The Milwaukee Brewers currently have a void to fill in their starting rotation because last time around Adrian Houser pitched just two innings and was placed on the injured list with elbow tightness. His next scheduled start was going to be Saturday, September 2 against the Philadelphia Phillies and the Brewers have not yet named who will start that game.
With having an off-day on Thursday, August 31 the Brewers could have elected to pitch Wade Miley on Saturday for he would be on a normal rest schedule. However Craig Counsell has indicated that while possible he wants to give his guys as much extra rest as possible for they finish the season playing 29 games in 31 days that includes 17 in a row starting September 8-September 24.
Recently Milwaukee opened up a 40-man roster spot as Bennett Sousa was claimed by the Detroit Tigers. Additionally the active roster expands by two players on September 1. This means the Brewers could promote someone internally to start on Saturday or look outside of the organization.
Lets take a look at three realistic options for the Milwaukee Brewers to consider as a starting pitcher on Saturday against the Philadelphia Phillies and a few outside the box considerations.
- Brewers option #1: LHP Robert Gasser
Milwaukee could look to promote their most MLB ready pitching prospect in Robert Gasser to make this start. He is currently slated to start on Friday for the Nashville Sounds, but that could easily be changed. The southpaw currently leads the International League in strikeouts by a wide margin with 147 and he could be an impact big league pitcher this year.
- Brewers option #2: LHP Eric Lauer
After taking a few months off Eric Lauer has been back pitching in Triple-A with the Nashville Sounds and is currently slated to start their game on Saturday. Over his last two stats he has pitched 5.0 innings and 4.2 innings, so his arm is built up enough to make a big league start. Command has been a bit off yet for he walked four batters last time, but he also struck out nine.
- Brewers option #3: RHP Janson Junk
40-man roster option Janson Junk could be considered for Saturday’s start. He made a spot start for Milwaukee earlier in the year and covered 4.2 innings. Unfortunately his minor league statistics are not the greatest for through 115.1 innings he has a 4.29 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Regardless his last start was on August 27, so he would be a rested arm to consider against the Phillies.
Brewers outside of the box considerations:
At the time of this publication there are a few unknowns to consider that may impact who starts on Saturday for the Brewers. The first being that waiver claims have been announced yet. Recently starting pitchers Lucas Giolito and Mike Clevinger were placed on waivers. It is a long shot that Milwaukee gets a success claim on either one of them, but Giolito last pitched on August 27 and Clevinger August 28, so both theoretically could pitch Saturday.
Excluded from this consideration list was Colin Rea, Aaron Ashby, and Julio Teheran. Rea is listed as the starter for game one of a Nashville Sounds double header on Thursday, August 31. Teheran was scheduled to pitch Wednesday, but the rain likely pushed his outing back to Thursday. Lastly, Ashby is currently scheduled to make his first rehab start appearance with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Saturday, September 2 so he is not ready yet.
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