Reviewing The Brew
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Milwaukee Brewers: 5 Bounceback Candidates For 2019

By David Gasper

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JULY 29: Manager Craig Counsell #30 of the Milwaukee Brewers takes the ball from pitcher Matt Albers #43 taking Albers out of the game against the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the fifth inning at AT&T Park on July 29, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JULY 29: Manager Craig Counsell #30 of the Milwaukee Brewers takes the ball from pitcher Matt Albers #43 taking Albers out of the game against the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the fifth inning at AT&T Park on July 29, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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Milwaukee Brewers
PITTSBURGH, PA – JULY 14: Chase Anderson #57 of the Milwaukee Brewers reacts after giving up a home run to Starling Marte #6 of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first inning during game one of a doubleheader at PNC Park on July 14, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

RHP Chase Anderson

It was a tough 2018 season for Chase Anderson. After putting up strong numbers in 2017 which earned him a modest contract extension, Anderson regressed hard in 2018.

He allowed 30 home runs last year, which led the National League, and 22 of those came at Miller Park. Anderson had the tendency to leave pitches over the middle of the plate which quickly were turned around to become souvenirs for fans in the bleachers.

Anderson finished the year with a 3.93 ERA and was removed from the rotation in September and did not make an appearance in the postseason. He was simply too homer-prone to trust in an important game late in the season.

For 2019, Anderson has made a change to his mechanics which he believes will help prevent his bad case of “meatball-down-the-middle” disease that he suffered from last year.

In Anderson’s first two appearances of the spring, he allowed three home runs in three innings and it appeared we were back to 2018 Chase Anderson once again. But in his start on Saturday against the Cubs, he went three strong innings, allowing only one hit and no runs. Good Chase Anderson showed up once again.

The Milwaukee Brewers will need more of Good Chase Anderson to show up this year. For his early starts, Anderson is working on a completely new delivery, and it takes time for that muscle memory to kick in. For those starts, he was likely thinking about his mechanics a little too much, and when you think about your mechanics on the mound, bad things happen.

If this new delivery takes hold and has the desired effects Anderson and pitching coach Chris Hook have worked on, then we should see the return of Good Chase Anderson in 2019. He’s going to need a big bounceback year because there are young pitchers ready to take his job and this is his last guaranteed year of his contract. The next two years are team options.

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