Grant Anderson Has Reprised His Role as Versatile and Valuable Member of Brewers' Bullpen

The Brewers leaned heavily on their top relievers last season, but in a bullpen that covered the fourth-most regular-season innings in baseball, Grant Anderson was one of the hardest workers. The sidewinding right-hander logged 69 2/3 innings in relief, trailing only Abner Uribe.

Once again, Anderson has quietly been an unsung workhorse. His 12 appearances thus far in 2026 tie him with Aaron Ashby for the club lead. In 13 1/3 innings, he’s posted a 2.70 ERA and 2.98 FIP. Anderson’s strikeout rate has decreased from last year, but he has paired a decent 10.5% swinging strike rate with an excellent 57.6% ground ball rate.

“He’s been sharp,” Pat Murphy said. “He had the hiccup there in extra innings [against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 14], and then he’s been really good ever since.”

Anderson has quickly become a Swiss Army knife for Murphy in the early weeks of the season, particularly as other relievers like Trevor Megill and Ángel Zerpa have struggled. He’s appeared in every inning from the third through the 10th. He’s kept the Brewers in games when trailing, protected close leads, and even entered jams as a fireman, collecting four holds along the way.

He entered a fire on Tuesday evening in Detroit, before the Brewers’ offense broke through late in a 12-4 blowout win over the Tigers. Anderson inherited a bases-loaded, no-out situation from Kyle Harrison, who lost his fastball command in the fourth inning when the lead was still just 3-0. He promptly induced a double-play grounder from Javier Báez and struck out Kerry Carpenter to escape trouble with just one run scoring.

“That was awesome,” Harrison said of Anderson’s effort.

Anderson then returned to throw a scoreless fifth, giving the Brewers six crucial outs of middle relief before the momentum swung their way.

“It was huge today for him to come in when he did,” Murphy said. “Bases loaded, no outs, get the ground ball, get a number of ground balls in the game. That was huge.”

Anderson’s 20.4% strikeout rate is a touch below the league average, but the whiffs he had last year could soon return. His stuff is arguably better in his second season in Milwaukee. By slightly raising his arm slot (for a second straight season) from 4° to 8°, Anderson has added an extra inch of induced vertical break to his four-seamer, meaning what was already his top swing-and-miss pitch a year ago now has even more carry at the top of the strike zone. Stuff models grade it as an even better pitch than it was in 2025, even without its best velocity.

He’ll need those strikeouts moving forward, particularly because he’s always been prone to walks and occasional home runs. But for now, Anderson is once again playing a pivotal role in the Brewers’ relief corps, even if he’s neither the flashiest nor the most conventionally effective member.