Milwaukee Brewers: Top 5 Spring Training Storylines To Watch

1. The Return Of Jimmy Nelson

It’s been a much anticipated return for Jimmy Nelson. He had just turned into the ace of the Milwaukee Brewers staff in 2017 when he was brought down with a shoulder injury that ended his 2017 and forced him to miss all of 2018 as well. But now he’s back with a clean bill of health.

The major question for Nelson will be how well he does in his return to action. Many are concerned that he may never get back to being the pitcher he was before the injury. Many others also have faith in Nelson to pick up where he left off.

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Only time will tell which section of the fan base is correct. For all of our sake, hopefully Nelson picks up where he left off.

Is his velocity still there? Is the movement on his pitches still there? Can he still be that homegrown ace the Brewers are looking for?

Over the past two offseasons, many have called for the Brewers to sign a top-tier starting pitcher, but Stearns has shied away from that. If Nelson returns to his ace form, he will be rewarding Stearns’ patience.

This is the first real competition Nelson will be facing since his injury 18 months ago. The Brewers will be watching his workload carefully this spring.

If Nelson shows his usual dominant self, many concerns about this Brewers rotation will be squashed, and there will be added legitimacy to this group. If he struggles to get going in spring, the question marks about this staff will only continue, as there are few established guys in this group. Nelson is the one guy who could change all that.

We’ve been waiting to see Jimmy Nelson again for a long time. And now that he’s back, we’re not going to take our eyes off of him.

The Milwaukee Brewers have a bright future ahead of them and 2019 has a lot of optimism in particular. With added eyes on the Crew this spring, these are the key storylines for all of us to follow.