Dairyland Express
Fansided

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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
7 of 10
Next

Chase Anderson

Chase Anderson had an extremely productive 2017 season posting a 2.74 ERA and 12-4 record. This earned him the Opening Day starting job in 2018 only 1 year ago. He disappointed in this role and was eventually kicked from his spot in the rotation down the stretch in favor of bullpen games to exploit matchups after giving up a league-leading 30 home runs.

Anderson would love to have a recovery season in 2019. Even with all the home runs he gave up, he still managed to compete his way to a 3.89 ERA for the season. This is surely worthy of a spot in the 2019 rotation. But what makes him susceptible to giving up hard contact and home runs?

For starters, he did not have a reliable swing-and-miss pitch in 2018 with none of his 5 pitches over 30% whiff% when he had his curve and his changeup over that mark in 2017. His 4-seam fastball was the culprit of 15 of his home runs in 2018 but he also threw it 40.8% of the time. The real trouble pitch was his sinker which he only threw 12.5% of the time but gave up 7 of his 30 home runs which is 23% of them. If he can limit the ball flying out of the park on his power pitches and get his offspeed stuff to work more effectively for strikeouts he can return to his 2017 form.

Getting four pitches to all be better is easier said than done and Anderson goes into 2019 in a much different situation than 2018, now fighting an uphill climb against rising stars. Still, he has given this team reliable seasons, pitching over 140 innings in each of his three seasons in Milwaukee, and he deserves to be a leg up on the young guys for a spot in this rotation. He is only 26 years old so he has plenty of time left in his prime and potential to improve.  He will go into Spring Training ready to compete and it will be completely up to him whether he earns the spot or not.

Home/Milwaukee Brewers