Brewers Place Jose Quintana On IL Due To Calf Strain
The Brewers announced that left-hander Jose Quintana has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to September 15th, due to a left calf strain. Right-hander Nick Mears has been reinstated from the 15-day IL as the corresponding move.
Quintana started Sunday’s game against the Cardinals. He was pulled after throwing 67 pitches over four innings, having allowed three earned runs. After the game, manager Pat Murphy told members of the media that Quintana had been pulled due to a calf injury, adding that the lefty was in a walking boot and would require an MRI.
The Brewers took a few days to see how Quintana’s calf responded but have evidently decided that he’ll need to sit out a while longer. Even with the backdating, his regular season is over. He finishes the year with a 3.96 earned run average in 131 2/3 innings, though his underlying numbers are a bit less impressive than that ERA. His 9% walk rate and 43.3% ground ball rate are close to average but he only struck out 16% of batters faced. A low .259 batting average on balls in play seemed to help him, which is why his 4.83 FIP and 5.05 SIERA are both about a run higher than his ERA.
Even before the injury, Quintana wasn’t especially likely to be playing a meaningful role for Milwaukee in October. With the off-days in the postseason, teams are able to rely on just three or four starters instead of the usual five or six. Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff, Quinn Priester and Jacob Misiorowski are all having better seasons than Quintana.
In the short term, the Brewers are still in a good position. They have already clinched a playoff spot and seem highly likely to get a bye through the first round. They are currently 4.5 games up on the Cubs in the Central. The Brewers are eight games clear of the Dodgers, who lead the West division at the moment, in addition to being a game and a half clear of the East-leading Phillies.
To finish the job, they will need to replace Quintana in the rotation for the near term. They have Woodruff, Priester and Misiorowski taking the ball in the next three games. Peralta started yesterday and won’t be available on normal rest by Saturday. Milwaukee doesn’t have an off-day until the 25th, next Thursday.
Chad Patrick has had success as a starter this year but he is currently in the bullpen. His two most recent appearances have been of the single-inning variety but he did pitch 4 1/3 innings as recently as September 9th, so perhaps he could cover multiple innings. It’s a somewhat similar situation with guys like Erick Fedde and Tobias Myers, who have done some starting but have been in shorter stints more recently.
Another option to help out fairly soon is Robert Gasser, who is nearing a return from last summer’s Tommy John surgery. He was reinstated from the IL at the end of August but was optioned to the minors. Most of his recent minor league outings have been around three innings, at intervals of three days or so. He won’t be available for a traditional start but could cover a few frames in some capacity. “I think you’ll see him soon,” Murphy said today, per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Turning back to Quintana, he will presumably be trying to get healthy for the postseason. Assuming the Brewers eventually do secure a bye through the Wild Card round, he’ll have over two weeks until the Division Series begins. As mentioned, the Brewers probably don’t need him in their postseason rotation, though an injury to one of the other arms could always change that. Even if he’s not needed to make a start, he could perhaps work out of the Milwaukee bullpen.
Photo courtesy of Benny Sieu, Imagn Images
Jose Quintana To Undergo MRI For Calf Injury
Jose Quintana suffered a calf injury that led to his abbreviated start in the Brewers’ 3-2 loss to the Cardinals today. Manager Pat Murphy told media (including Hunter Baumgardt of 97.3 The Game radio) said Quintana was wearing a walking boot, and would undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the damage.
Quintana threw only 67 pitches today, allowing three earned runs on four hits and two walks over four innings of work. That final inning was a painful one for the veteran southpaw, as Quintana was hit by a Pedro Pages comebacker in the first at-bat of the frame, and Murphy said Quintana then hurt his calf while covering first base to record the final out.
More will be known once the MRI results are in, yet as Murphy put it, potentially losing Quintana would be “alarming, with how injured we already are in the bullpen and on the mound.” Milwaukee has seven pitchers currently on the injured list, including five members of the relief corps — Shelby Miller and Connor Thomas have both been lost to long-term UCL surgeries, while Logan Henderson won’t pitch for at least the rest of the regular season.
