Has Brewers reliever Aaron Ashby earned a spot on a playoff roster?

It wasn't that long ago that fans wondered what future former top Milwaukee Brewers prospect Aaron Ashby might have with the ballclub. He was unable to take advantage of an opportunity to crack the team's starting rotation earlier this year and struggled some more when heading back down to Triple-A Nashville.

But Ashby has been excellent for the Brewers since returning to the big league club at the end of August. The former starting pitcher/swingman has operated solely out of the bullpen this go around and the results have been good. Has he done enough to earn a spot on the post season roster?

As a reliever Aaron Ashby has seen his velocity increase. He is throwing strikes, and he is getting results.

Velocity has been an area of concern for Aaron Ashby over the last year. In 2023, he made a late season comeback attempt after undergoing surgery on his throwing shoulder earlier that year. Unfortunately, his velocity didn't return to par and as a result, the Brewers didn't rush him back unnecessarily.

When spring training rolled around this year, the velocity concerns remained. The Brewers had him continue to operate as a starter in the minor leagues but he wasn't seeing results, command was an issue, and he was still down a few ticks on the radar gun. That all changed when he started operating out of the bullpen in Triple-A and his success has continued throughout his last five big league games.

Since August 25, Aaron Ashby had tossed 11 scoreless innings with the Brewers. He's struck out 13 batters during this stretch, has walked just two, and has allowed just three hits. Ashby has covered multiple innings in each appearance, but he's managed to throw strikes 71% of the time since returning and has averaged 96 MPH on his sinker with flashes of 97 and 98 MPH.

If all that wasn't convincing enough for him to have earned a spot in what should be a stacked Brewers reliever group this postseason, there is the fact that Milwaukee currently has some holes in their bullpen. Southpaw Hoby Milner has struggled this season, Bryse Wilson has a 4.61 ERA since August that includes earned runs in four out of his last seven appearances, and Elvis Peguero has not done a good job at limiting inherited runners to score this year.

Even with a few week spots, the final playoff bullpen roster will be a tough one to make, but Aaron Ashby has proved that he is deserving of a spot in that group.