Milwaukee Brewers: Chase Anderson’s Trouble With Home Runs

The Milwaukee Brewers came into the 2018 season with the idea that Chase Anderson would be their ace. However, that has not really worked out, and the biggest reason for that is Anderson’s struggles with giving up home runs.

After giving up just 14 home runs a year ago, Anderson has already almost doubled that to this point in 2018, giving up 26 to lead the NL in home runs allowed. He has had starts, such as Monday against the Reds, where he gives up the home runs and then he shuts it down from there on, which is alright. But a lot of times, those runs will cost the Brewers the game.

The problem is that, even against teams like the Reds, Padres, and Marlins, which should be easy wins for the Brewers when they have their “ace” on the mound, Anderson has struggled with the home run ball. An ace should be able to go at least more than six innings in those games, preferably more, and shut them down.

Anderson’s Inconsistency

This is not an all out bash on Anderson, as he has had some moments this year where he has come through, but he just hasn’t found consistency. Seven shutout innings of the Cubs was a huge performance for the team that was struggling against Chicago, but he has been up and down since, and is just not able to be relied upon.

Despite the team’s recent stretches of being up and down, Anderson’s fellow rotation member Jhoulys Chacin has been great, and has more than likely surpassed him as the No. 1 starter. This is most important if the Milwaukee Brewers were to make the playoffs as a wild card team, which they are slated for as of today. It would mean Chacin would get the one game do-or-die start instead of the “projected” ace Chase Anderson.

Although the Brewers, with their bullpen strength and depth, would probably only need four or five innings from a starter in a wild card game. It is still important because if Anderson gets the start, and he gives up a couple home runs in the first two innings, the Brewers season can be over because of that, no matter how he or anyone else performs the rest of the game.

With the Milwaukee Brewers rotation in the state that it is, Anderson is still one of the better pitchers on the team. They need him to step up and pitch more like he did last season if they want to have success in the playoffs, or even just to get there.

No starting pitchers were acquired at the deadline and it doesn’t look like any will be in August, so this is what the Brewers have to work with. Chacin, Anderson, Freddy Peralta, Junior Guerra, Wade Miley, and potentially the return of Zach Davies is what Counsell has to choose from in a playoff scenario. That unit looks a whole lot better as a whole if Anderson were to get back to pitching anywhere close to where he was a year ago.