Brewer Fanatic's 2024 Brewers Pitchers of the Year

[Jason Wang]

Who were the best arms on one of the league's best pitching staffs--and who won the acclaim of our writers?

Honorable Mentions
SP Aaron Civale
(Brewers Stats) 74 IP, 3.53 ERA, 4.79 FIP, 1.22 WHIP, 7.9 SO/9, 3.0 BB/9, 119 ERA+, 1.1 rWAR
Civale was an unassuming trade deadline acquisition, to say the least. After a tenure with the Rays that saw him pitch to a 5.17 ERA over 27 starts, he didn’t seem like he was going to be very effective with any team. After all, if the Rays--an organization known for developing great pitching talent--couldn’t make it work, how could anyone?

Well, the Brewers did make it work, getting a great set of 14 starts from Civale and using him to bolster an injury-plagued rotation. Keen-eyed readers may note that his FIP of 4.79 is roughly the same as it was in Tampa this year, and perhaps he was the beneficiary of a solid defensive effort rather than of tangible pitching improvements. MLB Trade Rumors projects him to earn $8 million in arbitration, which might be a little hefty for a back-of-the-rotation guy, so despite his contributions in 2024, he may not make any more to the team in 2025. 

 

SP Colin Rea
167 ⅔ IP, 4.29 ERA, 4.75 FIP, 1.26 WHIP, 7.2 SO/9, 2.3 BB/9, 98 ERA+, 1.3 rWAR
In the face of unprecedented responsibility, Rea stepped up and led the Brewers rotation for the first four months of the season. His sweeper was one of the best pitches on the team, having an opposing batting average of just .054 with a BABIP of .082 before Aug. 1. 

Unfortunately for Rea, his pitching seemed to hit a wall due to the sheer workload of his season, requiring 40 more innings from him than he threw in 2023, and his performance regressed significantly in the final month. Luckily, the Brewers had established themselves as division champions by that point, so it didn’t have much of an effect on the team’s postseason position, but it was enough to leave him off of the Wild Card roster.

RP Bryan Hudson
62 ⅓ IP, 1.73 ERA, 3.60 FIP, 0.72 WHIP, 9.0 SO/9, 2.5 BB/9, 243 ERA+, 2.5 rWAR
2024 was a great comeback year for Bryan Hudson. After being designated for assignment by the Dodgers, he was traded to the Brewers and was one of the best arms in the bullpen, leading all qualified Milwaukee pitchers in ERA+. His sweeper was dominant, boasting an opposing batting average of .052, a whiff rate of 35.2%, and a put-away rate of 26.4%. 

His FIP was a little suspect as it was considerably higher than his actual ERA but that was largely affected by a brutal July which saw him post a 10.83 FIP over a span of six games. If you recalculate his numbers without July, his FIP plummets to 2.49, so he may really just be that good.

Top 3 Best Pitchers of 2024
3. RP Trevor Megill
46 ⅓ IP, 2.72 ERA, 21 SV, 3.10 FIP, 1.01 WHIP, 9.7 SO/9, 2.7 BB/9, 155 ERA+, 1.3 rWAR
Like some of the other names on this list, Megill was saddled with higher expectations because of injuries affecting the people above him on the depth chart. Because Devin Williams missed much of the year, he was asked to take on the closer role and stepped up in a big way, putting together the first 21 saves of his career. 

Fans already know about his scorching four-seam fastball that averages 98.8 mph and topped out at 101.4 mph but his curveball was sneaky nice too, having an opposing batting average of .167 and a mind-blowing whiff rate of 55.0%. 

With Williams potentially gone this offseason, Megill’s performance as the interim closer could push for the team to give him the full-time job in 2025. If you’re worried about the Airbender being traded away, Trevor could just end up being the next reincarnation of the Avatar.

(Tie) 1. SP Tobias Myers
138 IP, 3.00 ERA, 3.91 FIP, 1.17 WHIP, 8.3 SO/9, 2.3 BB/9, 140 ERA+, 2.7 rWAR
If not for a 20-year old Venezuelan outfielder whose last name is somewhat similar to everyone’s least favorite childhood breakfast cereal, Myers would have undoubtedly been the Brewers’ rookie of the year. It has been a wild ride, to having the second-most losses in the minor leagues in 2022 to an unimpressive full-time minor-leaguer, to having the best ERA+ of any starting pitcher on the Brewers. He also pitched five shutout innings in his postseason debut.

His four-seam fastball was serviceable but the pitch with the best results might have been his changeup. It was pretty unhittable with an opposing average of .083 and a whiff rate of 44.4%, the only pitch he threw to have a whiff rate above 25%. His slider was effective as well with a .255 opposing slugging percentage. 

Can he keep up the good work in 2025? If he does, Milwaukee’s starters will be a menacing bunch with Brandon Woodruff back in the fray and Robert Gasser potentially returning from surgery halfway through the season. 

(Tie) 1. Freddy Peralta
173 ⅔ IP, 3.68 ERA, 4.16 FIP, 1.22 WHIP, 10.4 SO/9, 3.5 BB/9, 114 ERA+, 2.6 rWAR
Peralta may never return to his 2021 peak but Milwaukee has now gotten three seasons of pretty consistent starting pitching from him. He threw more innings than any previous season in 2024, making 32 starts at the top of the rotation and maintaining solid numbers while doing it. His season had a lukewarm ending with a shaky start ending in a postseason loss to the Mets but he redeemed himself a little bit by coming out of the bullpen in the eighth inning of the final game. 

Freddy didn’t do a ton differently than last year but he made a few small adjustments. He decreased the usage of his curveball in exchange for more heater and changeups. His fastball was less effective but his changeup was better, particularly at avoiding hard contact. Opponents slugged just .291 against the changeup in 2024 vs. .388 in 2023. 

It’ll be interesting to see where he ends up on the depth chart in 2025. Brandon Woodruff has been out for the whole year and may need some time to get back to his former self, perhaps clearing a way for Freddy Peralta to lead the way once again. There is a minuscule chance the Brewers don’t exercise his $8 million team option for 2025 but there’s probably a higher chance that I’ll be the Opening Day starter than that happening, especially after his solid showing this year.

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[Brock Beauchamp]

I would have gone with Myers. His season was so bloody impressive.

[CheezWizHed]

I have no idea what Myers has to do with Shredded Wheat, but ok. 😉

Freddie was steady and available all year, but more mediocre performance than what we hoped for. 

[Team Canada]

Yeah I don't see how this is a tie.

Regarding the "serviceable fastball" comment, isn't part of Myers success due to his elite "rise" on that pitch? Or am I remembering wrong/data doesn't bear that out?

The Cheerios reference was a real stretch for me. :)

[Jason Wang]

2 hours ago, Team Canada said:

Yeah I don't see how this is a tie.

Regarding the "serviceable fastball" comment, isn't part of Myers success due to his elite "rise" on that pitch? Or am I remembering wrong/data doesn't bear that out?

The Cheerios reference was a real stretch for me. :)

His fastball definitely has some great rise with 19 inches of induced vertical break! I said serviceable because to me, the actual numbers are good but not insane. 

.239 BA, .436 SLG, 19.2% whiff rate are solid but definitely still some work to do. 

Just to totally cherry pick a random dude, Brandon Woodruff's four-seam fastball had 

.184 BA, .381 SLG, 28.4% whiff rate in 2022

also I hate cheerios

[Doug B]

Myers easy. Peralta is mediocre. Not bad, but he's a poor man's Yovanni Gallardo. The $8m options for him are fine, because every team needs a decent #3 starter and that is what Peralta is.