I’m speaking in terms of if/when the Brewers need a starting pitcher - I believe they’d want that starter to be highly capable of giving them 6-7 innings.
Lauer’s not quite there yet, having gone 5 IP and 4.2 IP in his last 2 outings. He’s not reached 6 IP in any outing since April, whereas Rea (on MLB 40-man roster) and McKendry (likely 40-man add in Nov 2023, so could naturally be added now) have done it severally.
For service time, my understanding is that Lauer’s been down long enough, so he can’t complete his 5th service time year if called up now. I believe that gives us the extra year of arbitration/control.
Assuming no MLB starter is injured, any of Rea, McKendry, Lauer, Mejia (if healthy), Andrews, Small, Sousa, Bukauskas, Junk, Abad, Claudio or Vieira could be added on September 1st.
But if we actually need a starting pitcher on relatively short notice, I believe that Rea is the man (at this immediate time), followed by McKendry, then Lauer, then Teheran, largely based on demonstrated ability to deliver a long start right now.