One Good and One Bad Stat for Every Brewers Player, So Far (Part 3)

Corbin Burnes

• Uplifting: 3.68 ERA
• Concerning: 22.3% K Rate

Corbin Burnes hasn’t been the consistently elite pitcher the Brewers have seen the last two years, but he's still been generally effective. Despite the feeling of inconsistency, Burnes has pitched to a very respectable 3.68 ERA. What’s concerning is that his strikeouts are down over eight percentage points from last year, to a rate that is below the major-league average. Not exactly what you’re looking for from your team's ace, but with pitching as thin as it is right now, it's hard to complain.

Brandon Woodruff

• Uplifting: 0.79 ERA
• Concerning: 2 Games

The concern here is obvious, Woodruff hasn’t been healthy for a majority of the season, but if you’re looking for a positive, Woodruff was effective in his only two games this year. The most important thing now is getting him back on the field.

Freddy Peralta

• Uplifting: 3.38 ERA at Home
• Concerning: 10 HR Against

Freddy Peralta has struggled of late, especially with keeping the ball in the ballpark. Peralta didn’t have many problems with the home run last year, but with his naturally high walk rate, the long ball has been especially damaging to Peralta. Oddly enough, Peralta’s been a better pitcher in the hitter-friendly American Family Field, with an ERA under 3.5. His ERA on the road currently sits over 6.

Eric Lauer

• Uplifting: His Late Game Effectiveness
• Concerning: 6.58 xERA

There’s no way around it: Eric Lauer has pitched terribly so far. His velocity is down, and he’s been getting hit hard early and often in his starts. His Baseball Savant page is as blue as a bruise, and there truly is no light at the end of the tunnel. However, when Lauer is able to survive the first 3 innings with minor damage, he’s been effective from the fourth inning onward, with a sub-3.00 ERA after the third as a starter.

Adrian Houser

• Uplifting: 3.58 xERA
• Concerning: 15% K Rate

Adrian Houser has seemingly figured something out over the past couple weeks, and is leaning heavily into his soft contact-based pitching approach. His 15% strikeout rate is alarmingly low for a major-league pitcher in today’s game, but if the season were to end today, his xERA would be his lowest since 2019, and it would be only the second time in his career that he’d have a single-season xERA under 4.00. Houser was supposed to be on the fringe of the rotation when he came back from injury, but he has quickly made his case to stay.

Colin Rea

• Uplifting: 42.1 IP
• Concerning: 42.1 IP

In a sense, Colin Rea has done exactly what the team has asked of him, eating innings while the injured players make their way back. That's also a concern, through little fault of his own, that he’s getting all these innings in the starting rotation. Rea was never going to be overly effective, and his usage is just a symptom of the injury problems that have faced the Brewers all season.

Wade Miley

• Uplifting: 3.67 ERA
• Concerning: 4.60 xERA

Miley’s return to the Brewers has been a welcome one, and he’s pitched effectively. Underlying metrics have never loved Miley, and there remains a gap between his actual and expected performances. That aside, nothing is out of the ordinary for Miley, and he continues to limit hard contact and walks while recording few strikeouts.