Pitching as a reliever for only the seventh time in his career, Lance McCullers Jr. made his Milwaukee Brewers debut to a round of applause from a sellout AmFam Field crowd on Monday night against the New York Mets. He held them scoreless in his first two innings on the mound before giving up a double, a single, and an RBI groundout in the eighth to tarnish what otherwise would've been a perfect first outing in Milwaukee.
But that doesn't tell the full story, as McCullers deployed a wide arsenal of pitches to stun the Mets through two innings. He struck out Francisco Lindor with a gnarly cutter at 92 MPH before putting Brett Baty back on the bench with a strikeout knuckle curve and retiring Francisco Alvarez with a signature sweeper.
With four different pitch types on display and two frames of utter dominance, it's hard not to see why the Milwaukee Brewers bought low on the veteran pitcher. Although it's been hard for him to stay on the mound due to various injuries in recent years, Lance McCullers Jr. clearly still has what it takes to be one of the most impactful pitchers in the game.
The Milwaukee Brewers found the blueprint for how to deploy their latest addition, Lance McCullers Jr.
Although it wasn't as hefty a cost as it could've been, sending out Jadyn Fielder and cash considerations while taking on the remaining $2.5 million of McCullers' deal, the Brewers ultimately got a battle-tested, Playoff-proven pitcher for pennies on the dollar in this trade. If he's going to pitch as he did against the Mets, we might look back on this trade as an absolute fleece by Brewers POBO and GM Matt Arnold.
Let's be honest, though: McCullers' stats look rough on the season, with a 6.80 ERA and a losing record. But he's only appeared in nine games, which is only seven games less than he's appeared in the entire last three seasons of his pro career. There's still some rust to be shaken off, and he mentioned in his postgame media scrum that Milwaukee's expert pitching staff has already identified some key mechanical traits they can develop to get him back on track.
He also mentioned that he's willing to do whatever it takes to help contribute to the team — a refreshing outlook for a former All-Star and World Series Champion who could've had an ego over the situation. Whether he'll be a reliever for the long haul or just as a means of warming back up while the Brewers tend to injuries in the bullpen has yet to be revealed.
But with Brandon Woodruff missing the rest of the season, Milwaukee gravely needed a veteran calming presence to help them get through the home stretch of the regular season, and Lance McCullers Jr. is answering the call.
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