The tough outing against St. Louis gives Quintana a 7.40 ERA over his last four starts and 20 2/3 innings pitched. Though he tossed 184 2/3 innings for the Mets during the 2024 regular season and postseason, it could be that Quintana is starting to feel some fatigue down the stretch this year, after amassing 131 2/3 more frames in his 14th Major League season. It should be noted that Quintana didn’t sign with the Brewers until early March, and his season debut was held off until April 11 so the lefty could spend more time in extended Spring Training to make up for lost time in camp.
A calf injury now throws another wrench into the equation, leaving Quintana’s readiness in doubt for Milwaukee’s playoff roster. The Brewers have already clinched a postseason berth, are on the verge of clinching the NL Central title, and are on pace to claim a first-round bye, even if the Phillies remain in hot pursuit of the Brew Crew for the National League’s top seed. This gives the Brewers some flexibility and time to figure out their playoff pitching plans, and it may give Quintana more time to heal up if he does have to hit the injured list.
Given both his recent struggles and the Brewers’ list of other rotation options, Quintana was probably headed to a relief role in October anyway. Freddy Peralta, Quinn Priester, Brandon Woodruff, and Jacob Misiorowski look to be Milwaukee’s top rotation options for the postseason, and Chad Patrick may also be ahead of Quintana on the rotation depth chart. Quintana has a 3.96 ERA over his 131 2/3 innings this season, but with a host of subpar Statcast numbers, indicating that Quintana is getting a lot of help from his .259 BABIP.
Brewers Place Nick Mears On 15-Day Injured List
Prior to yesterday’s 5-2 win over the Pirates, the Brewers placed right-hander Nick Mears on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to September 2) due to back tightness. Right-hander Carlos Rodriguez was called up from Triple-A Nashville to take Mears’ spot in Milwaukee’s bullpen.
Mears had a 5.20 ERA over 107 1/3 career innings heading into the 2025 season, including a 7.30 ERA in 12 1/3 frames for Milwaukee after the Brewers acquired him from the Rockies prior to the 2024 trade deadline. In the latest example of the Brewers getting results from an unheralded pitcher, Mears has stepped up as a reliable member of the bullpen this year, posting a 3.42 ERA over 52 2/3 frames. His 21.3% strikeout rate is subpar, and Mears has allowed a lot of hard contact that has been mitigated by a .225 BABIP. On the plus side, his tiny 5.0% walk rate is excellent, and Mears has one of baseball’s best chase rates due in large part to his outstanding slider.
The numbers would look even better if Mears hadn’t allowed three runs in his last game, as the righty was hit hard over an inning of work in the Brewers’ 10-8 loss to the Phillies on September 1. It is fair to assume that Mears’ bad back played in a role in that rough outing, and the injury may have been lingering for a while, as Brew Crew manager Pat Murphy first mentioned that Mears was dealing with back problems in late July.
A club official told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy that Mears may be able to return after just a minimal 15-day absence, though back injuries tend to have an uncertain timeline. Even if Mears isn’t out for too long, he is now the fifth Brewers reliever to hit the IL in the last weeks. Closer Trevor Megill, DL Hall, Grant Anderson, and Shelby Miller are all also sidelined, and in Miller’s case, his season has been ended by a UCL sprain that will likely require Tommy John surgery.
Murphy provided some other injury updates Friday, telling McCalvy and company that Anderson is slated to begin a Triple-A rehab assignment today. Megill hasn’t pitched since August 24 due to a flexor strain, but he has started throwing bullpen sessions and the club has set September 16 as a tentative target date for the closer’s return.
The Brewers have baseball’s best record and a pretty comfortable 5.5-game lead in the NL Central, so they have some luxury in waiting out this spate of bullpen injuries. The chief priority is to have as many healthy pitchers as possible heading into the playoffs, so if Mears or anyone else needs an extra few days to recover, Milwaukee will be as risk-adverse as possible.
