8 Minor League Pitchers the Brewers Should Target This Offseason

Four live-armed righties to add into the fold

5. Nick Burdi

2023 Organization: Chicago-NL (MLB/Triple-A)
The hard-throwing righty has thrown just 64 innings over the past eight seasons, the victim of incredibly unfortunate injury luck - his injuries include two Tommy John surgeries, an elbow bone bruise, thoracic outlet syndrome and an emergency appendectomy.

When on the mound, Burdi brings as good a skillset as any reliever - no Statcast-qualified pitcher boasted better velocity and spin on his fastball. Hitters have whiffed on his slider over 40 percent of the time since 2019. If the Downers Grove, Illinois native can stay healthy, he's an arm that can help any big league bullpen. The jury is still out on his ability to do just that.

6. Joe Barlow

Barlow joins the list as the reliever with the most big league success, posting a 3.05 ERA across 73 innings with the Rangers from 2021-23. Texas cut ties with the former junior college product after a 2 mph velocity drop led to diminished results at the Triple-A and big league level. He finished the year in the Royals' organization, where he pitched considerably worse (surprise, surprise), surrendering 18 runs in 18 innings of work.

Barlow serves as a bounce back candidate, falling into the prime pitchers' pool the Brewers typically search through. A return to his pre-2023 velocity could be the key to Barlow recapturing his ability to get big league outs, a profile with which the Brewers have an established track record.