Brewers make high-profile promotion to replace Freddy Peralta

The Milwaukee Brewers will replace injured starting pitcher Freddy Peralta with their top pitching prospect, Ethan Small.

The Milwaukee Brewers might want to start referring to themselves as a “pitching factory.” Their starting rotation and bullpen have consistently been one of the best in the game. In the absence of Freddy Peralta due to an injury, they’re turning to a promotion for their best pitching prospect, Ethan Small.

Don’t let the name mislead you. At 6-4 and 215-pounds, Small doesn’t live up to his last name’s billing. The 25-year-old has been nothing but fantastic since joining the professional ranks in 2019. Through 33 minor league starts, he is 7-5 with a 1.78 ERA.

Ethan Small might be the next great Brewers pitcher

The 28th-overall pick from 2019 doesn’t have much experience in the pros but as a four-year college player from Mississippi State, it makes sense why the Brewers aren’t holding him back. His numbers clearly suggest he was ready for this promotion. He’ll join the National League Central-leading Brewers to help make up for the absence of their youngest starter, Peralta.

The Brewers have continued their journey this year in an attempt to win their first championship. Once again, it’s a team heavily focused on pitching. The difference this year from last is that Peralta and Brandon Woodruff haven’t been quite as sharp. To make up for it, Eric Lauer and Adrian Houser have stepped up to join reigning National League Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes.

Milwaukee also continues to employ one of the best bullpens around. Josh Hader hasn’t allowed an earned run in 14.2 innings of work. In fact, batters have just 3 hits against him all year.

While the offense is still questionable at times and is currently trying to survive injuries to two of their most prolific power hitters, Willy Adames and Hunter Renfroe, they are finding ways to score runs in spite of some lackluster starts to the season.

Small should fit in nicely with the Brewers. The ultimate goal would surely be to find a spot in the team’s rotation although they’d certainly not dismiss him if he ends up looking more like a reliever.

Most teams don’t have the kind of luxury the Brewers do. Usually, when you lose a pitcher like Peralta, there’s a downgrade. In this case, he may be hardly missed as long as Small continues to come up big.