Shelby Miller Likely Headed For Tommy John Surgery
3:00pm: Miller spoke with the Brewers beat in the dugout today and suggested that a second Tommy John procedure is likely (video link via Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). The veteran righty effused praise for the Brewers organization and said he’d be on hand to support the club however he can. Asked about the possibility of this being a potential career-ending injury, Miller said there’s “no doubt” in his mind that he can come back — likely in 2027 — and continue to pitch effectively, but that’ll be a conversation he has with his family when he’s further down the road.
Notably, the right-hander acknowledged that surgery was mentioned as a possibility when he was on the injured list with the D-backs. That would have been an internal brace and flexor repair, but a full UCL replacement now seems like it could be on the table. The Brewers surely knew of that possibility at the time of the swap (hence the purely financial cost of acquisition), but that doesn’t make his loss any less impactful.
Fans will want to check out Rosiak’s full five-minute video clip, as Miller provides a wealth of candid quotes on his career, his current mindset, his injury, his time with the Brewers and more.
2:12pm: The Brewers announced Wednesday that they’ve placed right-hander Shelby Miller on the 60-day injured list due to a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. The 34-year-old exited a game earlier this week after telling manager Pat Murphy that he’d felt a “pop” in his elbow, and it seems he’s encountered a worst-case scenario. Milwaukee has selected the contract of righty Joel Payamps to take Miller’s spot on the 40-man roster and in the big league bullpen.
The Brewers haven’t specified whether Miller will undergo Tommy John surgery or an internal brace procedure, but surgery is the most common outcome when pitchers suffer UCL sprains. If Miller does require Tommy John surgery, it’d be the second time in his career. He also underwent Tommy John surgery back in 2017 while pitching with the Diamondbacks.
Losing Miller is another notable blow for a Milwaukee bullpen that is also without closer Trevor Megill (flexor strain), lefty DL Hall (oblique strain) and righty Grant Anderson (ankle tendinitis). The Brewers acquired Miller at the trade deadline, knowing there were some health risks. He was on the injured list with a forearm strain at the time. Perhaps in a reflection of that uncertainty, Milwaukee effectively purchased Miller rather than sending any prospects to the D-backs; they took on the remainder of Miller’s deal and $2MM of the roughly $7MM still owed to injured starter Jordan Montgomery — a free agent at season’s end.
Miller has pitched 9 2/3 innings with the Brewers and sports an unsightly 5.59 ERA, though that’s a bit misleading. Prior to the outing when he felt that “pop,” he’d pitched in 10 games with the Brewers and held opponents scoreless in eight of them. The main blemish was a three-run hiccup against the Bucs on Aug. 13, but generally, Miller had been strong: a 3.72 ERA with a 14-to-4 K/BB ratio in those 9 2/3 frames. He was tagged for two runs without recording an out in what will go down as his final appearance of the season, however, and he’ll close out the 2025 campaign with a 2.74 ERA, 10 saves and nine holds in 46 innings.
In place of Miller, the Brewers will take another look at the veteran Payamps. The 31-year-old righty was a rock-solid bullpen arm for the Brew Crew in 2023-24, pitching a combined 129 2/3 innings with a 2.78 ERA, a 26.1% strikeout rate, a 6.7% walk rate, a 42.6% ground-ball rate and just 1.04 HR/9. He saved nine games along the way and piled up 48 holds between those two excellent seasons.
Payamps got out to a miserable start in 2025, however, allowing 17 runs in his first 18 1/3 innings of work. The Brewers designated him for assignment and placed him on waivers. His $2.995MM salary made it easy to pass him through outright waivers, and Payamps has shown signs of righting the ship with Milwaukee’s top affiliate in Nashville. His numbers are somewhat skewed thanks to a six-run meltdown in his third-most-recent appearance, on Aug. 23, but Payamps carried a tidy 3.04 ERA into that outing and has bounced back with a pair of perfect frames during which he punched out five of his six opponents.
Overall, Payamps has a 4.73 ERA in 26 2/3 innings, with a disproportionate amount of the damage against him coming in that Aug. 23 hiccup. He’s posted a sharp 30-to-6 K/BB ratio with Nashville and allowed only two home runs. If he’s back to his 2023-24 form, or even 80-90% of the way there, Payamps could be an impactful bullpen addition for the final few weeks of the regular season — and perhaps even into the postseason if he shows well enough.
