Milwaukee Brewers: The best LHP in the minors

The Milwaukee Brewers have the best left-handed pitcher in the Minors according to MLB Pipeline.

The off-season is full of projections and prospect lists. Jonathan Mayo of MLB pipeline ranked the top lefty’s in minor league baseball. Josh Hader tops the list, just think about that, the Milwaukee Brewers have the #1 lefty pitching prospect in ALL OF BASEBALL.

Hader is getting a lot of love from all sorts of sources. As covered last week, the ZiPS projections think he is one of the best Brewers pitching options right now. It may be time to see what he can do at the Major League level, but as with all things, there are a lot of factors at play.

The Brewers currently have six starting pitchers and five spots in the rotation.

Junior Guerra

Zach Davies

Jimmy Nelson

Wily Peralta

Chase Anderson

Matt Garza

So from this standpoint, there is no reason to rush Hader to the big leagues. In-fact, there is currently no room for him. It is doubtful that the six starters above will be the only pitchers making starts in the 2017 season. Hader should be on the shortlist (with Jorge Lopez) to get the call should one (or two) of the starters falter.

So as the roster is currently constructed, Hader should start the season as AAA. Although Hader did not put up spectacular numbers in Colorado Springs, he did not have a complete meltdown either. His ERA was 5.22 but his FIP was 3.81, so the peripheral numbers were still decent given the run scoring environment. Colorado is still a concern though. The Brewers need to keep a close eye on Hader to avoid another Jorge Lopez situation.

Josh Hader does not have much left to prove in the minors. The Brewers do not need to rush him to the majors, due to current roster construction and the general consensus that they will not be competitive in 2017. However Colorado Springs remains the wild card. I would rather burn MLB service time than risk a blow to the young lefty’s confidence. Baring unforeseen circumstances, we should see the Josh Hader in a Brewers uniform at some point this year.