Spencer Michaelis

The Brewers are dealing with an inordinate number of injuries, as well as an ace who’s not quite performing up to the expectations laid upon him. They have continued piecing it together internally, but could an external addition be the next step? Jake McKibbin covered some of the players whom the Brewers could pursue (and who would be under control for multiple seasons) here, but what are the team's options in terms of shorter-term fixes? Let’s take a look at the different tiers of possible rental options, and throw out some potential offers to get the job done for each of them. The Big Fish This tier contains the bigger names: the starters who are having good seasons, and the ones who will likely be in the highest demand at the deadline. Luis Severino - Mets If you have been following the Mets this season, you know that Severino looks less likely to be dealt at the current moment than he did even one week prior. The Mets have been red-hot, and are now only two games under .500 after winning nine of their last 11. For this article, we are going to assume that they cool off a bit and decide to sell at the deadline. If they do, Luis Severino will be in high demand around the league. While his strikeout numbers are not where they once were, Severino is having a really strong season for the Mets. He made some changes to his repertoire this past offseason, and they are paying off to the tune of a 3.52 ERA. The biggest change that Severino made was to his fastball usage. Formerly employing primarily a four-seamer and a cutter, he introduced the sinker in 2022 but only used it at a 1% clip; he only upped that to 2.8% in 2023. In 2024, he is throwing it 23.7% of the time. This has lowered his fastball usage from what was 45% in 2023 to 36.7% in 2024. His groundball rate has risen 43.3% to 52.9% this year, and that has helped him tremendously. The sinker is a solid pitch, though it’s nothing special. What it has really done is allowed his four-seamer to play up a bit more than it had recently. With hitters seeing it less often, the expected slugging percentage on it has plunged, from .587 to .341 in the past year. The other major change he made was adding a sweeper, instead of strictly throwing a more traditional slider. The sweeper has 14.3 inches of horizontal movement, whereas the slider has 7.3 inches of it. Separating those two has not only helped the slider perform better, but the sweeper is arguably his best pitch this year. It has generated a 36.5% whiff rate and hitters are only slugging .167 against it. Severino won’t be cheap, by any means, but he also shouldn’t cost you any “top of the board” prospects. The Offer: RHP Bradley Blalock, INF Juan Baez and C Matthew Wood for Severino Jack Flaherty - Tigers The Tigers are currently six games back of a Wild Card spot, and appear to be on their way to being sellers at the deadline. Much like Severino, Flaherty is in the midst of a really strong season, after signing a one-year, “prove-it” deal with Detroit this offseason. In fact, Flaherty is having an even better season than Severino, currently sporting a 3.01 ERA with a strikeout to walk ratio of 9.1 for the season. He's actually underperforming on the surface, when compared to his FIP of 2.63 and his xERA of 2.68. Flaherty has mostly been a three-pitch pitcher this year, throwing his four-seam fastball 44.8% of the time, his slider 31.1% of the time, and his knuckle curve 18.6% of the time. He'll also mix in a rare changeup or sinker, but both have usage rates under 4%. In terms of four-seam fastballs, Flaherty’s whiff rate of 27.1% is well above average. His whiff rates of 41.3% and 41.7% on the slider and knuckle-curve are elite. That slider whiff rate places him ninth in baseball among qualified pitchers, and the knuckle-curve whiff rate is fourth among all curveballs. As you can see below, despite a lot of his fastballs being in the hitting zone, the life of the pitch and the threat of the two breakers has allowed him to be on the attack with the fastball. Worrying less about pinpoint control has helped him cut down the walks. Flaherty will probably cost quite a bit to acquire. He will have numerous suitors, and an argument could very easily be made against making the below trade, but this is probably close to what it would cost to make the move. The Offer: OF Luis Lara, RHP Tyler Woessner and INF Filippo Di Turi for Flaherty Nathan Eovaldi - Rangers The Rangers don’t seem like a team that should be selling at the deadline, but at the time this article is being written, they’re five games out of the Wild Card and 7.5 back in their division. Eovaldi has a vesting option for 2025 that has a chance to hit. He needs to get to 156 innings pitched this season for the option to vest. He currently sits at 60, so if he remains healthy, he would have an outside chance. For the purpose of this article, however, we will assume that the pick-up would be in a rental capacity for the Brewers. Back in 2018, there were some rumors connecting the Brewers and Eovaldi, but nothing very substantial. Eventually, he was traded to the Red Sox instead, and he ended up pitching really well down the stretch, helping the Red Sox win the World Series. If he’s available, he’s another high ceiling possibility for the Brewers. Currently posting an ERA of 3.14 and a FIP of 3.67, Eovaldi would slot into the top two pitchers in the rotation upon arrival. His four-seam fastball sits in the mid-90s and generates an impressive number of ground balls. Half the balls in play against it are grounders, which ranks in the 96th percentile for four-seam fastballs. The shape is more in line with a two-seamer, it gets a lot of run on the pitch and has more sink than ride. Because of this, it actually plays better at the bottom of the zone than at the top, though he has been able to generate grounders with it in all quadrants of the zone. His best secondary is an upper-80s splitter that he throws nearly a third of the time, generating a 40% whiff rate against it (per TruMedia), as well as a 61% ground-ball rate. He also throws an upper-70s curveball (15% of the time) that gets whiffs at a strong 35% rate, while really limiting the hard contact against it more than any other pitch he throws. The rest of his repertoire consists of a cutter and a slider. The cutter is used about 10% of the time and sits in the low 90s. The slider is only used once in a while, and it has not performed well when he does break it out. Eovaldi has a deep repertoire, strong results and the potential to possibly