Getting Closer to Full Strength, the Brewers Have Survived a Dangerous Stretch

With the returns of Willy Adames and Luis Urias this week, the positional corps is starting to look the way the team envisioned before the season began. Although Jesse Winker is nominally on the IL, he's really off the roster because he wasn't hitting the way he would have needed to in order to remain on it. He's hit the ball hard much more often in his first couple of rehab appearances, but needs to prove his power is back before rejoining the team. Garrett Mitchell won't be back, and it seems like Tyrone Taylor's elbow injury could be a lingering problem, but Joey Wiemer and Brian Anderson have been good enough to minimize the impact of those losses. 

With Christian Yelich, Wiemer, and Anderson available in the outfield; Adames, Urias, Rowdy Tellez, Abraham Toro, and Andruw Monasterio on the infield; and William Contreras and Victor Caratini sharing the catching duties, the lineup is more or less what the team hoped it would be two months ago, at least in terms of the names. Obviously, that's the not the same thing as being pleased with the production. The team is last in the National League in both on-base percentage and slugging. The hope is that the full-strength lineup will be better than that, even if the goal is more in the range of league-average than of becoming a juggernaut. Alas, so far, Urias looks compromised by his long injury-enforced layoff, and Adames has been as boom-or-bust since his return as he was for the month before he went down with a concussion.

On the pitching side, the reinforcements aren't really here yet, but they're getting close. Matt Bush had a solid inning on Thursday for Triple-A Nashville, with two strikeouts and only one baserunner allowed. His fastball was sitting 95, and his curveball had its usual, healthy movement. It's no surprise that Bush overpowered hitters at that level, but the outing underscored the fact that he's nearly ready to return to what has become a somewhat shorthanded bullpen. 

Eric Lauer's first rehab appearance for Nashville was rocky, in terms of results, but his velocity was up, and the drop in that very number was a major indicator of the trouble he had before landing on the injured list last month. More than whether he gets hit or not, what matters for Lauer is showing that he can sustain that velocity as he stretches back out and works on normal rest. If so, he should be back before the month is out. Wade Miley, too, figures to be back in the rotation soon.

The Crew has stayed afloat through considerable adversity. They've shown well even against tough competition, as when they beat the Orioles in a home series this week. Still, losing to the A's Friday night is a good reminder that being down so many important contributors takes a toll. Even a team that feeble can steal a game (or, God forbid, a few of them, as the Pirates found out this week) when their opponent is so diminished by injuries that they have a flavor of Triple A themselves. With the roster regaining its intended shape, the Brewers should be able to avoid losses like that one in the future--even against left-handed pitchers. For now, though, they just need to continue convalescing. Over the next three weeks, they'll play two series against the overachievers from Pittsburgh, and if Counsell has a healthy group when those games are played, the team should come out of them with a fairly comfortable division lead.