The Brewers desperately need their starting rotation to step up this year

The Milwaukee Brewers have continuously refused to pay top dollar for starting pitching and now in a shortened 2020 season that may come back to haunt them.

The Brewers starting rotation has always been a collection of low-profile arms, leaning heavily on their bullpen to pick up the slack should their starter fail to go five-plus innings.

Since 2013, the Milwaukee has had a different pitch on the mound for Opening Day, not having a true ace of their staff Yovani Gallardo was a Brewer.

But despite lacking an elite starter, the Brewers have still found themselves in the playoff hunt the last three seasons while battling strong teams like the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central. However, in a shortened 2020 season pitching, and more specifically starting pitching, will be key to any team’s success this year.

Since 2017, Milwaukee’s bullpen has ranked in the top five of WAR while their rotation has been middle of the pack, producing just enough for their strong bullpen and an MVP in Christian Yelich to offset their shortcomings.

But coming into 2020, the Brewers are looking much younger in their rotation, with 25-year-old Corbin Burnes looking to live up to his top prospect potential after an awful 2019 season. Burnes will be joined by former KBO standout in Josh Lindblom who posted a 2.88 ERA and 2.50 ERA in his last two seasons with Doosan. But the last time Lindblom was in the MLB, he posted a 7.84 ERA in just 10.1 innings of work for the Pirates in 2017.

The only starter with a somewhat reliable MLB history is Brandon Woodruff, an All-Star in 2019, Woodruff will be Milwaukee’s Opening Day starter after finishing last season with a 3.61 ERA and an impressive 10.6 K/9.

Here’s what Brewers manager Craig Counsell has laid out his rotation for this season, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.

McCalvy does drop a sublet note in this tweet on Counsell’s thinking, saying “don’t get too hung up on traditional ideas of starters and relievers,” implying the 2018 NL manager of the year has a few wrinkles planned to start the season for his approach to pitching.

And while the Brewers do still have Josh Hader anchoring their bullpen, the names behind him are not quite as impressive as they’ve been in years past. Corey Knebel is making progress and seeing his velocity come back as he works back from Tommy John surgery, but Brent Suter, Alex Claudio, and others will need to step up.

Which makes Milwaukee’s rotation that much more important as Counsell and the Brewers try to navigate through a 60-game season with plenty of uncertainty lying ahead. Having a rotation that can be leaned in a division with plenty of power bats on teams like the Reds, Cubs, and Cardinals, could make or break the Brewers’ chances of making the playoffs for the third season in a row.