After Not Calling Them Up, Can Brewers Still Call Upon Top Pitching Prospects for Playoff Roster?

Expanded rosters brought about the return of DL Hall as the extra pitcher for the Brewers to begin September, despite a lot of hype about both Jacob Misiorowski and Craig Yoho at Nashville. There were some loud rumblings of a potential Misiorowski callup, in particular, that never came to fruition--but there are some fairly solid reasons for this, not least that neither is yet on a fairly crowded 40-man roster.

First of all, the team might still be focused on determining whether Misiorowski is ready to start in the major leagues next season. His control looks markedly better at Triple-A, despite a blip of three walks in his last appearance, but those control problems continued to waver in his starting role at Biloxi before his promotion. There's also a difference between control and command, the distinction between which may not get by quite so successfully in the major leagues. Consider Misiorowski’s pitch map, below:

There is also an issue in starting his service clock before he’s ready. If the Brewers have intentions of him continuing in a starting role, he will most likely need more time at Triple-A next season to continue refining his command and potentially developing a pitch that moves to the arm side.

Then there is the concern over his innings and pitch counts. Misiorowski was shut down early in August of 2023 due to arm fatigue, and the violence of his delivery has created concerns about the workload on his shoulder and elbow joints. He threw just 71 ⅓ innings in 2023, but has reached 92 ⅓ so far in 2024, with around 100 innings a likely figure the Brewers front office have in mind. Bringing him up after that mark to pitch highly stressful innings in October would be a concern on their part, for a player of his talent.

Realistically, the raw stuff plays out of the bullpen right now if he’s promoted, but to lose a year of his talent for a small bullpen upgrade (and it would be small given the talent the Brewers already have in the pen at their disposal) doesn’t quite align with the organization's paradigm. The Brewers have preached about the balance of looking after today and tomorrow in equilibrium, and you’d best believe that plays a part in the Misiorowski decision.

Craig Yoho is a different kettle of fish, and perhaps with the all-relief profile and the potential to start next season with the Brewers out of spring training, he was a strong candidate. Possessing a screwball comparable to Devin Williams's alongside a wiffleball slider and a two-seamer, Yoho also has stuff capable of getting outs from the bullpen right now.

Yoho is still quite new to pitching, which is one reason why he went under the radar and signed for just $10,000 in the 2023 draft, and that leaves with it a certain element of the unknown in how a player responds to those high-octane environments. Yoho’s stuff can dismantle anyone in the minor leagues, but against the best bats on the biggest stage, you need more than just raw stuff to carry you as a pitcher.

I’m potentially grasping at straws a little with Yoho, but the Brewers evidently felt he needed more time, and are potentially also a little concerned with his innings usage, given the injury struggles he faced in college with a history of two Tommy John surgeries. He threw a total of 37 innings with Indiana in 2023, the only innings of his college career, so a modicum of caution is warranted.

In the end, the main reason will still be the 40-man crunch the Brewers currently have, with Enoli Paredes, Bryse Wilson and Nick Mears all on the IL and vying for a September return--meaning there are already some tough decisions in store.

The next big question is whether either can still force their way into the Brewers' plans for October. The general rule is that, to be postseason-eligible, a player must be on the 40-man roster or the 60-day IL on Aug. 31. Josh Donaldson was claimed off waivers in 2023 while on the 60-day IL, which allowed him to play for the Brewers in October but obviously that’s not the case for Misiorowski or Yoho. However, there is one loophole:

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A player who doesn't meet said criteria for postseason eligibility can still be added to a team's roster in the postseason via petition to the Commissioner's Office if the player was in the organization on Aug. 31 and is replacing someone who is on the injured list and has served the minimum amount of time required for activation. (For example, a player on the 10-day injured list who has been on it for at least 10 days, or a player who has been on the 60-day injured list for at least 60 days.) Players who are acquired in September or after are ineligible.

So if there is a player on the IL and has served their allotted time, the Brewers can replace them on the 40-man roster, with approval from the commissioner's office. This situation could arise later in the month, but two interesting such cases do exist. Mears is currently on the 15-day IL with elbow inflammation, and early reports are good, but it’s the kind of injury that can suddenly regress and put you back to square one. With Hoby Milner back but Bryan Hudson optioned to Nashville, the revolving door is spinning quickly right now--but it's hard to get a pitcher from off the 40-man into the rotation.

It's easy to get the waivers alluded to in that rule comment. Since Misiorowski and Yoho were both in the organization well before the deadline, eligibility isn't a problem. It's more likely that the team is just keeping its powder dry, knowing that calling up either would force moves that would take certain other options off the table--whereas leaving them in Nashville preserves all those options and extends their window to evaluate some of the other fringe candidates for October inclusion.

All in all, it seems at this point as though both the young hurlers will be watching on while the brewers play in October, but there’s still room for all manner of chaos to erupt in September. How the Brewers handle that is anyone’s guess.

What do you think of the decision to keep Yoho and Misiorowski off the 40 man roster, and the side effects of doing so? Do you agree with it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!