Milwaukee Brewers: Jhoulys Chacin boosting the Crew’s rotation

The Milwaukee Brewers starting rotation has been seen as the weak spot on this team since the offseason ended. The lone offseason acquisition for this group, Jhoulys Chacin, has been a bright spot.

After the Milwaukee Brewers signed Lorenzo Cain and traded for Christian Yelich, many assumed that the Crew would then make a move for a top starting pitcher. But that move hasn’t been made. Instead, Jhoulys Chacin remained the biggest offseason pitching acquisition David Stearns brought in.

Most people assumed that wouldn’t be enough, myself included. But Chacin has been better than anyone expected. Except maybe David Stearns. After today’s gem against the Cubs, Chacin is down to a 3.32 ERA on the season, and he has a 2.59 ERA over his last seven outings.

Chacin has been the most consistent starter the Brewers have had all season, and his performance is a big reason why the Crew is in first place with the best record in the National League right now.

Chacin’s consistency

He’s the only Brewers starter to have not missed a single scheduled start. One of the concerns when he was signed was the injury history that he had. Could he be counted on to make each and every start? So far, he can.

Chacin has also been able to consistently give the Brewers offense a chance to win the game. He got off to a slow start, but he’s turned it around nicely. The Brewers are 12-3 in games that Chacin has started, and they’ve won 10 of his last 11 outings and the last five straight.

Also, he’s been able to make it somewhat deep into games, going somewhere between five and seven innings since the beginning of May. In most of these starts, he’s finished with somewhere between 85-95 pitches, meaning he could go deeper, but manager Craig Counsell would like to ensure the game gets locked down with his dominant bullpen. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Run Support

One thing that has really helped out Chacin is the incredible amount of run support that he gets. Sure, he only got one run in his latest start here against the Cubs, and he made sure it was all they needed, getting out of several tough jams in the early innings.

Chacin has gotten five runs of support or more in 10 of his 15 starts for the Brewers.

Last year, it was Zach Davies who always seemed to get a ton of run support, this year, it appears Jhoulys Chacin has won over the hearts of the Brewers offense. And he’s been able to repay their efforts with strong performances.

The Brewers have needed this rotation to step up and help out the bullpen, which has been carrying a large load early this season. Do they still need a frontline starter? Yeah, guys like that are always helpful when it comes to postseason races. But having Chacin as a middle of the rotation starter is a big boost for a group that’s filled with mostly back-end type starters.

Next: Chase Anderson finally turning the corner?

With the eventual return of Jimmy Nelson, and a Chase Anderson that’s finally getting it together, this has the makings of a pretty good top of the rotation for the Milwaukee Brewers.