Milwaukee Brewers: Brent Suter Back To The Bullpen

With the return of the Wade Miley, the Milwaukee Brewers can finally move Brent Suter to where he belongs, and that is in the bullpen.

From the start of Spring Training, it was obvious that Brent Suter would get his shot in the rotation. He represented the only southpaw in the rotation. Now, with fellow lefty Wade Miley healthy, Suter can move into a long relief role. Even if Miley does not work out, Suter in relief is the best move for the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Suter experiment did not pan out well early in the year. However, his track record out of the bullpen is much better. If Miley can be successful in the rotation, the Brewers recent success on the mound will get even better.

Brent Suter As A Starter

Things have not gone well for Suter in a starting role thus far in 2018. He has thrown 30 innings with an ERA above five. Even through all of that, his FIP is 3.81. That suggests he is not throwing as bad as it seems. It is on par with his FIP from last year, but things are not going as well. His 2016 numbers looked a lot better, through 40 more innings.

Brent Suter As A Reliever

To preface all of these numbers, Suter has a much smaller sample size in relief. To be honest, his numbers really are not that much better. However, there is just more confidence in this role. His FIP a total of 2.73, but that is mostly due to his 12 scoreless innings in 2016. Last season his FIP was above three.

The difference is in some of his other numbers. Suter averages one more strikeout per nine innings out of the bullpen. The hope is that he will find more success in a long relief role than he did as a starter.

Why Is Brent Suter Better Out Of The Bullpen?

By the numbers, it is somewhat hard to see. Surprisingly in 2018, his numbers improve as he sees hitters. First time through the order, his ERA is over nine. For his career, Suter’s numbers are more logical as he goes through a batting order two and three times.

The truth is, if you take out advanced stats and look at things, a 1.52 career ERA in relief is quite a bit better than a 4.34. But that is talking about 23.2 innings compared to 110.

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This could just be an opinion of mine, but Suter is not suited to start games for the Milwaukee Brewers. The eye test says he is a lot more comfortable as a reliever. His velocity leaves him more susceptible to hard contact, but that becomes less of an issue when he is not seeing hitters several times in one game. So, this is a very good move.