Shelby Miller Undergoing Testing After Feeling “Pop” In Elbow
Brewers reliever Shelby Miller is headed for imaging after an ominous exit from yesterday’s game, writes Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Milwaukee skipper Pat Murphy said the 34-year-old Miller told the training staff he felt a “pop” in his elbow during yesterday’s outing.
The veteran Miller was a key bullpen pickup for the Brew Crew at last month’s trade deadline, though he came with some health risk, given that he was on the injured list due to a forearm strain at the time of the trade. The cost of acquisition perhaps reflected that. Rather than send any prospects to the D-backs, Milwaukee instead took on Miller’s contract and ate a reported $2MM of the roughly $7MM left on Jordan Montgomery‘s contract. Montgomery underwent Tommy John surgery back in March; the Brewers essentially purchased Miller from the Diamondbacks.
It looked like a nice move for Milwaukee at the time. Miller was excellent in a rebound effort with Arizona, tossing 36 1/3 innings of 1.98 ERA ball with a big 28% strikeout rate and a strong 7.7% walk rate. He picked up eight holds and ten saves prior to being flipped to the NL Central leaders.
Miller has pitched 9 2/3 innings with the Brewers and sports an unsightly 5.59 ERA, though that’s a bit misleading. Prior to yesterday’s outing, when he seemingly sustained this injury, he’d pitched in 10 games with the Brewers and held opponents scoreless in eight of them. The main blemish was a three-run hiccup against the Bucs on Aug. 13, but generally, Miller had been strong: a 3.72 ERA with a 14-to-4 K/BB ratio in those 9 2/3 frames. He was tagged for two runs without recording an out yesterday, however.
Bullpen depth has once again been a strength for the Brewers in 2025, but Miller was expected to fill a key role nonetheless. However, Milwaukee also lost closer Trevor Megill (2.54 ERA in 46 innings) and righty Grant Anderson (2.87 ERA in 62 2/3 innings) to the injured list within the past week — the former due to a flexor strain and the latter due to tendinitis in his ankle. Each of Abner Uribe, Jared Koenig, Nick Mears and Aaron Ashby has pitched at least 49 innings with a 3.42 ERA or better, but the relief corps has now lost three notable arms in a span of under two weeks.
Megill suggested at the time of the IL placement that it was more precautionary than concerning — a means of making sure he didn’t push through something minor and jeopardize his availability for the postseason. It’s less clear when or whether Anderson will be able to return, and Miller’s description of his injury is obviously quite concerning. We’ll presumably have more information on Miller sooner than later, but it seems doubtful that all three of Megill, Anderson and Miller will be 100% by the time postseason play begins. Miller, it should be noted, missed the majority of the 2017-18 seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Brewers Outright Oliver Dunn
The Brewers sent infielder Oliver Dunn outright to Triple-A Nashville, according to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. Dunn cleared waivers after being designated for assignment when Jackson Chourio returned from the injured list over the weekend. This is his first outright and he doesn’t have three years of big league service, so he’ll need to accept the assignment.
Dunn has been with Nashville since the middle of April. He got a brief look in an uncertain third base mix in the season’s first couple weeks. He hit .167 with a .205 on-base percentage across 14 games before being optioned out. Caleb Durbin came up and seized the third base job as a rookie. The 27-year-old Dunn (28 tomorrow) has had a mediocre season in Triple-A. He’s batting .201/.304/.326 with seven homers through 407 plate appearances.
This has been Dunn’s first extended Triple-A stint. He saw only brief action there in 2023 and ’24. The former 11th round pick had big numbers at the Double-A level while a member of the Philly organization two seasons ago. Milwaukee acquired him going into the ’24 campaign, but he missed most of that season with a back injury. Dunn will remain on hand as infield depth in September. He’ll qualify for minor league free agency at the beginning of the winter if he’s not added back to the 40-man roster.