be around for a year and a half if he surpasses his innings threshold this year. He won’t be cheap. Because they likely plan to compete next year, the Rangers may consider players who could help them in MLB right away, as well. The Offer: RHP Bradley Blalock, INF Juan Baez and RHP Elvis Peguero + a PTBNL or Cash depending on if the option vests or not Mid-Tier Rentals These are pitchers who aren’t quite having the seasons of Severino, Flaherty and Eovaldi, but who would still be considered upgrades over the available starters the Brewers currently have. Yusei Kikuchi - Blue Jays Kikuchi could probably have a case made for him to be placed in the “Big Fish” tier. He has the upside to be one of the better pitchers in this article. At one point considered a pretty big disappointment after signing with the Mariners, he had a pretty decent final season in Seattle and was able to turn that into a three-year deal with the Blue Jays. This is the final year of that deal, and the Blue Jays are six games back in the Wild Card race right now, making him a potential mover, and one who would likely generate quite a bit of interest throughout the league. At this time sporting a 3.65 ERA, Kikuchi ranks in the 63rd percentile in whiff rate, which doesn’t stand out as anything special, but if you dig in a bit further, he has done it in a very interesting way. His four-seam fastball gets whiffs at a 26.3% rate, which (per TruMedia) ranks in the 76th percentile for pitchers who have thrown at least 100 fastballs in 2024. His changeup whiff rate of 35.8% is in the 72nd percentile. The pitches that have tanked the overall whiff rate are his breaking balls. His curveball only ranks in the 22nd percentile at 25.5%, and his slider is in the 21st percentile at 25.9%. Breaking balls tend to be big swing-and-miss pitches, but for Kikuchi, they act a bit differently. For Kikuchi, his breaking balls generate a lot of grounders. His slider gets grounders at a 54.3% rate, which places him in the 85th percentile in baseball. The curveball generates them at a 47.8% clip, and that places him in the 69th percentile in that regard. It’s a bit of a different profile, but Kikuchi has two pitches that he can get a lot of swing-and-miss with, and two that get a lot of grounders, but fewer swings and misses. The changeup does however do a really good job of both of those things, with a 60% ground ball rate. If the Brewers were to acquire Kikuchi, they might have him use the changeup more often than he currently does. The Offer: RHP Jesus Rivero, LHP Russell Smith and INF Daniel Guilarte for Kikuchi Andrew Heaney - Rangers Another Rangers arm, Heaney is not having as strong a season as Eovaldi, nor should he cost as much to acquire. Of the names listed so far, Heaney’s 4.21 ERA would rank the lowest. He would, however, still be a solid addition to the Brewers rotation. Heaney throws from a pretty low slot, which helps him throw his fastball at a -4.14 degree Vertical Approach Angle (VAA). This really helps the pitch play up in the zone. When he throws to the upper third of the zone, his whiff rate on the four seam is 28.8%. When he throws it in the zone, in the middle or lower thirds, it only has an 11% whiff rate. The good news is that he’s well aware of this, and does a good job keeping the pitch at, or above the top of the zone for the most part. Heaney’s slider generates whiffs at a very strong 36.7% and is often the secondary pitch he goes to when he is looking for a strikeout. His changeup is one that he locates really well, consistently putting it low and away to righty hitters. It’s more of a weak contact pitch than a pitch that he uses to try to get hitters to swing and miss. He used to throw a curveball as his main secondary, but he has only thrown it 3% of the time this year. The upside isn’t as high as some of the other names on this list, but Heaney could be a definite rotation solidifier for a team that could use some stability in that role. The Offer: 3B Oliver Dunn and RHP Yerlin Rodriguez for Heaney Inning Eaters These are the arms that wouldn’t thrill anyone, but can be expected to help get through the season by being available and willing/able to give you 5-6 innings pretty much every outing and could play above their abilities with the Brewers defensive unit playing behind them. Jose Quintana - Mets Quintana would certainly fall under the “less exciting” umbrella, compared to the names above, but he could fit well into the Brewers run prevention system. He does come with a similar caveat to Luis Severino, which is that we don’t know if the Mets will actually be selling or not. It has not been a strong season for Quintana, but he does a decent job of staying in the strike zone, and has been average or better in walk rate every year of his career outside of 2019 and 2021. He will throw strikes, and he gets ground balls at a 46% clip, which puts him in the 65th percentile this season. This wouldn’t be an exciting pick up, but it would give the Brewers an experienced arm who could sufficiently eat innings for the team. The Offer: OF Carlos D. Rodriguez for Quintana Ross Stripling - A’s A similar option to Quintana, but this time on a team that definitely will not be competing this year, Stripling could be a good fit for the Brewers as well Like quintana, Stripling usually does a good job limiting walks. This year he ranks in the 90th percentile, walking only 4.8% of hitters he faces. He also has done a good job of limiting barrels. With only a 4.4% barrel rate against him. He does this by generating an above average amount of chases. Those chases lead to a lot of soft contact, though he does not miss many bats, even when they do go fishing outside of the zone. Much like Quintana, you would be buying Stripling with the idea that his ERA is inflated due to some bad luck, and due to having a much worse defense behind him in Oakland than the one he would have in Milwaukee. As well as for the inning eating factor. The Offer: UTIL Noah Campbell for Stripling Wrap-Up Most Brewers fans are expecting a starter to be added, and for good reason. As much fun as a Garrett Crochet would be, those types of moves are not often in the Brewers plans. It seems more likely that they will go the route of filling the rotation with a steady presence by picking up a rental or two. Do any of these names stand out to you? What do you think of the offers laid out for these players? Too much? Not enough? Let us know! Image courtesy of © Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports View full article

