Milwaukee Brewers: Can Chase Anderson make the rotation?

Milwaukee Brewers starter Chase Anderson had yet another rough outing on Wednesday. Can he be trusted with a rotation spot in the regular season?

The Milwaukee Brewers know that Jimmy Nelson won’t start the season in the rotation. However, they should also have concerns about Chase Anderson. Could the Brewers start the season with Anderson in the bullpen or in the Minors? It’s more likely than it was a month ago.

How bad is Anderson’s Spring so far?

After Wednesday, Anderson has an 8.10 ERA in 10 innings this Spring. He’s been tagged for nine runs on 10 hits and three walks. The park has only managed to contain six of the hits he’s allowed. To his credit, he does have seven strikeouts, but they usually come in between gopher balls.

Anderson really needed a strong Spring to solidify his position in the Milwaukee Brewers rotation. Simply put, that hasn’t happened and his hold on a rotation spot is more tenuous now than ever.

Is there still time to bounce back?

Anderson is slated for two more starts this Spring. He needs to show dramatic improvement if he wants to prevent the team from making a tough decision.

Who could take his rotation spot?

The fact that Nelson won’t start the season on the 25-man roster helps Anderson’s case. Jhoulys Chacin, Corbin Burnes, and Zach Davies are penciled into the first three rotation spots in some order. Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff are also in the mix for the final two spots. Both have 0.00 ERAs in four innings of work. If Anderson continues to struggle with fastball command, the two young arms could push him out either before Opening Day, or a few starts into the season.

Anderson really needs a solid outing the next time he takes the mound. He doesn’t have to throw five scoreless innings, but keeping the ball in the park, getting into an early rhythm, and limiting base runners. Two starts aren’t a lot of time, but he can recover, and keep his rotation spot.

Anderson is unlikely to start the year in the bullpen or in the Minors. The ideal situation for the Milwaukee Brewers would be a trade, but it takes two teams to make a deal. The Brewers haven’t been able to find a partner in the past year so. There isn’t a good chance that they find a new home for Anderson in the next few weeks. The Brewers are stuck with Anderson…at least until Nelson gets healthy or he struggles through his first few starts.