Three Candidates to Break out in the Brewers' Bullpen in 2024

[David Go]

The Brewers always find a few under-the-radar arms to become valuable late-inning weapons. Minor League free agent signings, waiver claims, and non-prospects have become late-inning staples - Devin Williams, Brad Boxberger, Peter Strzelecki, and many more. Who might it be this year?

Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports

Which arms might take the baton as the breakout relievers in the Brewers’ bullpen? Last year, it was Bryse Wilson, Joel Payamps, and Elvis Peguero. In 2022, we saw Hoby Milner and Peter Strzelecki emerge as late-inning weapons.

With a depleted starting rotation and injured Devin Williams, they may need to rely on some unheralded arms more than in previous years. Here are three candidates to break out in the bullpen for 2024.

Trevor Megill
2023: 34.2 IP, 3.63 ERA, 52:12 K:BB

The 6-foot-8 righty may have had his breakout season last year, depending on who you ask, but he stands to make 2024 his true full-season breakout. Megill posted a 2.70 ERA across 20 innings after the All-Star break, including a remarkable 32:5 K:BB ratio. A mechanical change accompanied the uptick in performance.

“Being a little shorter,” Megill told Brewer Fanatic’s Matt Trueblood. “I feel like that's the direction people head in later in their careers: try to get more compact through the years. That was the focus [in the 2022-23] offseason, and throughout the [2023] season, it just progressively got better. It was a conscious effort, for sure.”

In the latter half of the year, Megill's fastball averaged 99.5 mph, the third-best mark in baseball. His 2.11 FIP (fielding independent pitching) indicates an exceptional ability to control the “three true outcomes”—strikeouts, walks, and home runs. Just one pitcher (minimum 20 innings) across the Major Leagues outpaced Megill in both K% and BB% in the second half.

Megill took a leap forward in 2023, hopping off the AAA shuttle to establish himself as a big-league reliever. But 2024 could be the year he takes it further, carrying last year’s late-season success into a late-inning role for the Brewers.

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Bryan Hudson
2023 (LAD-AAA): 55.2 IP, 2.43 ERA, 86:26 K:BB

The Brewers acquired Hudson in a low-profile trade with the Dodgers this offseason after the lefty was forced off the roster to make room for Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The low-profile acquisition could pay dividends if the lefty carries his AAA performance to the big leagues.

Hudson averaged just 92.0 mph on his fastball last year but steadily improved throughout the season. His extension results in his fastball “playing up,” meaning it may be more effective than merely the velocity reading. Hudson’s elite extension gives hitters little time to react, resulting in a .238 batting average against his fastball in AAA last year. The southpaw also throws a cutter and slider.

“We are working on some front-side stuff, keeping it close to my body,” Hudson told Brewer Fanatic’s Matt Trueblood earlier this spring. “After working on some of this stuff, the last few times I’ve thrown, I’m up to 7.8, 7.6 [feet]... it helps me be a little bit more deceptive.”

Hudson, also 6-foot-8, showed similar splits against both lefties and righties last year, allowing Murphy flexibility to deploy him for the minimum three batters even if they aren’t all left-handed.

The Brewers’ bullpen featured a rotating cast of characters filling the role of second lefty - Andrew Chafin (5.82 ERA), Ethan Small (5 ER in 4 IP), Clayton Andrews (10 ER in 3.1 IP), Bennett Sousa (4 ER in 2.2 IP), Thomas Pannone (2 ER in 2.2 IP) and Alex Claudio (0.1 IP). Hudson could be the answer to a year-long problem for the Crew.

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J.B. Bukauskas
2023 (SEA/MIL): 7 IP, 1 ER, 7:3 K:BB

2023 (SEA/MIL-AAA): 42.2 IP, 3.59 ERA, 49:13 K:BB

Bukauskas was optioned to AAA-Nashville to begin the year, but it could be just a matter of time until he finds his way to a big-league mound. The righty tossed six innings for the Brewers last year after a mid-April waiver claim.

“I would like to see more from him,” said Tim Dillard on a recent episode of The Barrel Banter. “I think the only reason he probably didn’t get out there as much and didn’t have a chance was the bullpen was so good.”

Added Dillard: “[It’s a] really good sinker - it’s almost straight down.”

The former first-round pick works primarily from a low arm slot with a sinker and slider, resulting in a 63.3 GB%, the fourth-best in AAA’s International League. His 26.8 K% and 6.4 BB% were better than the league average.

If Bukauskas consistently stays in the strike zone as he has thus far in the Brewers’ organization, he could be a valuable member of the bullpen. With the starters expected to throw fewer innings than in recent years, Bukauskas will likely find himself making frequent trips to and from Milwaukee and Nashville to eat innings. In the process, he could emerge as a legitimate option to get righties out in big spots.

 

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