Milwaukee Brewers: A bullpen Wild Card game

The season is definitely not over yet, but the Milwaukee Brewers could always do something different for game 163 if it comes their way.

The Milwaukee Brewers are in a battle with five other teams to get in the playoffs. Right now they are in game 163 if the season ended today. The Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks and of course the Brewers are all fighting for a spot (One team will be out because someone has to win the NL West). Let’s just say the Brewers do earn one of those two spots. Who is going to pitch in that game?

The Brewers rotation has been a pleasant surprise. Throughout the season the rotation has been effective. The “ace” of the crew is offseason acquisition Jhoulys Chacin. He has put up great stats and almost every start, gives the Brewers a chance to win.

The rest of the rotation has been up and down, but have worked well. Freddy Peralta has shown a lot of potential. Chase Anderson has had troubles with the long ball, but has improved. Wade Miley has quietly become one of the biggest surprises in the MLB. Junior Guerra had a good first half, but has taking a tremendous fall. It’s an odd starting five, but it has helped the Brewers fight for a playoff spot.

No matter what people say, the Brewers rotation has been good. But if you look at that rotation, there isn’t someone you know will one hundred percent give you a quality start. There could of course be an argument for Chacin, but just think about this. Why not give the ball to a few players?

This season, the Tampa Bay Rays have gone out of the box and have had bullpen games. Have four to five pitchers throw a full game. Two to three innings a piece. And I think this should be thought about for the most important game of the season. This tactic has surprisingly worked for the Rays. Why not try it?

The Game Plan

Just imagine this. It’s game 163. First you have the rookie Corbin Burnes throw a few innings. It would be a bold move to give the rookie the ball in a big game like this, but he has starting experience and has been effective all year. His fastball sits in the mid nineties and has a disgusting curveball. Say he gives up a run or two. Stil keeps them in the game.

After three innings of Burnes, then you throw in Josh Hader. The young stud has been dominant most of the season. His ERA has been sitting in the low two’s and has a mid-90s fastball with a nasty slider that looks like it goes from the left handed batters box to the right handed batters box. He gives you three quality innings. Something he’s done all of 2018.

We head to the seventh inning. Now here comes Joakim Soria. A pitcher that came to the Crew around the trade deadline and has made this bullpen even stronger. His ERA has been in the ones for almost the whole season, but a bad outing changed that. Either way, he’s been effective and has become of Counsell’s go-to’s. He’s not a multiple inning guy so you let him pitch one.

It’s the eighth inning. And who do you go to? None other than Jeremy Jeffress. If you look down that roster, no one wants the ball more than him. He has taken control of the closers role and hasn’t disappointed. His mean mug intimidates hitters and so do all of his pitches. His fastball, curveball, and splitter have helped him earn an All-Star appearance. And will hopefully throw two scoreless to lead them to a playoff berth.

Here is a more organized look:

SP Corbin Burnes: 3 innings

RP: Josh Hader: 3 Innings

RP: Joakim Soria: 1 Inning

CP: Jeremy Jeffress: 2 Innings

Explanation

This is an “if” situation, but it’s fun to talk about it. So here’s why they should do it. This bullpen has been dominant most of the season. The rotation is strong, but the bullpen is stronger. The risk they have to take is only having a one day break in between if they win, but it may be worth it. Use your four best arms for the biggest game of the year. If someone isn’t doing good that day, that’s fine. The Brewers would have eight to nine other guys in that ‘pen that could get outs(Cedeno, Barnes, Knebel, Woodruff, Jennings, Lyles). It may be different, but the Brewers have to find a way to end this playoff drought.