LOOK!! Best All-Time Rookie Campaigns By Milwaukee Brewers Pitchers

Matthew Lenz of our sister site, Twins Daily, recently wrote a piece featuring the top rookie pitchers for the Twins in their 63-year history. The Milwaukee Brewers have been in business since 1970. I decided to copy his idea with some slight changes.

My criterion for inclusion is a little different than his. In my reality, any player who had yet to reach the MLB ‘rookie limit’ of 50 innings pitched was eligible for my ‘Best Rookie Campaign.’ So, check it out and let me know where I was right or where I veered off into the ditch. I named five starters, one spot starter/long reliever, four middle relievers, two ‘high leverage’ set-up guys, and one closer. Check it out!

Ace- Cal Eldred (1992)Eldred went 11-2 in his ‘rookie’ season and finished fourth in the AL ROY voting. The big (6-foot-4, 215-pound) righty had an ERA of 1.79 and a FIP of 2.81. He had the best bWAR (4.2) and FIP among all rookie pitchers considered for this piece.

Eldred held hitters to a .207 average and had a low BB% of 5.8. Three years later, Eldred underwent Tommy John surgery and would never be the same after that. In his 14-year big league career, he pitched for the White Sox and the Cardinals.

#2 Starter- Mike Fiers (2012)

Perhaps best known for drilling Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton in 2014, Fiers won only nine games in 2012 but boasted a K rate of 25.1% and BB rate of 6.7%, along with a FIP of 3.09 while notching an ERA of 3.74. His K-BB differential was a sparkling 18.4. In his 11-year major league career, he won 75 games for the Brewers, Athletics, Astros, and Tigers.

#3 Starter- Freddy Peralta (2018)

First, the good news. ‘Fastball Freddy’ had an excellent K rate of 29.9% and held opposing batters to a minuscule .178 batting average. He won six games in 14 starts. The bad news is that his ERA/FIP were a tad high (4.25/3.72), and he was pretty wild with a BB rate of 12.5%. It seems like he was a rookie just yesterday, but Peralta completed his seventh season in Milwaukee and is still considered a top pitcher in the big leagues.

#4 Starter- Tobias Myers (2024)

Signed as a free agent in the 2022 off-season, Myers was a nice find for Milwaukee, and he posted solid, if not very good, numbers in 2024. His K/BB rates were both above average at 22.3% and 6.3%. He won nine games and posted an ERA of 3.00 and FIP of 3.91. Opposing batters hit .242 off the right-hander.

#5 Starter- Teddy Higuera (1985)

The stocky southpaw won an impressive 15 games for Milwaukee and finished second in the AL ROY voting. He compiled a bWAR of 3.1 and allowed only a .235 batting mark against opposing batters. He didn’t strike out a lot of hitters (14.5%) but didn’t walk many either (7.2%). Higuera won 69 games in his first four years, but a back injury and rotator cuff problems ended his career in 1994.

Spot Starter/Long Reliever- Yovani Gallardo (2007)

‘Yo’ put together a nice season, starting 17 games and relieving in three, which is why I put him in the SS/LR role. He won nine games and posted an ERA of 3.67 and a FIP of 3.41. Opponents batted .245 against him, and he struck out 21.7% of the hitters he faced while allowing only 7.2% walks. Gallardo won 121 games in his career for Milwaukee and four other teams.

Middle Relievers- RH Pete Ladd (1983), LH Dan Plesac (1986), RH Jim Henderson (2013), LH Bryan Hudson (2024)

‘Bigfoot’ Pete Ladd saved 25 games for the Brewers in 1983, along with posted an ERA of 2.55, a FIP of 2.92, and held opponents to a meager .172 batting average. His K and BB rates were solid, 21.1% and 8.3% respectively.

Plesac, better known these days as an analyst on the MLB Network, saved 14 games and posted an ERA of 2.97 in 1986. His bWAR of 3.2 was third-best on the team that year. Opposing hitters batted only .240 against him, and his K rate was 19.9% and BB rate was 7.7%.

He was an All-Star the next three years and saves 86 games in that span.

Henderson was a one-year wonder, saving 28 games for Milwaukee in 2013, and had only three other saves in his four-year career. He held hitters to a .200 batting average while striking out 30.4%. His K-BB rate was an impressive 20.7%.

Hudson was one of the bright spots on the 2024 team. His opponent’s BA was .135, his WHIP was 0.722, and his ERA was 1.73. The towering (6-foot-8) southpaw whiffed 26.8% of hitters he faced while walking 7.4%.

LH High Leverage- Josh Hader (2018)

Hader was used far differently in 2018, usually appearing earlier in the game than he does these days. He finished only 14 of 55 games that year but notched a dozen saves while earning All-Star status and placed seventh in the NL CY Young race. His WHIP number was 0.811, his opponent batting average was .132, and his K rate was an otherworldly 46.7%.

RH High Leverage- John Axford (2010)

‘Ax’ was another power pitcher, striking out 31.9% of batters while allowing a .204 batting average against. His ERA and FIP numbers were an impressive 2.48 and 2.13, respectively. The imposing (6-foot-5, 234-pound) Axford saved 24 games in 2010 and had a league-leading 46 the following season.

Closer- RH Devin Williams (2021)

Williams began the ninth inning only three times in 58 games in 2021, usually pitching the seventh or eighth, setting up Josh Hader. He finished with eight wins and three saves. Williams was the NL ROY in 2020 but didn’t reach 50 innings pitched until 2021. His superior numbers in 2021 included holding opposing hitters to a .186 batting average, a K rate of 38.5%, an ERA of 2.50, and a FIP of 2.82. The downside? A BB rate of 12.4%, a number that was almost the same in the last three years.

Other Pitchers Considered:

Jerry Bell (1972), Bill Castro (1975), Chris Bosio (1987), Chuck Crim (1987), Darren Holmes (1991), Doug Henry (1992), Graeme Lloyd (1993), Marco Estrada (2011), Tyler Thornburg (2013), Corey Knebel (2015), Adrian Houser (2019), Elvis Peguero (2023).

I’m sure other worthwhile pitchers didn’t make the cut, but this 13-man staff would win a few games. Let me know how I did in the comment section. I hope you enjoy the trip down Memory Lane as much as I did!