Jorge Alfaro Opts Out Of Brewers Deal
Catcher Jorge Alfaro has opted out of his minor league deal with the Brewers, per a team announcement relayed by Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The backstop is now a free agent and free to sign with any club.
Alfaro, 32, has appeared in eight big league seasons. He has a well-established profile as a guy who can hit home runs but with subpar walk and strikeout numbers and poor defense. In 82 Triple-A games this year, he continued to perform in that manner. His 3.4% walk rate and 36.5% strikeout rate with Nashville were bad numbers but he did put the ball over the fence 15 times. That led to a .244/.285/.430 line and 87 wRC+.
His path to big league playing with the Brewers wasn’t great. They have one of the best everyday guys in the league in William Contreras. For much of the year, they’ve had Eric Haase as the backup. Ahead of the deadline, they acquired Danny Jansen from the Rays, which bumped Haase off the roster and down to Triple-A. They also have one of the top catching prospects in the league in Jeferson Quero, who is on the 40-man and playing for Nashville.
That essentially put Alfaro fifth on the depth chart, so he’ll use the clause in his contract to look for a better situation. For his career, he has 48 home runs in 1,710 plate appearances, a 4.2% walk rate, 34% strikeout rate, .253/.302/.393 line and 86 wRC+.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images
Brewers Sign Luis Urias To Minor League Contract
The Brewers have signed infielder Luis Urias to a minor league deal, according to Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Urias will report to Triple-A Nashville for what will be his second stint in the Brewers organization.
The veteran signed a $1.1MM free agent deal with the Athletics last winter, and Urias banked an extra $300K in bonus money by making at least 300 plate appearances in an A’s uniform. In 330 PA, Urias hit .230/.315/.338 with eight home runs while getting mostly regular action at second base, with a handful of starts at third base as well.
Since the A’s are well out of playoff contention and wanted to give playing time to younger talent, the team opted to designate Urias for assignment last week and then released him after he cleared waivers. There is only around $180K remaining on Urias’ salary, and the A’s will cover whatever remains of that total, minus the portion of the prorated MLB minimum salary that will be paid by the Brewers for however much time Urias spends on the active roster.
While he’ll start his Brewers return in Nashville, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Urias back up in Milwaukee before too long. Joey Ortiz is expected to return from his hamstring strain pretty soon, but a veteran like Urias may be a preferable depth option over rookie Anthony Siegler on the Brew Crew’s bench. Urias could also get some time at third base in place of Caleb Durbin, even though Durbin has been reinforcing his spot in the lineup with some hot hitting as of late. Bringing Urias back before September 1 makes him eligible for the postseason, and the league-leading Brewers certainly are already thinking about October roster plans.
A veteran of eight MLB seasons, Urias enjoyed his two best years as a regular with Milwaukee in 2021-22. He hit .244/.340/.426 over 1042 plate appearances while getting close to everyday playing time as a third baseman and shortstop in 2021, and then in more of a utility role at those two positions plus second base in 2022. A dropoff at the plate in 2023 led the Brewers to trade Urias to the Red Sox at the deadline, and his bat didn’t fare much better during his time in Boston or with the Mariners in a part-time role in 2024.
Brewers Reinstate Jackson Chourio From 10-Day Injured List, Designate Oliver Dunn
The Brewers made a quartet of transactions prior to today’s game with the Blue Jays, including the headline news that Jackson Chourio has been activated from the 10-day injured list. Outfielder Brandon Lockridge was optioned to Triple-A to create room for Chourio on the 26-man roster. Milwaukee also activated Robert Gasser from the 60-day IL and optioned the southpaw to Triple-A, and to create room for Gasser on the 40-man roster, infielder Oliver Dunn was designated for assignment.
Chourio last played on July 29, when he strained his right hamstring while running the bases after a triple. The injury cut short what had been a scorching stretch for Chourio, who had a 1.065 OPS over the 93 plate appearances prior to his IL stint. That hot streak brought Chourio’s season-long slash line up to .276/.311/.474 over 472 PA — almost identical to the numbers he posted in 573 PA during his 2024 season. The outfielder has also hit 17 homers and stolen 18 bases, approaching his 2024 totals of 21 home runs and 22 steals.
