Brewers Endless Drill Pipe

It has become almost a time-honored tradition. Worrying about the Brewers’ depth — or lack thereof — will quickly make us feel foolish for constantly questioning our development chiefs. Milwaukee is for sale Freddy Peralta this offseason. Quinn Priester opened the season on the injured list. Brandon WoodruffOpening Day mood was in the air for most of the spring. He made six starts, saw his average fastball go from 92.5 mph to 85.4 mph in the last one, and is now on the injured list alongside Priester.

With Woodruff and Priester on the injured list, the Brewers have two starters on the 40-man roster with more than a year of major league service. They have … zero … in two full years of major league service. Of course, the narrative is coming. Or at least you can imagine.

Instead, the Brewers are humming. On Thursday, they beat the Padres 7-1 to make it 24-17. They are in second place in the NL Central behind the Cubs. Milwaukee has a solid hold on the Wild Card spot, and with the Cubs’ own pitching staff depleted by injuries, the Brewers are benefiting. Chicago just won four games in a row. Milwaukee has won six of its last seven games and nine of its last ten.

The recent increase is not due to any kind of juggernaut offense. Milwaukee had not scored more than six runs in a game this month before Thursday. It’s an average offense, in terms of wRC+. They ended up with 27 home runs. Oh, and they’re allowing 2.18 runs per game this month — 24 runs in 11 contests. The Brewers ranked third in Major League Baseball with a 3.35 ERA. That includes a 3.27 ERA from the rotation, despite injuries and lack of experience.

How do they do that, and are key stakeholders contributing in a sustainable way? Let’s take a closer look.