What can Chris Narveson bring to the Brewers in 2013?

It seems the one person we’ve all forgotten about in the hoopla of the offseason is none other than Chris Narveson.

Sorry Chris.

As the Milwaukee Brewers still scramble to try and find someone to put in this rotation, Narveson is a guy that while he has had his struggles before, is still someone that fits. What Narveson can bring at least in theory is another solid body in this rotation with MLB experience, something the majority of this new rotation lacks. While he hasn’t had the greatest of seasons and was out for basically the entirety of 2012, Narveson is still someone who presents the Brewers a chance at rebuilding a team, at least pitching wise, that has been through a lot of adversary in the past few months.

The Brewers definitely apprieciate Chris Narveson being a southpaw starter. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

The one good thing about Narveson is that he is a left-handed pitcher. Aside from the newly signed Tom Gorzelanny, the Brewers lack lefties, which is something they’ll value in Narveson, especially being a starter.

Looking at Narveson’s 2011 numbers, they were far from dominant, but he still managed to acquire 11 wins. However, aside from those wins, Narveson had an ugly 4.45 ERA to accompany his stats. He pitched a total 161.2 innings in 2011, which was exactly six less than in 2010. Narveson’s biggest source of outs came on the ground (42.3 percent) followed by the fly ball (35.9 percent) and then the strikeouts (18 percent). His K/9 ratio of 7.01 in 2011 was down .34 from 2010 and his BB/9 rose from 3.17 in 2010 to 3.62 in 2011. Sounds to me like Chris is having a problem with walking batters, so there’s some concerns.

However, despite the increased amount of baserunners, Narveson still managed an average SIERA rating of 4.06 in 2011 alongside a WAR of 1.6. His opponents managed a .257 batting average against him in 2011, which isn’t awful, but really doesn’t help the inflated ERA nor the .326 opponent’s on base percentage. Clearly Narveson has some kinks to work out, but regardless, we need someone with experience if the Brewers remain unwilling to sign a free-agent.

Thinking about where Narveson stands in the rotation, here’s a look at a potential 2013 Brewer rotation:

1. Yovani Gallardo
2. Chris Narveson
3. Marco Estrada
4. Mike Fiers
5. Wily Peralta

I’m not so sure anyone else fits into this rotation, unless the Brewers make a ninja move and swipe an under the table free-agent. With Narveson being second, you have two guys now in the upper part of the rotation with experience. As the rotation pans down, you go from more successful to the newest starting pitcher, this being Peralta. Figuring this out also helps us establish that Tyler Thornburg and Mark Rogers will more than likely be in the bullpen, which was and still is an area of concern.

So, what can Narveson bring positively to this Brewers team in 2013? Well, he’ll give you a solid effort, provided he doesn’t get hurt, and may possibly give us a win in the end. Narveson may not pitch the prettiest of games, but in the end, a win’s a win and we’ll take it. Also, he can go pretty far into games, averaging around six to seven innings a game in 2011. He can provide the bullpen rest when needed and can actually even pitch out of the pen like did in 2011 if needed. He’s not as versatile as per say Rogers or Thornburg, but Narveson is someone who in the end, can provide a solid start for his team.