I actually wanted Yoho stretched when he was drafted, but yeah doesn’t seem to be happening. Which is understandable with his injury history and how quickly he’s moving in his current role. I think baseball is more likely to stay similar to how it is now, but maybe even more extreme. The absolute best pitchers making legitimate starts and going deep. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see more piggy-backing over the next few years. I think most relievers are going to learn how to be multi-inning pitchers moving forward. Especially with the minor league roster limits. Most of the relievers I thought might be able to transition to starting already have. Hunt, Smith, Manfredi, Kuehner were all guys who had the repertoire to do it and now they are. Aidan Maldonado is a reliever I think could do it.

Yeah, I obviously think Yujanyer is a pretty fun arm, but the 97 is a rare occurrence. I'd probably describe him as throwing 93-95. Obviously that's somewhat a case of semantics, but I do think if you're describing a pitcher, you probably want to use his average velocity. Or you can say "he's been up to 97" or something. It's a small thing and really not too big of a deal, but I do think it can be a little misleading to describe a guy who's touched 97 as "throwing 97". FTR, even though nobody asked, I'm not sure I'd make that Fedde trade if I had it in front of me, though I would consider it. I don't think I'd have much interest at all in the Anderson deal. I don't hate the idea of Anderson on this team, having the Brewers defense behind him. But I'd only do it if it stays relatively cheap in terms of the prospect capital.

Not sure if this is a Gameday error, or what... But outfielder Idalberto Santiesteban pitched the sixth inning of a tie game? He allowed two runs on two hits and two walks, but he's been hitting all year, so perhaps they're trying him on the mound in a two-way role right now? Very interesting... When he signed, there was a report that he had thrown 96 MPH from the outfield, so there must be some arm talent there.

