Today in Brewers History: February 15, 2003

On this day in 2003, the Milwaukee Brewers signed Leo Estrella as a free agent, and if you have no idea who Estrella is or simply have forgotten who he is. That’s okay, you’re probably not alone.

Estrella only played one year for the Brewers, one of three years he played in the majors. The first was with Toronto in 2000, and after the Brewers, he played a year with the San Fransico. Over three unremarkable MLB seasons, Estrella posted a 4.88 ERA in 66 IP over the span of 58 games. He only struck only 28 batters but walked almost as many (22). There’s nothing rememberable about his career at all, his career WAR -0.5 and his FIP was 5.29. There are plenty of articles on Estrella, including this one from SB Nations Brew Crew Ball about how we apparently got a good prospect for Estrella. Or there’s this one from the Southeast Missourian which named Estrella as a Key Reliever for the Reds.

I even managed to find a Smokies Media Guide which features Estrella. In it, you’ll find that Estrella was the first pitcher to pitch at Smokies Park. As well he was the first pitcher to get a win there. He threw the Smokies first no-hitter in ten years on May-27 2000. He had 2 shutouts with the Smokies and finally he is part of the Smokies All-Time Roster. It seemed, though, from all the googling I did on Estrella that he played better in the minors than he ever did in the majors and that his minor league success never transpired into any substantial major league success. 

More from Reviewing the Brew

• Brewers: 4 Players Who Must Step Up for the Crew to Make the Playoffs
• Brewers: Yet Another Huge Promotion For Top Prospect Jackson Chourio
• Brewers Making Colossal Mistake With Corbin Burnes’ Contract
• Which Players May Be In The Final Month Of Their Brewers Careers?
• Brewers: Where Does Devin Williams Stand In NL Reliever Of The Year Race?

I can go on and on, you can even google him yourself if you’re into that sort of pain. Ultimately, on this day in Brewers history, they signed a pitcher who compiled a 7.3 career with a 4.88 ERA over 3 MLB seasons. The rest of his career was spent in the minors never fully tapping into his potential.