Brewers Pluck a Very Brewers-y Pitcher From Cardinals in 2024 Rule 5 Draft

Connor Thomas does not throw hard, and he probably never will. A 5-foot-11 lefty who throws just 90 miles per hour with a seldom-used four-seamer, Thomas primarily leans on a slider, cutter, and sinker. He's a smallish hurler who will turn 27 years old next May, and although he showed the ability to flummox Triple-A hitters in a multi-inning swingman role for the Memphis Redbirds in 2024, he seems like a low-ceiling pickup. He's something of a free replacement for Hoby Milner, with the caveat that in order to realize any value from him, the Brewers have to shave off any rough edges and get him ready to attack big-league batters by the end of spring training.

Thomas doesn't have Milner levels of funk in his delivery, but the Brewers will have some immediate ideas for him. They can slide him over to the first-base side of the rubber to create tougher angles for lefties. His slider became more of a sweeper in 2024, with gratifying results, and the team probably views that as one unlock already checked off the to-do list. His slider was a subpar offering in 2023, with a 0.3 StuffPro according to Baseball Prospectus. (StuffPro is expressed on a scale of runs against average per 100 pitches thrown. Negative numbers mean fewer runs allowed and are thus better.) The sweeper was a much nicer -0.2 in 2024, and his PItchPro (which incorporates location) was an even better -0.6.

Next, they might further emphasize his cutter. In any case, the team surely loves that he throws all three flavors of fastball, as they're one of the two or three teams (along with, most notably, ex-Brewers GM David Stearns's Mets) who most ardently advocate using multiple heaters.

Here's a fun fact: Thomas has thrown at least one outing in front of Statcast cameras that fed public data sources every month since February, save this one. He has a bit of a rubber arm, which is highly valuable; the Brewers might like him purely on that basis. After a full season in Triple A, he's been down in the Dominican Winter League, pitching some more. Now, he'll get at least a look in a big-league spring training camp, and perhaps a stint in the majors with a new team. 

This is not a high-impact or a high-variance pick. It's straightforward depth work. As such selections go, however, it seems like a sound one. The Brewers will report to Maryvale in Feburary with one more candidate for the final lefty spot in their bullpen.