Milwaukee Brewers: What are the chances Brent Suter returns in 2019?

Is it possible for Milwaukee Brewers left-hander to return in 2019? His rehab from elbow surgery may have him back sooner than was initially thought.

Brent Suter was thought to miss almost all of the 2019 season due to his recovery from Tommy John surgery on his left elbow. His rehab is progressing, and it’s looking more and more likely that he takes the mound for the Milwaukee Brewers before the end of the year.

Where is Suter pitching now?

Suter started his rehab assignment with the Milwaukee Brewers Rookie League affiliate in Arizona about a week ago. He was promoted to Double-A to continue his rehab with the Biloxi Shuckers today.

How did Suter pitch before he was hurt?

In 2018, Suter made 18 starts and two relief appearances for the Milwaukee Brewers. He logged a 4.44 ERA in 101 1/3 innings. He struck out 84, walked 19, and was tagged for 18 homers.

What’s the plan for Suter

He’s only worked two innings in two appearances against live hitters in Rookie ball. The good news is that he struck out four, walked zero, and didn’t give up any hits. The bad news is that he has a long way to go to build up arm strength to get the point that he can work as a starter for the Milwaukee Brewers in the Majors.

Can he return to the Majors this year?

As a starter? Probably not. It’s not for lack of ability. It’s due to a lack of time. It’s already early August, and he’s only thrown two innings in two appearances. To get back to start in the Majors, Suter will need a minimum of four-to-six weeks to re-establish himself as a starter and stretch out to the point he can toss 90-to-100 pitches in an outing.

Suter will almost assuredly stay in the Minors until the end of the regular season for Double-A and Triple-A on September 2nd. After that, it depends how far along he is, but he could return to the Milwaukee Brewers to throw an inning or two in late September.

It’s great to see Suter so far along in his rehab at this point of the season, but he has a lot more work to complete before he can come back to the Milwaukee Brewers. Putting up solid numbers during his rehab and making an appearance or two in the Majors would go a long way towards helping Suter compete for a rotation spot in 2020.