Shane Drohan's surprise relief appearance won't impact Brewers' upcoming rotation plans

Since the start of August, the Milwaukee Brewers have utilized a six-man rotation. Though often flushed with starting options, it's not a strategy the Brewers frequently adopt. Turning to a six-man rotation puts undue stress on a relief corps, which is not a favorable complement to the Brewers' aggressive bullpen strategy.

However, due in part to the Brewers' grueling stretch of 17 games in 17 days and to the lack of experience among their current starting options, Milwaukee has used six starters over the last three weeks. The additions of Dustin May, who joined the team at the August 3 trade deadline, and Kyle Harrison, who rejoined the squad on August 5, after missing nearly a month on the injured list due to forearm tightness, have made the Brewers' decision to maintain a six-man starting staff for nearly three weeks far easier. That duo joined Jacob Misiorowski, Logan Henderson, Robert Gasser, and Shane Drohan, all of whom have been effective as of late, in the starting rotation.

When the Brewers' stretch of 17 games without an off-day mercifully came to an end on Monday of this week, questions arose as to whether or not the first-place Brew Crew would continue to utilize a six-man rotation now that they could offer normal rest to their starting pitchers without one. That answer was quickly answered by Brewers' beat writer Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who noted that Milwaukee would continue to use a six-man rotation for at least one more turn ahead of their two-series homestand against the Seattle Mariners and Atlanta Braves.

That report was seemingly challenged on Tuesday night when, after Harrison tossed five scoreless innings, Drohan emerged from the bullpen. Drohan, who was making his first relief appearance since May 27, was excellent in his two scoreless innings of work, but the pitching decision led fans to believe that Milwaukee's temporary six-man rotation experiment had come to an end. However, it's now clear that the Brewers were simply pushing back Drohan's next start while temporarily utilizing him in a relief role.

Shane Drohan to temporarily remain in starting rotation after Tuesday night's relief appearance

Drohan tossed the first game of the Brewers' four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers last Thursday. After a discouraging start his previous time out, during which he allowed six earned runs on nine hits in just five innings against the Minnesota Twins in large part due to his inability to land his slider at the bottom of the zone, Drohan turned in a solid bounceback performance against the defending World Champions. The Brewers' rookie southpaw surrendered three earned runs on three hits while covering 5.1 innings on 85 pitches at Dodger Stadium.

The expectation was that Drohan would make his next start, as scheduled, in Friday night's series opener against the Atlanta Braves. However, Tuesday's relief outing, when Drohan tossed 39 pitches, changes that schedule. Now, Drohan, who is remaining in the starting rotation, will instead start Sunday's "Little League Classic" game in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, which is acting as the Brewers' series finale against the Braves.

Therefore, Drohan's 39-pitch outing against the Mariners on Tuesday night effectively acts as a "mid-week bullpen session" for the rookie left-hander. Drohan's impressive versatility, which he's displayed throughout his rookie campaign, allows him to cover a big two innings for the Brew Crew on Tuesday night before returning to the rotation on Sunday.

It remains to be seen what Drohan's role will be following his start on Sunday, but the expectation is that eventually he will rejoin the bullpen, where he will likely pitch during the final stretch of the season and into the postseason. The Brewers simply can't afford to use a six-man rotation forever, and though he has proven that he can be a big-league starter long term, Drohan's success as a reliever earlier in the year is likely to push him back into the bullpen.

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