Milwaukee Brewers: 4 Pitchers who could break out in 2019

Junior Guerra

Why is a 34-year old right-hander on this list? Well, Junior Guerra won’t begin the season in the starting rotation. He’s transitioning into a bullpen role, and could become the break out reliever for 2019.

Guerra comes with a quality three-pitch mix that features a 93+ MPH fastball, a newly redesigned curveball, and a split-finger fastball as his ‘out’ pitch. He’s proven capable as a starter. As a one-inning reliever brought in to air it out? Guerra could dominate.

He figured out that his slider was getting him killed, and started using his newly rebuilt curveball as his his preferred breaking ball. Guerra posted a .266 wOBA against in a relief role down the stretch last year, and now he gets an entire off season to refine his arsenal.

Guerra will likely work in the sixth or seventh inning, and serve as a bridge to the late inning trio. The Milwaukee Brewers need him to succeed or they’ll have to find a replacement. Given the upgrades to his repertoire, Guerra should stick in the role, and he should find the success that the team believes he’ll provide.

Corbin Burnes

Burnes impressed in his first time through the Majors last year. He posted a 2.61 ERA in 30 games with the Milwaukee Brewers. He struck out 35, walked only 11, and was tagged for four homers in 38 innings of work.

Burnes is slated to start the season in the Brewers rotation, and the team needs him to break out as a starter next year if they want another division title. Burnes tossed 116 innings last year, and he’ll likely be limited to 130-to-140 innings as a starter next year. He should make at least 24 starts, and the team needs him to make the most of each of them.

Burnes has a ‘starter’s arsenal’ with four solid pitches that he can turn to. His fastball averaged over 95 MPH last year in relief, an he relied on his slider 34.3% of the time last year. He probably won’t be able to repeat either of those numbers in a starting role. Adjustments are necessary to ensure his long term health as a starter, but he can still produce results, even if he won’t get a full season of starts.

Burnes has dominated every level he’s been at, and there’s no reason to think he can’t develop into a top starter for the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers have a deep rotation, and can find eight starts to go somewhere else, but Burnes needs to take the next step in his career, and they need him to do it in the rotation.

Aaron Ashby

Whoever said the Milwaukee Brewers don’t have any capable lefties hasn’t seen Aaron Ashby. The Brewers drafted Ashby in the fourth round last year, and he looks a lot like the next draftee to continue rocket through the system.

Ashby tossed 57 2/3 innings across two levels of the Milwaukee Brewers system last year. He posted a 3.59 ERA with 66 strikeouts and 17 walks between Rookie ball and Low-A. Ashby ended last year with a 2.17 ERA in seven starts in Low-A. He could pickup where he left off last year, but he should get promoted to High-A if his success continues.

Ashby boasts a solid arsenal that’s headed by a fastball that touches 94 MPH, with a pair of solid breaking balls. He also has a change-up that could become an effective fourth pitch. Ashby needs to work on command, but he clearly has the stuff to handle the lower Minors.

The Milwaukee Brewers have shown to be aggressive in promoting high draft picks, and it’s not out of the question for Ashby to end the year in Double-A. If that happens, he’ll be a top-five prospect heading into 2020, and then the hype train will really start to gain steam.

Noah Zavolas

It wouldn’t come as a complete shock if Noah Zavolas ends up as a the prize in the Domingo Santana deal. Ben Gamel is a capable fourth outfielder, but it’s clear that the Milwaukee Brewers targeted Zavolas for a reason. They believe they can nurture him into a Major League pitcher.

After getting selected out of Harvard University in the 18th round of the 2018 amateur draft by the Seattle Mariners, Zavolas looked fantastic in his professional debut. Zavolas tossed 38 2/3 innings across two levels of the Mariners lower Minors and posted a 3.03 ERA. He struck out 41, walked only 11, and was tagged for three homers.

He doesn’t overpower hitters, in fact his fastball sits in the 88-to-91 MPH range, but he has proven that his intelligence goes beyond the classroom. His change-up is his best pitch, but he also has two breaking balls that need work.

Zavolas will turn 23-years old in May, and the clock is starting to tick on his professional career. He’ll likely start the season in Low-A or High-A, but he could work his way through the Brewers system quickly if he posts results.

The Milwaukee Brewers also have a proven track record when it comes to plucking other team’s pitching prospects. Hader, Corey Knebel, Freddy Peralta, and Trey Supak were all acquired in trades. Hader, Knebel, and Peralta are already in Milwaukee. Supak could arrive soon. Zavolas isn’t the second coming of Hader, but the fact that the Brewers were interested in him should inspire confidence.