Brewers: 26 Man Opening Day Roster Prediction 2.0

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Sep 9, 2020; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Milwaukee Brewers catcher Jacob Nottingham (26) celebrates with teammates after hitting a two run home run during the fourth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

We’re about halfway through the games in spring training, which means that Opening Day is just about two weeks away. What could the Brewers roster look like on that day?

Our initial projection for the Opening Day roster is guaranteed to be wrong as it was written before the Brewers signed free agent outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. But it appears now that the offseason acquisitions are finished for Brewers president David Stearns, so perhaps this has a chance of being completely correct.

There are some jobs to be won still, and some surprising candidates have emerged as legit contenders for these jobs. Let’s try to build the Crew’s 26 man roster for Opening Day 2021.

Brewers Projected Opening Day Catchers (2)

Omar Narvaez, Manny Pina

Other Candidates: Luke Maile, Jacob Nottingham

The depth chart hasn’t changed much when it comes to the catching corps. Mario Feliciano was optioned to Triple-A and sent to Minor League camp, so he’s officially out of the running now. Luke Maile has been fine in his spring training performances, but nothing eye-opening enough to challenge for an Opening Day spot.

Meanwhile, Jacob Nottingham has yet to get into game action after offseason thumb surgery. The Brewers are taking it slow with Nottingham, perhaps in an effort to delay a decision on his roster status. Nottingham is out of minor league options this year and thus would be subject to waivers if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster.

If they slow play his recovery long enough, he could start the year on the big league injured list, and then when he’s ready to come off, they can sneak him through outright waivers in mid-April as every other team would have their catcher situation settled by then and they would be unlikely to put in a claim.

Barring an injury to either Narvaez or Pina, they’re going to be the two on the Brewers Opening Day roster.

Mar 9, 2021; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Kolten Wong (16) makes the throw for an out against the San Francisco Giants during a spring training game at American Family Fields of Phoenix. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports /

Brewers Projected Opening Day Infielders (6)

Keston Hiura, Kolten Wong, Orlando Arcia, Luis Urias, Travis Shaw, Daniel Robertson

Other Candidates: Pablo Reyes, Daniel Vogelbach

With the serious shoulder injury suffered by Mark Mathias and the 60 Day IL placement for Tim Lopes, the number of candidates for these infield jobs has been whittled down.

Pablo Reyes has emerged as a candidate with a very strong spring, but he faces an uphill battle to make the roster and will likely need an injury to someone ahead of him in order to make this team out of the gate.

Travis Shaw‘s opt out date is coming up on Monday the 15th, so he’ll know for sure if he’s making the roster soon. All expectations are that he will make the team given his strong performance this spring and comments from the coaching staff.

Robertson has played well and should fill that super-utility role, working as the fifth outfielder if necessary, and with Mathias out, he has a clear path to the job and no competition for the super-utility role.

The one change from our last projection is that Daniel Vogelbach dropped off the roster. With the lack of a DH this year, Keston Hiura moving to his position to start everyday, and a plethora of pitchers that are deserving of a roster spot, Vogelbach is the odd man out. He hasn’t played super well in spring, hitting .211 (4-for-19) with a pair of doubles, four walks, and just one strikeout.

Without the DH, and with Hiura taking over 1B every day, Vogelbach needs a 2017 Jesus Aguilar Spring Training, where he just hits so much they can’t leave him off the roster. He hasn’t done that so far. As such, he falls short of making it in this projection.

Brewers Projected Opening Day Outfielders (4)

Jackie Bradley Jr., Lorenzo Cain, Avisail Garcia, Christian Yelich

Other candidates: Derek Fisher, Billy McKinney, Tyrone Taylor

These four players are the four highest paid players on the team, and thus will make the roster. The addition of Bradley Jr makes it quite difficult for any of the Fisher/McKinney/Taylor trio to make the roster. There’s an outside chance Counsell could elect to carry five outfielders, but with some of the infield options having super-utility ability, it’s not necessary.

