One Player With The Potential To Keep Brewers Fans Engaged

Heading into opening day the Milwaukee Brewers are without a true number one pitcher. Will somebody in the rotation develop into one? Or, is the future ace already in the organization?

In 2016, the Milwaukee Brewers pitching staff finished the season on a high note. Throughout the year’s second half, the staff ranked among the league’s best. With the success of Zach Davies, Junior Guerra and return of Willy Peralta, the group pitched their way to a 3.97 ERA in the season’s second half.

While this bodes well for 2017, there is no doubt that the Brewers are lacking a true number one starter. The team had hoped Jimmy Nelson and Willy Peralta would be options 1A and 1B for years to come but their inconsistencies cast doubt on the plan.

The story of Zach Davies will continue to revolve around his ability to overcome a small stature. Coming off a year in which he finished 11-7 with a 3.97 ERA, it will be interesting to see how teams adjust after facing him for nearly a full season. Ideally, the Brewers would love to slot Davies as the third starter in their rotation. If they arrive at this point, it would be a great sign that the team is ready to compete.

For this to take place, the team would need to acquire or develop an ace. One option is already in the system and may pitch in Milwaukee sometime this year. According to MLB Pipeline, Josh Hader is ranked as the #1 left-handed pitching prospect in all of baseball. Columnist Jonathan Mayo had this to say about Hader,

"“Once upon a time, some felt Hader was destined to land in the bullpen. That talk has quieted as his stuff and command of it have improved. Hader has struck out 10.3 batters per nine innings throughout his Minor League career and should be ready to miss big league bats at some point during the 2017 season.”"

Now entering their second full season of the rebuild, the Brewers will soon begin the juggling act of transitioning from rebuilding to being competitive. At this point, David Stearns has won over the fans with how rapidly he built up the farm system. This should not be taken for granted as the process involved trading fan favorites such as Carlos Gomez and Jonathan Lucroy.

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In its current state, the Brewers are still a long shot to be competitive in 2017. Aside from Ryan Braun, the team is made up of talented but un-established players. And despite late season improvements from the pitching staff, it is not unreasonable to think the team could regress this season.

Through this waiting period, Josh Hader has the most ability to affect fan sentiment. If he succeeds, Brewers fans will remain hopeful even if the teammates aside him struggle. In recent history, Milwaukee has shown how excited they get about having an ace pitcher. Former Brewer, Ben Sheets brought out big crowds every time he pitched. This trend continued with both CC Sabathia and Zack Greinke.

While winning is the ultimate goal of the organization, the process of building from the ground up takes time and experience. And in baseball, this is nearly impossible to circumvent. In a perfect world, teams with highly rated farm systems would be locks for eventual post-season runs. But we know the playoffs are no guarantee, especially with Brewers budget limitations. Being located in a small market means David Stearns isn’t afforded any shortcuts. If his decisions don’t work out, cash won’t fix the problem, only time and experience.

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With fans having proved their loyalty by consistently filling Miller Park, the Brewers have the potential to excite the fan base with the arrival of Josh Hader. His eventual promotion will steady the franchise as it navigates through the early stages of a rebuild. Should he find success, Hader will anchor the pitching staff for many years and replace Ryan Braun as the team’s most popular player.

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