Milwaukee Brewers: Jhoulys Chacin Named Opening Day Starter

On Thursday, the Milwaukee Brewers announced who will be making the first start of the season on Opening Day.

To the surprise of very few, Jhoulys Chacin was named as the Milwaukee Brewers Opening Day starter. The man who started Game 7 of the NLCS and was reliable all season long in 2018 deserved to get the nod to start 2019 off.

During Brewers On Deck, fellow pitcher Jimmy Nelson stated that he wanted that Opening Day nod, but that depended on if he was healthy and ready to go, which he isn’t.

Jhoulys Chacin

In 2018, Chacin posted a 3.50 ERA in 35 starts covering 192.2 innings. He was as reliable as they come, pitching every fifth day and never missing a start. Chacin started Game 163 and went 5.2 strong innings, allowing only one run and keeping the Brewers in the game, giving them a chance to win, which they ended up doing, thankfully.

Chacin was one of two reliable starting pitchers during the 2018 postseason for the Brewers, alongside Wade Miley. But Miley is now in Houston and there’s really been no competition for that Opening Day job for Chacin.

Nelson isn’t ready to go. Chase Anderson struggled last year and is struggling again this spring. Zach Davies missed a lot of last year and struggled. Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, and Brandon Woodruff are all entering their first full seasons in a rotation and haven’t earned an Opening Day nod yet.

Chacin was the obvious choice to pitch on March 28th against the Cardinals.

How Will The Rest Of The Rotation Line Up?

That’s the real question. Coming into spring, manager Craig Counsell said that Chacin was the only lock for the rotation and everyone else was competing for jobs.

The removal of Jimmy Nelson from the equation has eliminated one possibility for that rotation. That leaves the five pitchers, Anderson, Burnes, Davies, Peralta, and Woodruff, competing for four spots. One of them will miss out on the rotation and either pitch out of the bullpen to start or go down to the minor leagues. All five pitchers have minor league options remaining.

At this point, it’s anyone’s guess as to how the Brewers line up four more starters behind Chacin. Burnes figures to get a spot. Davies has pitched well, and so has Woodruff. Anderson is the one really struggling but he’s also more experienced than the others.

It’s going to be a tough decision for the Milwaukee Brewers as we’re just two weeks away from Opening Day and the rotation is completely up for grabs.

If there’s anything the Brewers appreciate, it’s having a lot of depth, and they have just that in the rotation. And it’ll be Jhoulys Chacin leading that group.