In December the Milwaukee Brewers selected right-handed pitcher Gus Varland in the Rule-5 draft. He previously was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization and had not played above the Double-A level. Despite knowing this, the Brewers selected him knowing that in order to retain him he has to remain on the active 26 man roster throughout the entire 2023 season. If at any point he is removed, he has to be offered back to the Dodgers.
Milwaukee Brewers Rule-5 draft selection Gus Varland is pleading his case to make the 2023 opening day roster.
It’s been an interesting spring training for Gus Varland so far. A quick glance at his stats shows a 5.68 ERA over 6.1 innings pitched. Allowing three home runs has inflated his ERA during this short sample size because a further dive into his statistics shows that he is doing some incredible things on the mound.
Looking deeper, Gus Varland is throwing a ton of strikes on the mound. This spring he has thrown 56 total pitches with 51 of them being strikes. He hasn’t thrown a ball in three straight appearances and he has walked just one batter.
With pumping strikes, he is also getting a lot of strikeouts. His strikeout rate this spring is currently sitting at 40.6%. Of his 19 outs recorded this spring, 12 batters have been sat down courtesy of the strikeout. He has recorded more than one strikeout in four out of his six appearances.
It will be interesting to see what the Milwaukee Brewers end up doing with Gus Varland. If they currently do nothing, he will be on the opening day roster. Should they elect to move on from him, then a 40-man roster spot will become available.
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