Brewers Pitcher of the Month: August 2024

Honorable Mentions
Joel Payamps
12 2/3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 12 K
Payamps had his best month of the year so far, pitching to the tune of a 1.42 ERA over 14 appearances. It was the first month of the season where his ERA was under 4.00 as he dialed in on his sinker and slider. Against 72 sliders thrown, opposing batters batted just .059 with a 27.8% strikeout rate. While his sinker didn’t net a single strikeout, it also didn’t give up a single hit or walk over 34 pitches. 

Statistical Nugget: Of Brewers pitchers with 10+ innings pitched in August, Payamps’ WHIP of 0.63 was the second-lowest behind just Bryan Hudson (0.50).

Joe Ross
13 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 11 K
Following a disappointing stretch of starts before and after a lengthy IL stint, Ross has been great out of the bullpen so far. It was his first full month as a reliever and he was lights out, posting a 0.69 ERA over his seven appearances. While his four-seam fastball was a secondary weapon to his sinker this month, it had an impressive 42.9% strikeout rate with a 0.0% walk rate. The only run he gave up was against his slider, a pitch that still kept opposing batters to a .387 OPS.

Statistical Nugget: Of Brewers pitchers with 10+ innings pitched in August, Ross’s opposing slugging percentage of .174 was the lowest. 

Freddy Peralta
28 IP, 22 H, 9 ER, 11 BB, 23 K
Like the aforementioned names on this list, Peralta hit a real stride this month. His 2.89 ERA over five starts was a significant improvement over the approximately 4.00 ERA mark he was sitting at over the prior three months. It has been discussed a few times on Brewer Fanatic already, but when his slider is working well, Peralta is at his best. Over 78 sliders thrown in August, he didn’t concede a single run. The curveball was just as effective, also avoiding any scoring damage over 48 pitches. He’s locking in at just the right time and if he maintains this momentum into the postseason, Milwaukee will have a great rotation setup for any playoff series.

Statistical Nugget: Of Brewers pitchers with more than 20 batters faced in August, Freddy Peralta’s barrel rate against his breaking balls was 6.3%, second-lowest behind just Joe Ross (5.6%).

Pitcher of the Month - Tobias Myers
27 IP, 24 H, 8 ER, 5 BB, 21 K
The defending champion kept it going with a 2.67 ERA over five starts, his best monthly ERA since the mind-blowing 1.44 he posted in June. His four-seam/slider combo continued to help carry the sagging weight of a cutter that continues to struggle at the major league level. These two pitches combined for an opposing batting average of just .186, a big improvement over the .360 average against his cutter in August. 

While Peralta may have entered the season as the ace of the rotation, Myers seems to have risen to the top spot statistically, leading the team in starter ERA (3.00). Regardless of who is actually top dog, it’s clear that the starting rotation injury catastrophe that threatened to sink the ship has been patched up just in time for October.

Statistical Nugget: Of Brewers starters, Myers’ August walk rate of 4.6% was the second-lowest, behind just Colin Rea (0.8%).