Pat Murphy believes this Brewers pitching prospect is closer to MLB than he realizes

During their current "Golden Age," the Milwaukee Brewers have made a habit of turning their departing stars into controllable talent. The most notable have been trades of Corbin Burnes, Devin Williams, and Freddy Peralta, which brought in a group of young MLB-ready players that have already impacted and will continue to impact the roster for the foreseeable future.

However, while these winter blockbusters rightfully garner the most attention when it comes to the Brewers' ongoing expertise in roster construction, what results in less publicity are the minor trades that Milwaukee seemingly always wins, which help fill out the rest of their roster. Trades like turning Abraham Toro into Chad Patrick or acquiring a former shutdown reliever like Nick Mears for next to nothing at the trade deadline.

The Brewers have made a habit of taking every opportunity to add value to their roster. So, back in 2023, when Milwaukee faced a decision with their midseason trade acquisition Mark Canha, who had an $11.5 million club option remaining on his contract, the front office struck again. With Jackson Chourio on the cusp of his big league debut and Christian Yelich set to resume the DH duties in 2024, the Brewers didn't have much need for Canha, especially on a relatively expensive $11.5 million contract. However, rather than simply decline his club option and let him walk for free, Matt Arnold and the Brewers' front office managed to trade the veteran Canha to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for pitching prospect Blake Holub.

At the time, no one thought too much about the Brewers' return; the focus, understandably, was more on Canha, who went on to have a pedestrian season with the Tigers and San Francisco Giants in 2024. Now, two and a half years removed from the trade, it's the Brewers' turn to reap the rewards of the early-offseason deal. With Holub knocking on the door of the big leagues, it appears those benefits are right around the corner.

Pitching prospect Blake Holub continues to impress with his seventh scoreless outing of Spring Training

In last night's exhibition game against the Cincinnati Reds, Aaron Ashby started the contest for the Brewers, but didn't make it out of the first inning after tossing 26 pitches to the first four batters. Relieving Ashby of his duties was the 27-year-old, right-handed Holub who had yet to give up a run in 5.1 innings of work over the course of Spring Training.

Holub promptly struck out prolific slugger Eugenio Suárez to close out the first inning, before returning for the second frame. A clean three-up, three-down second inning with a strikeout of Noelvi Marte completed another strong outing for Holub, who was selected by the Tigers in the 15th round of the 2021 draft. On the spring season, Holub now has 6.2 innings of scoreless work to boast about, during which he's allowed just one hit, one walk, and struck out eight opposing hitters.

After the game, I asked Pat Murphy about Holub and his impressive spring, and the Brewers' skipper responded saying, "I think he's a young man that doesn't understand how close he is. I think he's got a chance, with our need for pitching, you know. It's all hands on deck."

At 27 years old and with a full season of Triple-A ball in 2024, it makes sense that Holub would be knocking on the door of the big leagues, but his name isn't one that's often cited when discussing the "next men up" in Milwaukee's bullpen. Holub's a true reliever -- he hasn't started a game since 2022 -- but with a strong cutter-slider combo, he could absolutely factor into the Brewers' pitching picture in 2026. At the very least, he's caught Murphy's attention.