Milwaukee Brewers: Tyler Cravy Looks to Keep Streak Going

When Tyler Cravy was first called up to the major leagues Sunday night, there was questions as to whether he was going to be starting on Tuesday or pitching relief on Monday. After an awesome start by Mike Fiers to shutdown the St. Louis Cardinals, Cravy will make his major league debut Tuesday night against Brewer-killer, Lance Lynn. With a difficult match-up ahead, here is a look at what Cravy brings to the table for Milwaukee.

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Last season, Cravy was the 2015 version of Tyler Wager. Cravy owned the Southern league going 8-1 with a 1.73 ERA in his first 14 appearances (12 starts). Not only was he able to keep his ERA down, but base-runners were a rarity as he put together a WHIP of 0.849. He pitched so well that he was promoted to AAA Nashville, where he made one appearance before his season was cut short with injury.

This season pitching in Colorado Springs, one of the most difficult places to pitch, Cravy has had a strong start through his first nine games with a 4.04 ERA. While he started slow in April, his May in AAA has been great. In five May starts, Cravy has gone 27 innings going 4-1 with a 3.33 ERA. In all nine starts, Cravy has put together a 1.29 WHIP, while opposing hitters have batted just .234 against him. These strong numbers have had to have helped him get a promotion over teammates Tyler Thornburg and Taylor Jungmann.

MLB.com currently ranks Cravy as the 24th best prospect in the Brewers system. Some have seen him simply as just a middle reliever in the future, but if he can continue to do what he has done over the past two seasons, he could make a run as a middle of the rotation starter. He doesn’t overpower hitters with his fastball, but his sink could be very useful inducing ground-ball outs at Miller Park.

No announcement has been made whether Cravy will have the spot in the rotation until Peralta returns, but with a difficult match-up ahead, Cravy’s past month shows that he is more than ready for the challenge ahead. He has been one of the best and most underrated pitchers in the Brewers’ system for the past two years, and with nothing else to prove, look for Cravy to show that he is ready to pitch at this level.

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