Reviewing the Brew Round-table: The fifth starting pitcher

When it comes to the Milwaukee Brewers’ starting rotation next year, the one question they’ll face is who will help solidify it? After the disasters the starters faced for a good chunk of this season, clearly the team has to have an idea of where to go from here.

With that said, this week’s question was: “Who in your opinion should be the Brewers’ fifth starter in 2014?”

Could Tyler Thornburg be the fifth starter for the Brewers next season? Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Ryan Connor:

“Four spots in the rotation will be filled by Kyle Lohse, Yovani Gallardo, Marco Estrada, and Wily Peralta obviously. Those options are Tyler Thornburg, Tom Gorzelanny, Johnny Hellweg, Donovan Hand, Alfredo Figaro, Mike Fiers, Hiram Burgos, and Jimmy Nelson (barring a FA signing). There’s no upside in Gorzy or Hand. I don’t think either Fiers or Burgos will be effective starters in the Major Leagues. Figaro plays best in the bullpen. Both Hellweg and Nelson need more development time in the minors. With all that in mind I’d put Thornburg in the fifth spot (despite what my future outlook was in my Looking Ahead series, which you should all check out) to see if he can be effective and handle a full Major League workload.”

Justin Schultz:

“I’d like to see Jimmy Nelson get the nod as the fifth starter, right behind Tyler Thornburg. Nelson may need more time down in the minors but there’s no time like the present, right? Throw him in the fire and see how he performs. 2014 will be another “rebuilding” year for the Crew and they might as well see what Nelson has to offer. However, if Yovani Gallardo is not traded (please oh please trade him), Nelson will start the year in Triple-A.”

Lou Olsen:

“Like Justin, I would like to see Jimmy Nelson take that slot. However, over the past few years I have learned that the 5th starter will probably be someone we have not even considered. Maybe a Taylor Jungmann or Jed Bradley…who knows? If it’s not Marco Estrada, then it is Mike Fiers, if it is not Fiers, then it is Thornburg. Someone will show themselves in ST as the 5th starter and my guess is that it will be someone we either haven’t met yet (free agency) or someone who as of right now is not at the fore front of our minds.”

Benjamin Orr:

“It’s pretty certain that the Brewers are rolling with Lohse, Peralta, Gallardo (providing he’s not moved) and Estrada as the top four, so it leaves a lot of wiggle room for the fifth guy. Is it Thornburg? Is it Nelson? Or is it someone else entirely? I’d like to see Thornburg in that role because he seems to thrive as a starter and I think Nelson needs a little more fine tuning. You have to look beyond these next two years when Peralta and Estrada will be the head of the rotation and guys like Jed Bradley and Taylor Jungmann could be making impacts too. As for a fifth starter into next year, I think the Brewers will stay in house instead of looking in the market for a guy. If they could sign perhaps a Scott Feldman or Scott Kazmir for cheap, I’d say go for it, but for now they should go with what they have.”

Well, that’s what we had to say regarding the question, how about you? Let us know what you think in the comments below!