It is a testament to Milwaukee’s depth that the Brewers haven’t missed a beat in Chourio’s absence, as the club has gone 20-9 without a key piece of their starting outfield. The Brew Crew now have the good problem of too many outfield options for too few spots, as Blake Perkins will be shuffled into fourth outfielder duty with Chourio and occasionally Sal Frelick taking over as the primary center fielders. Isaac Collins has established himself as a regular left fielder, leaving Chourio and Frelick in center and right in some capacity, and Perkins providing excellent glovework off the bench.
This surplus bodes well for the Brewers’ chances of making a World Series run, and Gasser might also factor into late-season plans. The former top prospect posted a 2.57 ERA over his first 28 MLB innings (and five starts) in 2024 before a Tommy John surgery quickly ended Gasser’s rookie campaign. He has already pitched in nine minor league games as part of his recovery process, including five outings with Triple-A Nashville.
The reinstatement from the 60-day IL relates to the end of Gasser’s allotted 30-day rehab window, and he’ll continue to get ramped up in Nashville while waiting for a probable call-up in September. Though Gasser has worked as a starter almost exclusively throughout his career, it seems likelier that the Brewers would use him as a reliever if he is included on a postseason roster. His stuff could play up well in a bullpen role and make him a secret weapon for Milwaukee’s relief corps for the playoffs, though it would be a pressurized environment for a 26-year-old has little big league experience, and is just coming back from a major surgery.
Dunn had his own 2024 rookie season ended early by a 60-day IL stint due to a back injury. Seen as a potential contender to win regular work as the Brewers’ third baseman heading into 2025, Dunn hasn’t hit much in his limited time in the majors, batting .206/.261/.290 over 145 plate appearances. Milwaukee optioned Dunn to Triple-A back in April, and now today’s DFA might end the infielder’s time in the organization altogether.
Teams interested in adding infield depth could consider a waiver claim, plus Dunn has a minor league option year remaining, which bolsters his roster flexibility. He brings some defensive versatility as a regular second and third baseman, plus some time as a shortstop and left fielder. The bat is Dunn’s big question mark, as he has hit only .205/.311/.338 in 459 career PA at the Triple-A level along with his uninspiring small sample size of big league at-bats.
Poll: NL Rookie Of The Year Check-In
Within the last few years, the Rookie of the Year award has grown to have more meaning than it had in the past. Changes in the most recent collective bargaining agreement allow the award to bestow a full year of MLB service time on the top two finishers, even if they would have otherwise entered the offseason with less than that. Beyond that, any player who was a top-100 prospect on a pair of prominent preseason lists (Baseball America, MLB.com, ESPN) can net his club an extra pick by winning the award if he breaks camp with his club or was called up less than two weeks into the season. That’s raised the stakes on the two Rookie of the Year races, but who will ultimately come out on top?
Here’s a look at this year’s candidates in the National League, listen in alphabetical order by last name:
Drake Baldwin, C, Braves
The 24-year-old Baldwin is having a banner rookie season for Atlanta after an injury suffered by Sean Murphy during Spring Training opened up the Opening Day catcher job. Baldwin took the reins and never looked back. Through 96 games, he’s hitting .276/.347/.454 with a wRC+ of 126. He’s smacked 14 homers in 337 plate appearances, but more impressive is Baldwin’s plate discipline. The youngster is striking out just 16% of the time while walking at a solid 8.9% clip. That production has been enough to get the lion’s share of time behind the plate in spite of Murphy’s status as a former All-Star and Gold Glove award winner on a hefty contract. If there’s an issue with Baldwin’s profile, it’s that he’s a merely pedestrian defender behind the plate. Scouts expected him to be no more than average behind the plate, and so far the metrics have played that out as he has -1 Catching Runs this year according to Statcast. Baldwin and Murphy are now splitting the workload between catcher and DH, so Baldwin should see regular at-bats down the stretch. If he wins the award, he’ll net the Braves a PPI pick.
