2 Brewers Who Should See An Expanded Role In 2023 And 1 Who Should Not

Player #2 who should see an expanded role: Peter Strzelecki

The Brewers lost a couple of key relievers in the past few weeks. LHP Brent Suter was waived and joined the Colorado Rockies, and RHP Trevor Gott elected to leave via free agency and joined the Seattle Mariners. Those two players combined for 111 innings pitched out of the bullpen in 2022, and the Brewers will need to fill those vacated innings.

Peter Strzelecki could be in line for an expanded role in 2023, and it could be one that is much needed for the Brewers. Strzelecki had a very strong showing in Triple-A last season. In 31.2 innings pitched, he had an ERA of 2.84 and a WHIP of 0.88. Strzelecki also had a stellar strikeout rate at 41.7%, which was good for best across the entire Triple-A (min 30 IP).

Strzelecki also performed well at the major league level in 2022. He pitched 35 innings for the Brewers, and finished the year with an ERA of 2.83 and a WHIP of 1.23. His strikeout rate of 27% was well above the league average of 22%.

He has a nice pitch mix that is headlined by his 4-seam fastball, which is complemented by his slider and changeup. All three pitches generate impressive whiff rates, and he only allowed two home runs in his thirty appearances in the majors last season.

A solidified role in the bullpen would help Strzelecki work on his consistency. I believe the opportunity will be there for him to take the leap into being a key piece in the Brewers bullpen next season.

I have identified two players who could take the leap forward for the Brewers in 2023, but who could be in line to see their role decrease heading into next season?

Brewers player who should see a smaller role in 2023: Tyrone Taylor

I believe Tyrone Taylor is the obvious choice for a decreased role. He played in 120 games last season and didn't do a whole lot with that opportunity, hitting just .233 with a .286 OBP in 405 plate appearances. That is a significant amount of playing time, and it may be time to see his role decrease as the Brewers see an influx of youth come up from the minor leagues.

While there is a chance the Brewers could look to trade Taylor, he will probably not warrant a significant return. The most likely outcome is that he sticks around as a bench player, but he should not see nearly as much run as he did in 2022.

Christian Yelich isn't going anywhere, Garrett Mitchell will most likely hold down center field, and with talks of other prospects rumored to see some degree of playing time in 2023, there are too many bodies with not enough positions available for them to play.

Assuming newly acquired Jesse Winker is the primary designated hitter, by default Tyrone Taylor will be the lead candidate to see playing time decrease. Once those other prospects arrive, they will get the bulk of the opportunities as the Brewers will want to see what they can do and Taylor will be relegated to a lesser role.

It will be interesting to see how this roster shakes out, but it is an exciting time to be a Brewers fan. We could witness the future of the Milwaukee Brewers take the reins in 2023.