Milwaukee Brewers Roundtable: Ideal Future Bullpen

The Milwaukee Brewers bullpen got the answer to one major question last season with the emergence of Corey Knebel. But what will it look like in the future?

There are lot of potential pieces to fill out the bullpen moving forward. However that is nothing compared to the strides made so far this offseason. The Milwaukee Brewers have reached deals with many arms on minor league deals.

Most recently, it is the addition of Ernesto Frieri. Him along with several others pose as answers for the 2018 season if they can perform. If they cannot, they will be pitching in the minors for the year, and most likely will not return for the following season.

At the MLB level, the Milwaukee Brewers will hope to find more consistency from players like Jacob Barnes. If he can lockdown the setup role, then the back of the bullpen will be set. If he cannot, it can be another frustrating year that adds more questions than answers.

The biggest question is the future of Josh Hader. He projects as a starter, but he could end up as an Andrew Miller type arm. There is not a right answer for him, it will come down to wherever he helps the team the most.

A great acquisition last season was Jeremy Jeffress. He might not pitch well outside of Milwaukee, but he consistently proves valuable in a Brewers uniform. If he can keep that up in the next season, it gives the Crew another reliable arm to call upon.

It would be nice to say that Anthony Swarzak is still an option, but that did not pan out. That leaves an opening for the eighth inning before Knebel shuts the door in the ninth inning.

In this roundtable, the Reviewing the Brew writers attempt to look beyond this season. But that is a tall task. Bullpens are ever changing, and that is the fun of it all. If you have not seen our other roundtables on the future infield and the future outfield, follow the links!

Trevor

The future of the bullpen is a tricky discussion because relievers can change so swiftly. That being said, there are a few guys in the minors and a few predictions to make. Some, if not all, might be some unpopular opinion.

To me, the farm is full of some guys who potentially fill out a bullpen very well. First is Taylor Williams, who if you remember is a September call-up. He threw for a sub two ERA in his short stint with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2017. The odds are he will find himself back in the minors to start 2018, but he should be able to work back into the bullpen to be a solid and reliable arm.

The other name I want to mention is Drake Owenby. The southpaw is starting right now, but I truly believe he will be better suited in the bullpen going forward. His numbers are pretty solid, but his projection as a starter is not as good as some of the other young arms in the organization.

If there is no disagreement yet, don’t worry, here it comes. As excellent as Corey Knebel is, I think he should be dealt either during or after the 2019 season. He will still have two years of control, giving him value. And yes, I have a plan on who will close games.

The new closer is already in the system, and it is Josh Hader. Look, his history is to not have pinpoint accuracy. It worked for him in 2017 out of the bullpen, and it will work for him as a closer. It will not bode well for him as a starting pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers. In order to get the most value out of his arm, the team needs to play to his skillset.

Moving Knebel and putting Hader in as the closer is what I see as the best move for the future of the bullpen. It is hard to see a former high ranking pitching prospect as just a closer, but sometimes it happens like that.

Look at Archie Bradley in Arizona, who  didn’t get his ERA below five before becoming a reliever. Now he is dominant. The same goes for Shane Greene in Detroit. There are a lot of examples of guys struggling as a starter and thriving as a reliever. Hader is already thriving, so why bring the potential, and what I would say is inevitable, struggle into the equation?

Isaac

Trevor brings up some great points. I’m a huge fan of Taylor Williams pitching out of the bullpen, as I think he’ll be able to add some velocity with the shorter spurts of action. I think he can work his way into a seventh-inning role as soon as this year if all goes according to plan.

I personally am a strong believer in Jacob Barnes, as well. He faded down the stretch last season, but I think that was more a result of it being his first full MLB season than anything. Let’s not forget that Barnes had a sub-3.00 ERA into the month of June and still amassed 24 holds despite his struggles. I only see him improving as he gets more accustomed to the big leagues, which bodes well for the Brewers’ bullpen.

In the case of Josh Hader, I think he should stretch out a bit, but not fully into a starter. I like the idea of him being able to toss two or three dominant innings at a time out of the bullpen in a fashion similar to Andrew Miller. If a starter has a relatively short outing, the Brewers can bring in Hader to dominate a few innings and bridge the gap to Barnes and Knebel in the back end.

One final name for the ideal bullpen moving forward is Wei-Chung Wang. Sure, he hasn’t pitched well in the majors. His 2.05 ERA in hitter-friendly Colorado Springs is nothing to scoff at, though. He also struck out four times as many batters as he walked at Triple-A, so he could be a nice left-handed compliment to Barnes and Knebel in the back end of the bullpen.

John

As Trevor pointed out, bullpens have so much turn over from year to year that it’s hard to speculate what it might look like. However, Milwaukee is in an admirable position right now, and moving forward, throughout the entire pitching staff.

I agree with Trevor about Josh Hader too. Hader pitching in the rotation is tantalizing, but he will have more impact from the bullpen. As a closer Hader can come in and pitch multiple innings when needed, making it a pretty natural fit. However, I do have to disagree about trading Corey Knebel. When Hader is ready to close, Jacob Barnes and Knebel can handle the the 7th and 8th, respectively.

Barnes is an intriguing option. He’s young and nasty on the hill. When he’s right he is tough to hit. Knebel is a”go to work and do my job” type of player. He is filthy on the mound and it showed in 2017 how tough he is to hit, setting records along the way.

Hader is downright scary when he toes the rubber. That arm angle and velocity, mixed with iffy command, make it uncomfortable for any left-handed hitter stepping into the batters box. I loved watching Joey Votto nervously bounce around in the box when facing Hader last season. If you can knock a hitter like that off balance then you know you’re doing something right.

The best part about these three is the amount of team control left with all of them. The Milwaukee Brewers have the potential to have cost controlled, quality, pitchers everywhere in the pen. Drake is a placeholder at this point, and I could definitely see Wei-Chung Wang or Taylor Williams taking his role this season.

Jeremy Jeffress, who has always been a productive player in Milwaukee, will be here as well. He’ll pitch in big situations earlier in the ballgame for the Brewers, helping escape jams when the starter struggles early. Wang, Williams, and a whole slew of other pitchers will help fill out the pen.

The long guys and LOOGY’s are so interchangeable that it’s pointless to speculate on that. However, I hope Boone Logan works out and provides quality innings for this team moving forward. The more left-handed pitchers a team has the better is my philosophy.

The Milwaukee Brewers are well stocked in the bullpen, this season, and beyond. However, there’s usually a free agent or two every season as well. It’s likely The Crew will still be adding a pitcher who is not currently with the organization who will play a vital role in the next playoff push.

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The Crew has quality starting and relief pitchers sprinkled throughout every level of the Minors. For most of these players, the bullpen will be their best path to MLB. The Brewers are in good shape and the future is bright because of this depth. It is definitely a strength for this pitching staff headed into the future. When the rotation catches up, this team will be tough to beat.