Milwaukee Brewers: Who didn’t survive the first round of cuts?

The Milwaukee Brewers announced their first round of cuts this Spring. Are any of the names a surprise? Maybe!

The number of players still in camp now sits at 49 after the Milwaukee Brewers optioned three players and reassigned five players to Minor League camp on Monday. While none of the names should come as a shock, it was surprising that a few of the names will head to Minor League Camp so early.

Who didn’t make the first cut?

It didn’t go down like that. It was more like this…

It was more of a surprise to see Payton Henry get invited to Major League camp than it was to see him get cut. Henry finally broke his 0-for-the Spring stretch with a double, and he did impress in camp, but he’s only played at Single-A. He has a long way to go before he reaches Milwaukee.

Marcos Diplan, Bubba Derby, and Zack Brown will likely start the season in the rotation at Triple-A. Brown could end up as the 2019 version of 2017 Josh Hader or 2018 Corbin Burnes. The Milwaukee Brewers have shown that they like to call up their top pitching prospects for roles in the bullpen before ‘graduating’ to the rotation, or becoming so awesome that they’ll never switch roles.

Trey Supak will probably start the year in Double-A, but he probably won’t stay there very long. Supak has earned a promotion to a higher level in each of the last three seasons.

Aaron Wilkerson, Jon Olczak, and Angel Perdomo are likely to end up in the bullpen at Triple-A to start the year, but any one of the trio could end up getting the call whenever the Milwaukee Brewers need to refresh their bullpen.

Perdomo impressed in four innings of work by striking out eight batters this Spring. However, he also owned a 4.50 ERA, and is unlikely to leapfrog Hader or Alex Claudio on the depth chart.

Wilkerson struck out 10 in 5 1/3 innings this Spring, but also has an 8.44 ERA. He walked two and was tagged for three homers in three appearances.

Olczak only logged two innings in three appearances, and struggled to the tune of a 12.00 ERA. He gave up two walks, two homers, but struck out six.

The Milwaukee Brewers are eight players closer to figuring out their Opening Day roster. There are 24 cuts that still need to occur before Opening Day, but there are only 18 days remaining until the Brewers take the field for real. More cuts are likely to happen in the next week or so, and they could provide more insight into how the Brewers plan to start the season.