Fisher and McKinney are out of options, and if they don’t make the roster, they will have to be put on waivers and any other team could claim them. Taylor, meanwhile, still has a minor league option year remaining and the Brewers are going to use it.

As for how getting enough at-bats between these four players on the roster are going to work, the Brewers have figured that out. There’s plenty of at-bats for everyone. Even Avisail Garcia was concerned as to how it would work, so he had a meeting with Counsell this week to get an explanation. Garcia was understanding and is on board with the plan, so if they’re good, fans should be good.

Mar 8, 2021; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff (53) throws against the Los Angeles Angels during a spring training game at American Family Fields of Phoenix. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports /

Brewers Projected Opening Day Starting Rotation (5)

Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes, Josh Lindblom, Brett Anderson, Adrian Houser

Other Candidates: Freddy Peralta, Eric Lauer, Aaron Ashby, Jordan Zimmermann

Coming off a shortened season, the Brewers could go with a six man rotation, or have some tandem starts with other pitchers who are also being stretched out this spring. However, since that has not been solidified as the plan to start, we’ll just mention the traditional five man rotation.

Woodruff and Burnes are entrenched atop the rotation, although who is starting Opening Day hasn’t been decided yet. Lindblom and Anderson are the veterans that will fill out the rotation with innings.

Adrian Houser is the current leader in the clubhouse for the final starting rotation job but Freddy Peralta is putting together quite a strong run. In 3.2 IP, Peralta has struck out 10 batters. He’s gotten 11 outs, and 10 have been via the strikeout. He’s also allowed just three hits and zero runs.

Houser hasn’t been a slouch though, performing fairly well in his outings, but Peralta’s dominance has been impressive. Perhaps Peralta can overtake Houser for the fifth starter job by the end of spring training, but at the moment, Houser is likely still ahead.

Eric Lauer had a shot at that job, but he hasn’t looked good in his outings this spring.

Aaron Ashby has been quite impressive himself, and he survived the first round of camp cuts. It’s unlikely he ends up making the roster, but he’s made an impression and could see big league time later this season.

Brewers Projected Opening Day Bullpen (9)

Josh Hader, Devin Williams, Brent Suter, Freddy Peralta, Justin Topa, Drew Rasmussen, Brad Boxberger, J.P. Feyereisen, Eric Yardley

Other Candidates: Miguel Sanchez, Eric Lauer, Phil Bickford, Bobby Wahl, Ray Black, Angel Perdomo

The only change in the bullpen from our first prediction to this one is the addition of J.P. Feyereisen. He was on the outside looking in before, but now he makes the roster.

In four innings of Cactus League play, Feyereisen has not allowed a single baserunner and has struck out seven. He was going to be a member of this bullpen throughout the season regardless, but with his strong showing this spring, he deserves a spot on the Opening Day roster.

The Brewers have a large number of worthy bullpen candidates and having nine pitchers back there gives Craig Counsell an incredible amount of flexibility to mix and match for every game, always having some that are well rested. Rasmussen, Suter, and Peralta are all being stretched out to go multiple innings.

Boxberger has pitched well as a non-roster invitee this spring and is likely to earn a spot. The Brewers like having at least one veteran arm in the bullpen, and that’s especially important considering the relative inexperience of the rest of the group.

Miguel Sanchez has impressed this spring, but he’s not on the 40 man and is still young. He might have worked his way into the bullpen shuttle this season between Milwaukee and Triple-A Nashville, but he’s likely to start on the Nashville end of the shuttle.

Eric Lauer has had a rough spring and the Brewers may elect to send him to Triple-A to get stretched out as a starter and work on his stuff since he still has minor league options.

Ray Black has been dealing with an arm issue but could be back in game action later this week. Still, he’s missed some time, and he hasn’t been that impressive so far. Without minor league options remaining, Black could be a cut candidate to make room for Boxberger on the roster.

Next. Studs and Duds From Cactus League Week 2. dark

We’re just a few short weeks away from the beginning of the regular season. Could this be what the Brewers roster looks like that day?

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