It's exciting isn't it! You're touching on how the final decisions will be made a little better than most. One thing people are missing is that these guys have to be ready to go through a batting order multiple times. The Brewers used Woodruff and Burnes the way they did yesterday because they know they can successfully go through an order once. All three of Peralta, Burnes, and Woodruff are on the path to being fixtures of the rotation. Being on the path does not equal starting 2019 in the rotation. Woodruff for instance only had his fastball yesterday. Another trip through the Rockies lineup likely would have been ugly. Of the 3, only Peralta has demonstrated the ability to successfully navigate a MLB lineup multiple times through the order. Burnes has yet to be called on to even attempt it. And Woodruff has fared poorly the 2nd time through. Before anyone gets up in arms, that's not to say Burnes and Woodruff can't do it, it just means they're far from locks to be called on to do it out of the gate in 2019. Peralta is also ahead of both in terms of building up innings. Here are the splits for the 3 in their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd tiime through the order... Peralta - 1st (.176 BA, .315 OBP, .294 SLG, .609 OPS) Peralta - 2nd (.174 BA, .278 OBP, .276 SLG, ..654) Peralta - 3rd (.191 BA, .255 OBP, .319 SLG, .574 OPS) Burnes - 1st (.200 BA, .273 OBP, .326 SLG, .599 OPS) Burnes - 2nd - (only 1 batter faced a 2nd time through) Burnes - 3rd (none) Woodruff - 1st (.206 BA, .265 OBP, .317 SLG, .582 OPS) Woodruff - 2nd (.323 BA, .405 OBP, .484 SLG, .889 OPS) Woodruff - 3rd (only 2 batters faced a 3rd time through) Takeaways... - I don't know how anyone could look at those numbers for Peralta and not be excited. Notice also that his walk rate has gotten better the deeper he gets into the game. He doesn't nibble the 2nd and 3rd time through like many who aren't comfortable in their stuff. He attacks more. - Burnes hasn't demonstarted the ability to go through an order multiple times but he hasn't shown that he can't either. Burnes also has shown 2 very strong pitches nearly every time out including yesterday. He's very close. A 3rd pitch that he can throw 10-15% of time gets him over the hump. Again, he's very close. - Woodruff is the furthest from a lock of the 3, imo. He's been given the chance to navigate a lineup a 2nd time through and it hasn't been pretty. He needs to add more to his arsenal or he could stagnate as a very effective reliever. I have high hopes that all 3 can be fixtures of the future rotation. All 3 are displaying dominance at the major league level. All 3 have the ability to give multiple looks to major league hitters. None have taken steps backward and that's probably the most important factor in all this. Prediction for 2019... Peralta in the rotation from day 1. Burnes in the MLB bullpen from day 1, transitioned into MLB rotation full time during 2019 season Woodruff begins 2019 in AAA as a starter and makes spot starts in MLB rotation and finishes 2019 in MLB bullpen