Milwaukee Brewers Roundtable: Offseason Review & 2020 Preview
By Paul Bretl
Who is an under the radar player that you think can have a big impact this season?
Matt: You may or may not remember him after he suffered a fluke knee injury in Spring Training that caused him to sit out all of 2019, but Bobby Wahl is someone who I think plays a big role at the back-end of the Brewers bullpen this year.
Wahl was healthy enough to attend Arizona Fall League last year and though he started off shaky, he finished by giving up one hit over his last four games while striking out seven. Wahl has a pitch profile that includes a high-90s fastball which is perfect for a setup man. The 2018 Brewers bullpen combo of Josh Hader, Jeremy Jeffress, and Corey Knebel to end games was lethal to other teams. Jeffress is the only member of that trio no longer here for 2020. I think Wahl is the one who fills that role this year.
Mike: I really believe that if healthy, Ryon Healy could be a massive success in Milwaukee. Still only 28, Healy had back to back 20 homer seasons playing in pitchers ballparks (Oakland and Seattle). The biggest issue with him is health as he battled a hip injury last season. If he’s good to go and back to form, he’s a dangerous hitter who can be slotted into the middle of the lineup and be a key run producer like Travis Shaw was his first two seasons in Milwaukee.
On the pitching side of things, don’t sleep on Bobby Wahl. The fire-balling right-hander was seen as a potential key piece of last year’s bullpen before he tore his ACL in Spring Training. When rehabbing in Arizona, Wahl also got to spend a lot of time with Corey Knebel, forming a bond and picking the All-Star’s brain about how to harness that electric fastball in a Major League setting. As long as that knee holds out, Wahl can be part of what might be the hardest throwing bullpen in baseball.
Kenny: Well, I tried this last year and it didn’t work out so I’ll go for it again. I think Corbin Burnes is set up for a big comeback this year. He’s been open about his struggles and it appears that he understands what went wrong in 2019.
He knows his slider and fastball were too similar and there wasn’t much change in pace. This year, look for him to continue to throw the slider at a high rate as it is one of the best in the league, but also incorporating a curveball a lot more often as well. Last year, he threw the curve only 8.1 percent of his pitches. This year, getting that up to the mid-teens would do a lot for throwing off hitters’ timing.