Isaac Collins, OF, Brewers
Collins celebrated his 28th birthday last month, making him by far the oldest player on this list. He’s been a game changer for an excellent Brewers club in left field, however, with a .270/.368/.421 (125 wRC+) slash line in 109 games. Collins has chipped in 28 extra-base hits and 15 steals and drawn walks at an excellent 12.3% clip. That penchant for drawing walks fuels an on-base percentage that sits just barely outside the top 20 among hitters with at least 300 plate appearances this year. Collins’ age and lack of a premium defensive position could hold him back in the eyes of some voters, but the switch-hitter does have one big thing going for him: he’s doing his best work now. Since the All-Star break, Collins has hit .288/.377/.475 with a wRC+ of 139.
Cade Horton, RHP, Cubs
The Cubs’ first rounder in the 2022 draft, Horton came up to fill out the rotation in a pinch back in May and has generally looked the part of a quality big league starter. He’s pitched to a 2.88 ERA and 3.71 FIP in 93 2/3 innings of work. That’s by far the best ERA among all rookie pitchers with at least 80 innings, and he’s been on the shortlist for the best pitcher in baseball since the All-Star break with a microscopic 0.49 ERA, a 2.61 FIP, and 24.8% strikeout rate. Horton’s season-long strikeout rate of just 20.1% isn’t all that impressive, and his relatively limited innings may hurt him with some voters. Even so, the 24-year-old should get plenty of attention with the way he’s pitched in the second half so far, and a big final month could further cement his case. Horton was a consensus top-100 prospect prior to the season but wasn’t called up early enough to net the Cubs a pick based on this year’s Rookie of the Year voting (though he could still garner them a pick with a top-3 Cy Young finish before reaching arbitration).
Chad Patrick, RHP, Brewers
Patrick might be overlooked by some voters who could be attracted to the strong second half numbers of Collins and Horton. Even so, he’s a legitimate contender for the award. Patrick’s 105 innings across 21 appearances (20 starts) lead NL rookies. He’s posted a 3.60 ERA with a nearly identical 3.68 FIP while striking out 23.9% of his opponents. Perhaps the biggest flaw in Patrick’s case is that the Brewers optioned him to Triple-A for just over a month. He didn’t pitch in the majors between July 5 and Aug. 19. He’s also worn down as the season has gone on, with a 5.09 ERA and 4.45 FIP in his last seven starts. Patrick will need to turn things around in September if he’s going to make a play for the award, but a strong start to his big league career in April and May could be enough to keep him in the conversation.
Other Options
That aforementioned quartet appear to be the likeliest candidates for the award, but they aren’t the only names to consider. Playing time will be a factor for Miami’s Jakob Marsee, but if the 24-year-old can keep hitting the way he has in 26 games since his Aug. 1 recall (.356/.422/.667, 195 wRC+), his otherworldly performance will get some attention anyway. Teammate Agustin Ramirez leads NL rookies in home runs (18) and plate appearances (463), but he’s posted awful defensive marks behind the plate and is sitting on a .287 on-base percentage (.228/.287/.424 overall). Brewers righty Jacob Misiorowski was the talk of the game after his first few starts, but he spent two weeks on the injured list after being clipped by a comebacker and has been tagged for 13 earned runs in his past 14 1/3 innings (four starts). He’s only at 43 2/3 innings on the season, too, which hurts his candidacy.
Hyeseong Kim has been an above-average hitter for the Dodgers and contributed defensive versatility, but he’s been on the injured list for a month and is unlikely to get enough playing time to merit consideration. Nationals righty Brad Lord is in the midst of a solid season as a swingman, but a 5.47 ERA in August does him no favors. Third basemen Caleb Durbin and Matt Shaw have both had decent enough years but are sure to be overshadowed by their teammates when it comes to balloting.
Who do MLBTR readers think will ultimately come out on top in the NL’s Rookie of the Year balloting? Have your say in the poll below:
Who will win NL Rookie of the Year?
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Drake Baldwin 46% (2,241)
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Cade Horton 26% (1,263)
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Isaac Collins 20% (996)
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Someone Else 7% (360)
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Chad Patrick 1% (59)
Total votes: 4,919