fans, the injury update we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived.

Unfortunately, it’s not what we had all hoped for. It seems that Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Jimmy Nelson is unlikely to take the mound in the Big Leagues during this season. Although disappointing, this news is of relatively no surprise as Nelson has yet to even embark on a rehab assignment.

However, this is bad news for a rotation that’s already missing Zach Davies. Jhoulys Chacin has been a refreshing surprise for the rotation during this season and Wade Miley has been adequate in his recent starts. The thought of Nelson rejoining the rotation for the stretch run was an exciting hope.

It’s unfortunate that we won’t see Nelson with the Brewers this season. The big right-hander finally broke out during last season and looked destined to lead this rotation into the future. Unfortunately, a headfirst slide back into first base during last season has ruined that for this season.

Now I’m not about to start any debate about whether the National League should adopt the designated hitter, they shouldn’t by the way. However, I do think pitchers need to be smarter about when and how they slide. Chase Anderson hit his head on the plate while sliding into home earlier this season. Nothing bad happened but he easily could have sustained a concussion.

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The out that Nelson prevented is not worth him missing the next calendar year. Nelson was just beginning to scratch the surface of his potential before the injury. However, we won’t know if Nelson can continue his 2017 performance until next season.

Let’s take a look at his performance

Nelson was the Milwaukee Brewers ace during the 2017 season. Anderson was really good for The Crew but Nelson just had something different. Nelson had been teasing Brewers fans with his potential until everything clicked during last season.

The 29-year-old finished 12-6 while starting 29 games last season. He had a 3.49 earned run average with 199 strikeouts and 48 walks across 175 1/3 innings pitched. His 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings easily set a career high while his 2.5 walks per nine innings tied for a career best.

Even more important than what he did statistically was the presence he brought to the mound every time out. Nelson is a beast of a man, 6’6″ 250 pounds, and an imposing figure when he toes the rubber. Furthermore, he attacks hitter with a bulldogs intensity and always brings a ton of energy for the team to feed off of.

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Although his presence has surely been missed during this season, there’s always next year. Nelson is possibly the biggest piece to the puzzle for the future of the Milwaukee Brewers.

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