Milwaukee Brewers: David Phelps Shines Early with Crew

The addition of David Phelps flew a bit under the radar this offseason, but he has shined for the Milwaukee Brewers early on out of the bullpen.

The Milwaukee Brewers had quite a bit of roster turnover this past offseason, but to the chagrin of many fans, those additions didn’t include a big bat or a well established starting pitcher. Instead, it was several players on team-friendly deals who came with some question marks.

However, while we are only four games into the shortened 2020 season, relief pitcher David Phelps has shined in his two appearances, and he looks like someone that Craig Counsell and the Brewers can rely on heavily out of the bullpen this season.

From 2012 to 2017, Phelps spent time with the New York Yankees, Miami Marlins, and briefly, the Seattle Mariners. During that span, he posted a 3.89 ERA, a 3.88 FIP, and a WHIP of 1.320 over 553.2 innings pitched. Phelps’ best season came in 2016 with the Marlins, where he posted a 2.28 ERA and 11.8 strikeouts per nine over 86.2 innings pitched.

Unfortunately, Phelps would miss all of 2018 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but in limited action in 2019 with Toronto and Chicago, he was able to find some success once again with a 3.18 ERA in 34.1 innings pitched.

Phelps’ track record speaks for itself, and on a one year deal worth only $1.25 million, this signing could end up being a steal for the Brewers. President of Baseball Operations, David Stearns, was certainly excited about the acquisition when it took place (via MLB.com):

"“We look at David as someone who’s not too far removed from being one of the better relievers in this game,” Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “What happened in the interim was Tommy John surgery. Now, two years removed from that Tommy John, that’s generally a pretty good spot where pitchers can begin to really get that velocity back and get back to where they were previously.”"

With the Milwaukee Brewers, it’s, of course, been a small sample size up to this point, but an impressive start for Phelps nonetheless. In his first appearance against Chicago, he would give up one walk but faced the minimum three batters in his one inning pitched. While last night in Pittsburgh, Phelps went two innings, striking out three of the batters that he faced, and secured the win.

Counsell has this to say about Phelps after his performance against the Pirates:

"“What he featured tonight is really, really exciting. He’s got … um, guts, you know, too. There’s another word for that. But he just does. There’s a presence out there on the mound. No question about it.”"

Part of the reason for Phelps’ success over his career has been his excellent pitch mix, which keeps hitters off-balance. Most relievers are going to rely heavily on a pitch or two, but during the 2017 and 2019 seasons, Phelps threw his four-seamer, sinker, curve, and cutter all fairly consistently, while even mixing in a change-up occasionally, according to Brooks Baseball.

Coming into the 2020 season, we knew what Josh Hader, Corey Knebel, and Brent Suter could provide out of the bullpen, but it takes more than just three pitchers to be successful. If healthy, the addition of Phelps was hopefully going to provide some stability. And it certainly has early on.