With the 2018 MLB Season and NLCS now just a past experience, the Milwaukee Brewers GM David Stearns takes over the team’s bright future. He left himself an impressive bank of resources to use this offseason to create the best possible roster for Manager Craig Counsell.
The Milwaukee Brewers lost very few of their prospects in midseason trades and their team is mostly young and controllable anyway.
The team has so many resources and options that it would be rather futile to cover them all before Stearns announces a strategy or one gradually unveils itself as the offseason progresses.
One place that is a little easier to make some exciting progressions is the pitching staff.
Milwaukee Brewers: Opening Day Roster Questions to MLB Playoffs NLCS
Very few prognosticated a Brewers MLB playoffs run leading into the 2018 season. Milwaukee’s Opening Day starter was Chase Anderson. Counsell did not expect to get his 2017 Ace pitcher, Jimmy Nelson, back until at least the All-Star break—turns out he never returned at all.
David Stearns provided Counsell with some journey-man starters to compete for spots in the rotation. Former Brewers star Yovani Gallardo did not make the roster.
Jhoulys Chacin signed a two-year contract and lefty Wade Miley got injured.
However, Stearns still would not make what he considered was an overpay for 2017-18 free agent starters such as Yu Darvish and Alex Cobb.
Anderson reverted back to his 2016 ways and led the league in homers allowed most of the season.
Meanwhile, the Brewers bullpen saw its ups and downs. The downs included Counsell and Stearns decision to send 2017-18 closer Corey Knebel down to the minors to work through his 2018 struggles after a hamstring injury.
Finesse throwers Zach Davies and Brent Suter filled out the Milwaukee Brewers starting rotation on the Opening Day roster. They suffered injuries throughout the 2018 season.
I do not know if Brewers GM Stearns and Manager Counsell already had a vision at the beginning of the year, but the development of the team’s pitching staff over 2018 was miraculous.
Counsell spun that mediocre sounding circumstances of arms into a NL best record and a run in the MLB Playoffs all the way to the NLCS Game 7.
Milwaukee Brewers: Stearns Acquires Gems For 2018 Season, MLB Playoffs – NLCS
Two of Milwaukee Brewers GM Stearns’s educated guesses for the rotation more than worked out. I doubt even the Brewers talent evaluators foresaw the consistency of Chacin or the effort of Miley when he was not on the disabled list.
Chacin had a reputation for his slider that preceded him because of its mighty spin rate. But, FanGraphs ranked it the sixth best pitch in all of 2018. Not many thought quite that much of Chacin’s arsenal.
Wade Miley helped the Brewers with a money pitch of his own. His development was even more out of left-field…ignore the bad pun.
Miley had little success in his MLB career until he increased his use of the cutter. According to Wade Miley, it came out in the middle of a game.
"“Just made it up in the middle of a game. Swear to God,” Miley insisted. “[…] I kept doing the same thing and expecting a different result and finally I was just like, ‘I’ve got to make an adjustment.’ That’s what I came up with.”"
Miley might not return to the Milwaukee Brewers staff in 2019 because he has earned a payday and is heading into free agency.
Chacin, however, will be under Brewers control for 2019.
Milwaukee Brewers: Pitchers Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes, and Freddy Peralta Breakout On National Stage
Woodruff, Burnes and Peralta received good reviews as minor leaguers, but none of them ever made the front pages of scouting books like others.
However, they turned heads in the regular season and especially during the MLB Playoffs and NLCS.
Freddy Peralta began his career with an emotional and empowering start in Coors Field during the season. Woodruff and Burnes pitched well in the Minors.
Then, the threesome made all the scouts look ridiculous for not talking more about them by neutralizing the experienced power bats of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2018 MLB Playoffs NLCS.
Hall of Fame pitcher and NLCS TV announcer John Smoltz gushed about the skills of Woodruff who even hit a home run off of future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw to go along with his excellent pitching outings.
Milwaukee Brewers: Bullpen Could Feed Off Starting Rotation Leftovers
The Milwaukee Brewers will control Hader, Jeffress, and Knebel heading into 2018. They also have veteran Matt Albers and young flamethrower Taylor Williams under contract.
Joakim Soria has a $10M mutual option with a $1M buyout for 2019.
Consider a pitching staff that looks something like this after competing for spots during 2019 Spring Training.
Potential 2019 Milwaukee Brewers Starting Rotation
- (Acquired Ace)
- Jhoulys Chacin
- Jimmy Nelson
- Brandon Woodruff
- Freddy Peralta
Potential 2019 Milwaukee Brewers Bullpen
- Closer – Corey Knebel
- 2 innings every 2 days 2-headed monster – Josh Hader, Corbin Burnes
- Starting Pitcher’s Closer – Jeremy Jeffress
- Other arms – Matt Albers, Taylor Williams, (free agent Lefty specialist or Xavier Cedeno)
Milwaukee Brewers Quality Arms Also In the Picture
- Chase Anderson
- Kyle Davies
- Brent Suter
- Junior Guerra
- Jacob Barnes
This picture shows the deep set of arms David Stearns and Craig Counsell can use for the Milwaukee Brewers 2019 roster or as trade chips for something bigger and better.
So what do you think? Could the Milwaukee Brewers be just that one piece away from a dominant staff from top to bottom in 2019? Comment below!