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Milwaukee Brewers: Assessing starting rotation options

By Kenny Jilek

MILWAUKEE, WI - OCTOBER 05: Starting pitcher Jhoulys Chacin #45 of the Milwaukee Brewers throws in the fourth inning of Game Two of the National League Division Series against the Colorado Rockies at Miller Park on October 5, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI - OCTOBER 05: Starting pitcher Jhoulys Chacin #45 of the Milwaukee Brewers throws in the fourth inning of Game Two of the National League Division Series against the Colorado Rockies at Miller Park on October 5, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
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MILWAUKEE, WI – MAY 24: Zach Davies #27 of the Milwaukee Brewers pitches in the fourth inning against the New York Mets at Miller Park on May 24, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI – MAY 24: Zach Davies #27 of the Milwaukee Brewers pitches in the fourth inning against the New York Mets at Miller Park on May 24, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

The 2017 Rotation Staples

Along with a young trio of promising, yet slightly unproven pitchers, the Brewers have a trio of pitchers that were all essential to their success in 2017. Zach Davies won 17 games only 2 years ago, Chase Anderson was nicknamed “Chase the Ace” in the 2017 season and pitched well enough to be the opening day starter in 2018, and Jimmy Nelson was a promising young prospect in his own right not long ago and finished 9th in National League Cy Young voting in 2017. However, both Anderson and Davies didn’t make a start in the playoffs and Nelson was sidelined for the entire 2018 season.

Zach Davies

Zach Davies, the lovable, 155 pound, affectionately nicknamed “Bat Boy”. Even with that dainty frame, he managed to shoulder a huge workload for the Brewers pitching to a 17-9 record and 3.90 ERA in 191 1/3 innings while leading the league in starts with 33.

He got off to a rocky start in 2018 before a rotator cuff injury knocked him out of the rotation and a series of minor league rehab starts ensued. He only pitched 66 total innings for the Brewers in 2018 and only was on the NLCS roster after an injury to Gio Gonzalez.

Surprisingly, many of Davies stats other than ERA were slightly better in 2018 than his 17-win 2017 campaign. He saw an uptick in K/9 from 5.8 to 6.7 and K/BB ratio from 2.25 to 2.33 in 2018. He also managed to very slightly lower hits Hits/9 stat from 9.6 to 9.1 and WHIP from 1.35 to 1.33. Another encouraging sign for Davies that he can take into 2019 is the 1 scoreless inning he pitched in the NLCS in replacement of Gonzalez.

Zach Davies finds himself in a very unenviable position heading into Spring Training. Coming off of a rough year riddled with injuries he will have to prove himself. It will be a tough task for Davies and he will likely start the season in the Brewers’ bullpen but given the right opportunities, he could earn his spot back by the end of the season.

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