Jack and Spencer talk Brewers (and Snoop) in the latest Brewer Fanatic Podcast! Jack and Spencer talk Brewers (and Snoop) in the latest Brewer Fanatic Podcast! Jack and Spencer discuss the Reds series and the Angels series, how the defense has carried the team of late, Snoop Dogg, Tyler Black’s role, and much more! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-brewer-fanatic-podcast/id1740648724 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5CY8mWsQayqjDXqw9OT2Td\ iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-brewer-fanatic-podcast-166534588/ View full article

Jesus Made with his third HR to lead off DSL Uno's game today. OPS of 1.243 now.

Not only a great name, but from what I've heard, a name we should keep an eye on once he gets into some games. Brewers have liked what they've seen from him after signing. One video I was able to find on him:

I think the Brewers can wait a bit on the JuCo guys this year, but Arvidson is definitely one I would watch. Conner Ware is another JuCo guy I'd keep an eye on, though he might not be super cheap to sign (committed to LSU). Mack Estrada is another one I find interesting. I am a pretty big Eagen fan. Also like Luke Sinnard from Indiana as a mid-round arm. But the guy I think I'm higher on than almost anyone is Nate Knowles of William & Mary. I think he's a perfect Brewers fit. Low 90's Fastball with ride, upper-80's cutter that plays well up in the zone, upper-70's curve has a ton of sweep and a changeup that could use some development but that's pretty far behind the others. Command of the two fastballs is really, really solid. Curve comes and goes in that regard, but when it's on he can dominate.

You cut it right before Luke took his helmet off and then proceeded to headbutt O'Rae who was very much wearing his helmet still 😂. His fiery and excitable attitude is infectious, I love watching him play.

Jorge Quintana (recipient of the largest bonus in this years international class) with his first professional home run! He hasn’t gotten off to as strong a start as many of his fellow signees from January, but worth noting that he has an even 5:5 K:BB ratio on the season. Something I like to pay a lot of attention to for the DSL guys.

But what if I want to combine those two options into one word? (Kidding, thank you, I actually knew that and still did it lol)

As the rest of the National League Central jockeys for position just under .500, the Brewers keep beating the teams they should beat. As the rest of the National League Central jockeys for position just under .500, the Brewers keep beating the teams they should beat. Jack and Spencer discuss the Brewers 4-2 week against the Tigers and Blue Jays, William Contreras’ recent struggles, Carlos Rodriguez’s debut, potential outfield logjams, Jacob Misiorowski’s future, and much more! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-brewer-fanatic-podcast/id1740648724 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5CY8mWsQayqjDXqw9OT2Td\ iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-brewer-fanatic-podcast-166534588/ View full article

Not to go unnoticed, Luis Pena with a ho-hum 2-3 including a double and 2 more steals. Now sitting at 15/15 on stolen bases through 7 games lol. More walks than strikeouts on the year so far. Insane starts for a lot of these guys...

Recently discovered that some of the DSL kids have TikTok's that they post video on. Not much of a TikTok guy, but now I'm using it to try to find video of some of them lol. Wenderlyn has posted some video on his. Appears to be fastball, slider, changeup.

My goodness... Jose Anderson just hit his fourth homer of the season. 2-3 with a BB and a K so far today. OPS sitting at a reasonable 1.672

This is super important, and I didn't include it because of what the question was asking, but I agree in saying I don't think Rodriguez needs to get to the mid-90's to be an MLB pitcher either. The fastball has really good characteristics on it and will likely always play better than his velocity would make you think.

As for this question, it's honestly hard to say in terms of the gains from 18-25. There are a lot of factors that go into it. A pitcher that's mostly maxed out physically might struggle to add velocity, but if they have iffy mechanics, they could add velocity through sharpening up the delivery. For Rodriguez, I do think there's room to grow into some more strength at 6'2, 175. Mechanically he might have the cleanest delivery in the system, but he could likely get a bit better in terms of rotational speed. So a bit more of that and he could add a couple of ticks. 95 doesn't seem out of reach, but it's certainly not a guarantee. The Brewers could also find that the impeccable command isn't worth messing with any of his mechanics and rely on physical development to try to add that velocity more than anything else.

Idk about the "expert" label, but I appreciate it haha. I'd be happy to answer some questions in here, but I may actually toss some into the podcast as well if I think they'd be fun conversational questions! If anyone has a question they'd specifically like me to answer just @ me on here and I'll try to get to them.

