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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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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – AUGUST 22: Jimmy Nelson #52 of the Milwaukee Brewers pitches against the San Francisco Giants in the first inning at AT&T Park on August 22, 2017 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – AUGUST 22: Jimmy Nelson #52 of the Milwaukee Brewers pitches against the San Francisco Giants in the first inning at AT&T Park on August 22, 2017 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Jimmy Nelson

Jimmy Nelson is someone that all Brewers fans would love to see have a great comeback season in 2019. When he is on his game he has the power to electrify 40,000+ fans into a frenzy with a passionate yawp as he comes off the mound after a strikeout to and the inning late in a game. His 6’6″ 250 pound frame strikes fear into hitters and makes him the inning-eating horse to give the bullpen a rest every five days that the Brewers were missing last season. He racked up over 170 innings in each of his seasons from 2015-17

Nelson relies on four pitches: Sinker, 4-seam fastball, curveball, and slider. He also has a changeup that he throws almost exclusively to lefties (62 of his 67 changeups to lefties) that is effective for him at a .214 opponent average. His curve and slider have been his out pitches with K% of 42.5 and 33.9% in 2017.

It was a shame to see an injury end what had been such a great 2017 season for Nelson when his last few scheduled starts in September could have made the difference in the Brewers’ playoff push. His 3.49 ERA was second best of the starters behind only Chase “The Ace” Anderson and his 4.15 K/BB ratio was good for 6th in the National League.

For those worried about the state of his shoulder, he put any concerns to rest in a recent report in Rotoworld.

"Jimmy Nelson (shoulder) said Sunday that he will enter spring training without any limitations. Not only does Nelson “absolutely” expect to be on the Brewers’ Opening Day roster, he said that “one of my goals is to start Opening Day.”"

Starting on Opening Day may be a little ambitious coming off of an injury that kept him out for an entire season. He is a determined pitcher, though, and having never pitched in the playoffs will, no doubt, motivate him to help the team succeed in 2019. I believe Nelson will be in the rotation opening day and he has a chance to be the ace to shut down playoff teams that everyone has been searching for elsewhere.

Speaking of elsewhere…

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