Article: Is Bullpen Help Brewing On The Farm?

[Harold Hutchison]

The Brewers bullpen has been tested in the first five weeks of the season, with Brandon Woodruff, Adrian Houser, and Aaron Ashby spending time on the injured list. Relievers Matt Bush and Gus Varland also went to the injured list, the latter after a scary incident involving a line drive off his left arm, and who made his return very recently.

Image courtesy of © William Glasheen / USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK

Even with Houser and Varland returning, there is a question in the mind of some fans – is any help on the way from the farm? Let’s look over what there is – both on the 40-man roster and some intriguing options off the roster.

From The 40-Man Roster

J.B. Bukauskas
Bukauskas was a waiver wire claim from the Mariners. To date, he’s seen action in three games with Nashville, posting a 4.50 ERA and notching six strikeouts in four innings. He also saw an inning of action with the Mariners.

Alex Claudio
Claudio has been solid at Nashville and made one appearance when Hoby Milner needed a day off, and the Crew needed a lefty. Given his past track record in MLB, he could be called up again.

Jake Cousins
Cousins has been up and down, racking up a lot of strikeouts in Nashville while posting a 1.93 ERA. He performed well in 2021 and 2022 before going on the injured list, so he is an option for the Crew.

Trevor Megill
Megill was acquired from the Twins for the ever-familiar player to be named later and some cash. He got rocked with the Twins AAA affiliate but pitched a scoreless inning in his Nashville debut. He’ll need to show that the St. Paul numbers were an aberration.

Tyson Miller
Miller dominated in Nashville and posted a 1.93 ERA in Milwaukee despite only a 3.9 K/IP ratio. He could easily help out if called up again.

Cam Robinson
This Top-30 MLB Pipeline prospect had a rough go in Nashville but has rebounded in Biloxi, posting two saves. He could still be an asset for the Crew, but it may not be until 2024.

Ethan Small
The Brewers’ first-round pick in 2019, Small, shows solid multi-inning relief capability in Nashville, which could be good news for the Brewers’ bullpen.

Bennett Sousa
Sousa was purchased from the Reds and pitched decently at Nashville before coming up to handle some “garbage” time in the Brewers’ 9-3 win over the Dodgers.

Abner Uribe
Uribe has dominated in Biloxi, and his 103mph heat could be very useful for the Brewers. His ERA is 1.00, and he has a couple of saves.

Other Options

Lucas Erceg
The converted third baseman has posted solid numbers since being promoted to AAA in 2022 and has shown he can go multiple innings in a given outing, too. Plus, his bat flashed some OBP and power so that he could be used as a pinch-hitter in a real pinch.

Clayton Andrews
Andrews has rebounded from two seasons marred by time on the injured list to post a 2.53 ERA and a WHIP of 0.983. While he hasn’t pitched more than one and a third innings in an outing yet, he is doing very well, and like Erceg, he flashed some two-way potential with a high-contact bat and some speed in college and the minors.

James Meeker
Meeker has dominated since his 2022 promotion to AA Biloxi and could bump Megill or Bukauskas from the 40-man roster (and Nashville) at any point in the 2023 season.

Darrell Thompson
Like Meeker, Thompson is older than your typical prospect, but he has dominated since his arrival and could be a credible option. Five of his nine appearances have been for over an inning.

Overview
The Brewers can count on some help for the bullpen from the farm system. Some of the best options are not on the 40-man roster, which could make things very interesting in the next few months. Erceg and Andrews could end up on another MLB roster if not added to the 40-man roster. Meanwhile, Meeker and Thompson could be solid options for a few years.

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[SF70]

There is plenty of bullpen help when it’s needed.

Trevor Megill has probably the most experience and is closing-out games for Nashville. His velo has ticked-up to 99 and he’s throwing strikes. 

Ethan Small seems to have figured-out a consistent release-point and is back to strike-throwing with plenty of whiffs. 

Clayton Andrews has the stuff and poise and being LH can help balance-out the pen when he gets the call.

Miller and Cousins have already been shuttled but just don’t give out much confidence pitching anything close to high-leverage.

Darrell Thompson was recently promoted to Nashville after dominating AA hitters the first month of the season. Also LH and if he continues to perform anything close to his 1st 5 weeks could also be in the mix at some point moving forward.

JB Bukauskas also is pitching big innings for Nashville and has big-league experience so he could also be a shuttle option at some point.

[Playing Catch]

Relievers are notoriously inconsistent, both month-to-month and season-to-season, so I like that they have the ability to simply call up a hot hand, and bench the cold one. They can use the IL as well with minor "injuries" like blisters or fatigue.

[Outlander]

Unless they get rid of Varland they may not be able to do much, especially with Elvis pitching so well. It is nice to have guys with options and major league experience like Miller, Cousins, Megill, Small. I hope Claudio never gets called up again with other left handed guys available.

[Harold Hutchison]

Varland's not been horrible. Of the folks on the 40-man, I'd have Matt Bush and Bennett Sousa tops on the list for DFA in favor of Andrews and Thompson, then maybe let Claudio walk to add Erceg after the season. Maybe it could be time to deal Milner to open a space, too.