Who will save the day for each MLB team?

Milwaukee Brewers: Zach Davies

The Milwaukee Brewers narrowly missed out on a trip to the postseason last year, finishing one game out of the Wild Card race. They were one of baseball’s surprise teams, placing second in the National League Central and winning 86 games.

It didn’t look like a fluke, either. They have some talented young players. And they made it clear they were going to keep trying to contend by going out signing veteran outfielder Lorenzo Cain and trading for star outfielder Christian Yelich. The addition of those two players gives Milwaukee respectable lineup.

The real question for them in 2018, though, is how well their pitching will hold up. Chase Anderson had a career year for the Brew, going 12-4 with a 2.74 ERA. He’ll likely be the team’s number one starter. But the key for Milwaukee is going to be starter Zach Davies.

Davies, 25, has been compared to Kyle Hendricks of the Chicago Cubs. He’s a soft-tossing right-hander who induces a lot of ground balls and throws a good curveball. He made his debut in 2015, and his 2016 season was almost identical to his 2017 season. For his three-year career, he’s gone 31-18 with a 3.91 ERA in 67 starts.

Those are fine numbers, but the Brewers believe he hasn’t reached his ceiling yet. The team has its sights set on October baseball this year. If that’s going to happen, they’ll need a breakout year from Zach Davies. And he looks ready to do just that.