25 Years of Miller Park/Am Fam Field: The All-Time Brewers Bullpen Staff

This year is the 25th anniversary of play at The Ueck, and the Brewers are going to celebrate that milestone this summer, including a special day at the ballpark on Friday, July 25. Several players from each of the last 25 seasons will be at the ballyard in late July, signing autographs, working at concession stands, and working the cash registers at retail stores inside the stadium.

To help celebrate, Brewer Fanatic is presenting its All-Time Miller Park/Am Fam Field pitching staff and position player roster. Without further ado, here is part two of a three-part series, featuring the eight-man bullpen staff, based on Brewers stats only from 2001-2025.

It would be really easy to just throw the eight top closers on this team, but can you imagine the chaos with eight high-leverage guys in the pen, all vying to throw in only the eighth and ninth innings?

The first four pitchers listed will be the ‘spot starter/long relief/middle relief’ guys. Each of these players had at least one 10-save season as a Brewer (except for Will Smith), but all were used in a variety of roles.

Jeremy Jeffress (2010, 2014-16, 2017-19)
GR – 300, Sv – 43, ERA – 2.66, WAR – 7.3, ERA+ - 157, FIP – 3.25
‘Jay-Jay’ had three separate stints with Milwaukee, adding up to seven campaigns in Brew City. All but one of those years resulted in an ERA+ of more than 122, including a high of 317 in his only All-Star year of 2018. Jeffress had a career-high of 27 saves in 2016, before being traded to Texas in early August.

The righthander ranks fifth on the all-time Brewers list, having appearing in 301 games for them.

Check out the rocket back to the box in this video:

Tyler Thornburg (2012-16)
GR – 134, Sv – 13, ERA – 2.87, WAR – 4.1, ERA+ - 141, FIP – 3.83
‘Thorny’ split time between the minors and Milwaukee in three of his five seasons as a Brewer. Oddly enough, Thornburg was used solely as a starter in Nashville, Huntsville, and Colorado Springs, making 53 starts and zero relief appearances. As a Brewer, Thornburg started 10 games in 144 appearances.

Although never a star, the righty was a solid part of the Brewers bullpen, posting two seasons of better than a 190 ERA+, including a high of 199 in 2016. He notched a career high of 13 saves in 67 appearances that year.

Will Smith (2014-16)
GR – 181, Sv – 1, ERA – 3.28, WAR – 1.0, ERA+ - 120, FIP – 3.08
One of the two lefties in the bullpen crew, ‘Smitty’ led the National League with 78 appearances in 2014 and followed that up the next year with 76 games pitched, along with his Brewers best of an ERA+ of 147 and an outstanding 2.47 FIP. Those two seasons rank in the top 10 on the single-season Brewers games pitched list.

Corey Knebel (2015-18, 2020)
GR – 231, Sv – 57, ERA – 3.20, WAR – 4.5, ERA+ - 132, FIP – 3.37
The man known as ‘Bird Dog’ filled many roles as a Brewer, including closer during his best season in 2017. That year, he made the NL All-Star team, led the league with 76 appearances, and saved 39 games, tied for third-best in the league. Knebel also posted career bests with a 248 ERA+ and a FIP of 2.53.

Frankie Rodriguez (2011-15)
GR – 263, Sv – 95, ERA – 2.91, WAR – 5.0, ERA+ - 136, FIP – 3.54
‘K-Rod’ spent his first three years in Milwaukee playing second fiddle to Axford and Jim Henderson. But in his last two seasons as a Brewer, he showed his true colors: two All-Star games and a combined 82 saves. The righthander ranks fifth on the all-time Brewers save list and ranks in the top seven for single-season saves (44 in 2014, 38 in 2015).

Josh Hader (2017-22)
GR – 269, Sv – 125, ERA – 2.48, WAR – 10.4, ERA+ - 172, FIP – 2.70
The southpaw known as ‘Haderade’ was named to the NL All-Star team four times in his six-year Brewer career. Hader led the NL with 13 saves in the COVID year of 2020, and had a career-best of 37 in 2019. He ranks second on the all-time Brewers saves list, behind underrated Dan Plesac’s 133.

Devin Williams (2019-24)
GR – 241, Sv – 68, ERA – 1.83, WAR – 8.9, ERA+ - 231, FIP – 2.39
The right-handed ‘Airbender’ was the NL ROY in 2020, posting ridiculous numbers like a 1,375 ERA+, a 0.86 FIP, and a strikeout rate of 53%. Although he never compiled elite save numbers (high of 36), he was named to the NL All-Star team in 2022 and 2023. His 68 saves rank eighth on the Brewers' career list.  

HONORABLE MENTION--BULLPEN
Carlos Villanueva (2006-10), Marco Estrada (2010-14), Brent Suter (2016-22).

Do you agree with our bullpen staff? Let us know in the comments and feel free to add your own choice(s).

Are you interested in Brewers history? Then check out the Milwaukee Brewers Players Project, a community-driven project to discover and collect great information on every player to wear a Brewers uniform!