Janek is such a ridiculous athlete for a catcher, I'd definitely have no complaints with that one. I am weary of Brecht, though I do agree that if anyone will be able maximize him, the Brewers are near the top of the list of teams that can. Wouldn't hate the pick, because even without a ton of positive growth he could probably fall into a decent pen role.

Yep, I read the BA article and figured he'd be one to watch, but my goodness this is a ridiculous start.

Jose Anderson 3-5 with 2 doubles and a homer... Quite the start for him as well. Already 3 bombs and that 1.553 OPS will play.

Carlos F. Rodriguez is reportedly on his way to Milwaukee, to make his MLB debut on Tuesday night. While he is known for throwing the "kitchen sink" at hitters, there is more to dream on than you might expect your average junkballer to offer. Image courtesy of © Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports Carlos F. Rodriguez is reportedly on his way to Milwaukee, to make his MLB debut on Tuesday night. While he is known for throwing the "kitchen sink" at hitters, there is more to dream on than you might expect your average junkballer to offer. Carlos Rodriguez was selected by the Brewers in the sixth round of the 2021 MLB Draft, out of Florida Southwestern State Junior College. That means you can include him on the growing list of juco pitchers who have succeeded (or are showing signs of future success) in the Brewers system. Rodríguez is a six-pitch pitcher who throws the kitchen sink at hitters and keeps them off-balance. This profile isn’t always the most exciting for fans, but Rodríguez is more than “just a junkballer”. A number of his pitches come in as pretty solid offerings. The Repertoire To begin, Rodríguez throws three different “fastballs”: a four-seamer, a sinker and a cutter. The four-seamer is a riding fastball that plays above what the movement metrics would indicate, due to a low release point that gives it a Vertical Approach Angle (VAA) of -4.4. It sits in the 90-93 MPH range and can get up to 95 or so on occasion. His sinker averages 15 inches of run; he gets the majority of his ground balls with it. The sinker sits in a similar velocity band to the four-seam, while his cutter is a bit slower, coming in around 87-88 most days. He often uses it to keep the ball off the barrel, but in Triple-A, the cutter has started to miss more bats than it did in the past as well. As is true for Bryse Wilson and some other recent Brewers hurlers, it bends toward the breaking ball end of the spectrum on which cutters exist, but has fastball-like power. To go along with the three heaters, Rodríguez also throws three different offspeed pitches: a changeup, a slider, and a curveball. The change is often graded as his best pitch out of the six. Usually thrown in the 83-86 MPH range, it’s his go-to swing-and-miss pitch against lefties, and he can generate ground balls with it, as well. His command of it can come and go, and when it isn't there, he does sometimes allow some loud contact. When it is on, though, it can carry him through a start. You could also make a case for the slider as his best pitch. With its velocity usually hovering around 80 MPH, it shows flashes of being another big-time swing-and-miss pitch, but (again) with some inconsistencies in command that can be costly, the results he has had show a lot of variance. That has changed in 2024, and we will get into just how successful the slider has been for him recently, a bit later. His curveball has mostly been used to “steal a strike,” by landing a slow one in the zone. Coming in with both sweep and drop, when he’s throwing it as a swing-and-miss pitch, the velocity is usually around 73-75 MPH. When he wants to land it for a strike, he has dropped as low as the 60s at times. It isn’t a great pitch on its own, but he can use it to help all his other offerings play up, and it does give a hitter more velocity bands to worry about. 2024 Performance at Triple-A Having made one start at Triple-A in 2023, Rodríguez returned to the level to begin 2024 and got off to a very rough start, causing a lot of his season-long numbers to look pretty rough. Through April, he had posted an ERA of 8.13 in 27 2/3 innings pitched. He had a strikeout rate of 19.7% and a walk rate that was only slightly lower, at 15.2%. His WHIP was hovering up close to two hitters reaching base per inning, at 1.81. While he certainly didn’t get off to the start that fans were hoping for, given his prospect status, it’s hard to imagine there was much panic coming from the Brewers' side at that time. They likely knew that there was a chance Rodríguez would need to go through an adjustment period at this level. After all, he did come into the season as the fifth-youngest pitcher in all of Triple-A. Whether the organization was worried at that time or not, since the calendar flipped to May, Rodríguez has done everything he can to put any concerns there may have been to rest. In that span, Rodríguez has posted a 2.83 ERA in 35 innings pitched. His WHIP is nearly an entire point lower than before May 1, down to 0.89. His strikeout rate is up to 29.2%, and his walk rate is down to 6.6%. Per TruMedia, over that same period, among pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched