Brewers set to face two familiar faces in upcoming series

As the Milwaukee Brewers gear up for their upcoming series against the Chicago White Sox, they'll be seeing some familiar faces on the mound. Projected to start game one is swingman Bryse Wilson, while game two will feature Rule-5 selection Shane Smith.

Wilson was acquired by the Brewers for cash in January of 2023 after being designated for assignment by the Pirates. Over two years with Milwaukee, he covered 181.1 innings, made nine starts, recorded three saves, and had a 3.42 ERA. The Brewers chose not to bring him back this offseason, and he signed for just over $1 million with the White Sox.

After going undrafted in 2021 out of Wake Forest, the Brewers signed Smith to a minor league contract. He slowly worked his way through the organization's minor league affiliates and had just dipped his toe in the Triple-A water last year before being Rule-5 draft eligible. Milwaukee left him unprotected, and he ended up being the first overall selection by the White Sox.

How are these two former Brewers pitchers performing in 2025?

Assuming no change in the projected starters, Tuesday night's game will be Wilson's second start of the season. He is coming off an outing where he covered 2.2 innings and threw 55 pitches against the Twins, but had otherwise been operating out of the bullpen. Wilson has a pedestrian 4.30 ERA over 14.2 innings pitched this year.

On the other hand, Smith has been pitching lights out. The rookie has made five starts and has only once failed to cover five innings. Chicago hasn't let him throw more than 83 pitches in an outing, but he is still getting results, posting a 2.30 ERA over 27.1 innings pitched.

The main storyline heading into this series will be how Smith pitches against his former organization in the Brewers. Milwaukee's decision to leave Smith unprotected in the Rule-5 draft has looked like a mistake so far, so the Brewers offense will be trying to right that ship by chasing him out of the game early.

Further adding to the intrigue is Chad Patrick being slated to start the series finale for the Brewers. He is one player who was chosen to be protected in the Rule-5 draft over Smith. Patrick has been excellent so far, having not allowed more than two earned runs in a single start this season. He too is coming off a recent revenge game, as he tossed six quality innings against his former employer, the Athletics.

With familiar faces on the mound and the Rule-5 protection decision coming into the spotlight again, there’s no shortage of motivation for Wilson, Smith, and Patrick heading into this series. Each pitcher would love to perform well in their respective starts, which will add some excitement to this three-game set.