Top 50 Milwaukee Brewers of the 2010s: No. 42 LHP Chris Narveson

Moving through our ranking of the Top 50 Milwaukee Brewers of the 2010s, we’ve come to No. 42 on the list.

Number 42 of our Top Milwaukee Brewers of the 2010s brings us back into the bullpen as we take a look at someone who was with the crew from 2009-2013.

How We Ranked Them

We created an initial list of the top players by combining their FanGraphs total WAR from each year they were on the Brewers and ranking them from highest to lowest.

However, this wasn’t going to be a list of simply who had the highest WAR while they were here and that’s it; So we adjusted the list based on postseason contributions, overall quality of player, and general importance to the franchise.

42. LHP Chris Narveson

Although joining before the decade began, Chris Narveson definitely made his contributions to the Brewers in his four years with the franchise, even helping them get to the 2011 postseason.

2010: 2.0

2011: 1.5

2012: -0.2

2013: 0.0

Total WAR: 3.3

The Milwaukee Brewers acquired Chris Narveson through a minor league contract in December of 2007, where he spent the 2008 season in Triple-A. He would finish with a 5.43 ERA in 28 appearances.

In 2009, Narveson was called up to the major leagues by the Brewers where he made his debut with the Crew on June 15, 2009. Shortly after, he was designated for assignment and sent back to Nashville. He was called up again in August, where he would appear in another game on August 22nd, earning his first big league win.

Chris Narveson finally earned a spot in the starting rotation and September 23rd marked his first win in the major leagues where he struck out 10 Cubs hitters. With Manny Parra struggling as they went into the 2010 season, Narveson became the Crew’s fifth starter, filling out the back end of the rotation. He ended up finishing that season with a 4.99 ERA, 12-8 record, and 137 strikeouts.

As the 2011 season came he made 28 appearances, where Narveson posted a 4.45 ERA, 128 strikeouts, and an 11-8 record. Due to a thumb injury from an unfortunate scissors accident, Narveson did miss two of his scheduled starts late in that season.

The 2012 season ended as soon as it started as Narveson would receive surgery on a torn rotator cuff on his pitching arm. Marco Estrada replaced him in the starting rotation and Narveson would become a free agent in October of 2013.

Overall, Narveson played an important role in the Milwaukee Brewers rotation for a number of years. Although he topped out as a back-end starter, he had some good outings and, while never spectacular, was pretty steady and a solid innings eater in 2010 and 2011.

Narveson ends up at No. 42 on our list of the top Brewers players of the 2010s.