in Triple-A, his ERA places him in the 87th percentile and his WHIP is in the 98th percentile. The strikeout rate he has posted is in the 95th percentile, and his 28.2% whiff rate is in the 82nd percentile, while his walk rate is also in the 82nd percentile. It’s also important to note that, of the 127 Triple-A pitchers who qualified for this list, Rodríguez was the second-youngest. After being rewarded with International League Pitcher of the Month in May, Rodríguez’s first start in June picked up right where he left off, as he carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He eventually lost it on an infield hit and was immediately pulled from what would be his final Triple-A outing prior to making his MLB debut. His final line in that one was 5 1/3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 7 K and 2 BB. Potential Pitfalls Early On and How the Brewers Could Look to Proactively Solve Them Rodríguez has still shown a propensity for allowing homers, even during the post-April renaissance. He allowed five homers in those 35 frames, which comes out to 1.29 per nine innings. As someone who has largely been a fly-ball pitcher in the minors, this will likely always be part of his profile. However, the Brewers may be able to help. One way the team may try to help him reduce his vulnerability to home runs is to have him increase his sinker usage (while lowering the four-seam usage) in hopes of trying to keep the ball on the ground a bit more. Over these past six starts, the ground-ball rate on his sinker has been 53.3%, while the four-seamer's has been 23.8%. The Brewers have also already employed that strategy once this year, when they increased Robert Gasser’s sinker usage upon his promotion to the big leagues. While it has been a pretty small sample, Gasser's ground-ball rate of 43% in MLB is 6% higher than it was in Triple-A this season, and 11% higher than the number he had in a full season with Nashville in 2023. As the chart below lays out, the four-seam fastball is the one of the three fastballs Rodríguez throws that has had the most damage done against it, by a pretty wide margin. While those are the season-long stats, the only pitch Rodríguez had any issues with in the past six starts is his curveball. On balls in play, hitters had an xwOBA (Expected Weighted On-Base Average) of .503 against that pitch. However, it also generated a whiff rate of 43% in that time. It seems that if he can keep it down in the zone, the pitch works fine. But it loses its shape the more he leaves it up, and the generally slow nature of the curve gives hitters some extra time to adjust to a mistake. His slider, on the other hand, generated a 42% whiff rate, while also limiting hard contact extremely well. The xwOBA against the slider is only .103, meaning there's next to no damage being done against the pitch. This is another pitch he could probably use more often than he has for most of 2024, and it would not be a surprise to see the Brewers go in that direction. The changeup got fewer whiffs than you would expect a changeup to, but it continued the trend of avoiding much hard contact and was the only pitch with a higher ground-ball rate than the sinker during that span, coming in at 55.7%. All of the fastballs were above-average in terms of xwOBA, and the cutter’s whiff rate of 31.6% was well above average for that pitch type. Going with a heavier usage rate on the sinker and cutter combination (while lowering that four-seam usage) could prove to be beneficial for Rodríguez, even beyond the increase in ground balls. Sneaking four-seamers past hitters at the top of the zone (or above it) becomes a lot easier if the hitters haven't been seeing the four-seam over 30% of the time. Wrap-Up To put a bow on what fans can expect to see from Rodríguez, first, remember that his season-long stats do not tell the full story and that he has shown a lot more of the qualities that make him a top prospect in the Brewers system of late. Beyond that, you can expect to see a very deep repertoire, with six solid offerings. You can probably expect to see him get burned by the home run ball at times, but also to see some swing-and-miss and a lot of fly ball outs if he keeps the same pitch mix he has had in Triple-A. It's worked well for Wilson, for instance. You could see an increase in grounders if the Brewers take a similar approach to the one they took with Robert Gasser. We should be clear, though, in saying that Rodríguez is unlikely to ever be a top-of-the-rotation arm, at least without a sudden increase in his velocity. What he could be, instead, is a Colin Rea-type of pitcher who can go out and consistently give the Brewers a chance to win the game the day he starts. While that may not be the most exciting profile, it’s a very valuable one for almost any rotation--especially when that profile is attached to a 22-year-old who is under team control for the next six to seven years (minimally), and who also has more room left to develop than a pitcher like Rea does. What are you hoping to see from Rodríguez in his debut? Do you expect him to stick around, or do you think he will spend more time in Nashville after this start, even if it goes well? Let us know in the comments! View full article