The Brewers’ Biggest Need This Trade Deadline is Clear

The Milwaukee Brewers have a dire need at this year's MLB trade deadline. Even though they’re dominating the National League Central and look to be well-positioned pennant contenders yet again, they have an obvious hole in their roster that must be addressed to be taken seriously. They need one more starting pitcher. While they have a couple of elite starters—one from each side—the quality of their mid-rotation depth is a looming potential issue that could come back to bite the Crew in a five- or seven-game series.

Let’s start with the promising part of the rotation. Jacob Misiorowski continues to wow the baseball world every time he toes the rubber. The hard-throwing right-handed pitcher has clocked his fastball at 105 miles per hour, with above-average extension. He's building a resume that may lead to a National League Cy Young Award at season’s end. Logging an 8-3 record with a minuscule 1.45 ERA and 138 strikeouts over just 93 innings pitched, the former second-round draft selection is truly in a league of his own.

Kyle Harrison has been spectacular in his own right, and he’d be an ace on the majority of MLB teams right now. The former Boston Red Sox southpaw is currently sporting an 8-1 record with a remarkable 2.50 ERA, a mark that would be substantially lower if not for an odd start in a hitter-friendly environment in Las Vegas. Harrison’s four-pitch arsenal has proved to be effective, with his fastball (.221) and slurve (.141) both garnering very low opponent batting averages. While these two starters have been in the top tier league-wide, though, a playoff series typically demands four quality arms. They might have that many; they might not.

Brandon Sproat was a pivotal piece in the return package the Brewers got in exchange for Freddy Peralta. While he has had his fair share of impressive starts (including a six-inning sscoreless outing and 10 strikeouts on June 23), the struggles have been there. Sproat possesses a six-pitch mix, but his only above-average Baseball Savant metrics are his strikeout rate (24.7%) and average fastball velocity (96.4 MPH).  The former Mets farmhand is 2-4 with a 5.43 earned run average over 13 starts. While he has the arsenal to be part of this pitching staff for years to come, there’s plenty of work to be done before he can be trusted in a playoff-like atmosphere.

Logan Henderson had a great start to this season, becoming the first pitcher in the Stathead database (dating back to 1898) to allow two runs or fewer in each of his first 10 career starts. While his game is more based on an expanded pitch arsenal than sheer velocity, he’s on the 15-day IL with a lower back strain. If he can come back healthy, he could be a solid third starter in a playoff series—but that's a huge 'if' right now.

Speaking of huge 'if's, Brandon Woodruff, when healthy, is one of the best pitchers in the bigs. In his first start in just over two months, he fired six shutout innings with just one hit allowed, no walks and a season-high 10 punchouts. The problem? He was recovering from a classic case of “dead arm”, and his fastball velocity is down drastically. We've all watched him pitch brilliantly since returning last July from 21 months of rehab on his shoulder, despite that diminished velocity. We've also seen him rendered unavailable right on the cusp of the postseason over and over.

While Sproat has the intangibles, Henderson had a red-hot start and Woodruff is reliable as they come when healthy, the Brewers do not have four reliable postseason starters at the moment. They're remarkably deep, with the likes of Shane Drohan, Robert Gasser and Chad Patrick also showing flashes of being above-average starters, but those guys come with at least as many questions as Sproat, Henderson and Woodruff do.

The drop-off behind Misiorowski and Harrison is drastic. If the Brewers get a chance to acquire a third surefire stud to round out the playoff rotation, they should strongly consider it.