This is an interesting group to say the least, and to properly cover the names that will be starting games for Milwaukee in 2025, breaking them up into tiers seems to be the best way to go. So let's begin. Is this good? The Milwaukee Starting Pitcher edition.
Tier-1 - Freddy Peralta
There is only one player that qualifies as a top tier pitcher for Milwaukee going into the start of the 2025 season, and that's undeniable No. 1 Freddy Peralta. For the second consecutive season, Peralta made 30 or more starts, and led the team in strikeouts a season ago. His status as the Brewers' ace is not questioned.
Over four seasons as a full-time rotation member, Peralta has never had an ERA above 3.86. Last season's WHIP of 1.215 was his highest as a starter, and over those four seasons he's also combined for a 7.5 WAR. If there's a statistical concern, it's the fact that he's given up 26 home runs in each of the last two seasons.
That said, any success that this Starting Rotation has this year starts with Peralta. If he can repeat his his success from the last few years, and cut down on the long balls,
this is a pretty good place to start.
Tier-2 - Nestor Cortes, Aaron Civale, Tobias Meyers
Moving on to a trio of pitchers that are a lock to start the season in the rotation, we have the Cortes-Civale-Meyers grouping. And after the rotation questions that Milwaukee faced going into last season, you can easily find yourself cautiously optimistic about where this trio can take you.
Aaron Civale was quietly very effective after the Brewers added him in a trade in early July. In 14 starts he pitched to a 3.53 ERA, striking out 65 batters in 74 innings. He did give up 13 home runs in his time in Milwaukee, on his way to giving up 29 on the season (very much a career worst). But he was an overall positive, sporting a 1.1 WAR and, for the most part, seeing his numbers improve when backed up by Milwaukee's defense.
Nestor Cortes was the biggest add in the Devin Williams to the Yankees trade that happened back in December. It's easy to remember him for the Grand Slam he gave up lefty-lefty to Freddie Freeman in Game One of last season's World Series, but besides that mistake he is coming off a very successful four year stretch in the New York rotation. In healthy seasons in 2021, 2022, and 2024 Cortes had an ERA of 2.90, 2.44, and 3.77 respectively. He's also had a positive WAR in each of the last four seasons.
Tier-3 - D.L. Hall, Aaron Ashby
Speaking of high ceilings but also impressively low floors, a couple of high velocity lefties definitely fit the bill. D.L. Hall and Aaron Ashby have undeniable top end arms, but have yet to establish themselves as Major League pitchers.
D.L.Hall was one of two major-league ready players that came back to Milwaukee in the Corbin Burnes trade (the other being infielder Joey Ortiz). His results have been inconsistent. Hall pitched in, he's also dealing with a lat injury that will slow down his spring training by several weeks. 43 big league innings to the tune of a 5.02 ERA In Triple-A his results were better, a 3.83 ERA across 40 innings. If you're an optimist you'll point to his August 30th start against Cincy. Hall went seven innings, struck out five against only one walk, and gave up zero runs. More of that please.
Aaron Ashby's slow return from injury was evidenced in his maddeningly inconsistent showing through the first few months of the season. The question of - Is he a starter or is he a reliever? - has still not been answered, though it's looking increasingly like relief is where he will excel the most. That said, operating with a multi-year contract he will (and should) receive every chance to be a starting pitcher in Milwaukee. In 12 major league appearances out of the bullpen last season Ashby had a 1.37 ERA. The velocity was there when the season ended, and it remains to be seen where he starts in 2025.
Tier-? - Brandon Woodruff, Elvin Rodriguez, Robert Gasser
Let's make a quick aside to Robert Gasser - we probably won't see him in 2025 in the major leagues and if we do, it'll be in August or September. And that's ok. The Brewers have a number of quality young pitchers to fill out the rotation in 2026 and beyond, and if he can return to form, Gasser is one of them.
If he's ready to pitch in the majors by May, it would be unfair to expect him to really catch form until June or July. But shoulders are troubling, and this was a tough injury for Woodruff. Here's hoping he can be back healthy, and contributing before the All-Star break.
Who is Elvin Rodriguez? Realistically he's depth and emergencies. Could he be this season's Tobias Myers? It would be pretty great if he was. Realistically he's probably ticketed for a bulk relief role with spot starts. Think an upgraded version of Bryse Wilson. Rodriguez was absolutely dominant pitching in Japan last season - he made 49 appearance with a 2.66 ERA in 88 innings, striking out 73. His last big league appearance was in July of 2023, when he pitched 3.1 innings for Tampa Bay, striking out five and giving up zero runs.
Honorable Mentions - Chad Patrick, Carlos Rodriguez
A couple names you're likely to hear in the mix this season are Chad Patrick and Carlos Rodriguez. You may remember this Rodriguez from a trio of terrible June starts that netted him a 7.30 ERA, and allowing 10 earned runs in 12.1 innings. This was his age 22 season, and there wasn't much expectation that he would even make an appearance in the majors last season. So, better his second time around?
Chad Patrick is something of an interesting prospect. A bit older, at 26, and acquired in the Abraham Toro trade with Oakland (Sacramento?) in November of 2023; his first season in the Milwaukee system was eye opening. He made 26 appearances, striking out 145 batters in 136.1 innings. Patrick had a 14-1 record, and a 2.90 ERA and 1.086 WHIP. He was pretty good! Whether or not those results can translate to the Major Leagues has to be determined, but after seeing the success Tobias Myers had in 2024 I wouldn't bet against a pitcher who can pitch.
Is this Good?
It might be! The top four spots in the rotation appear to be set as we head into spring, with Peralta-Cortes-Civale-Myers making up the top four. After that pulling from one of Hall-Ashby-C. Rodriguez-E. Rodriguez until Woodruff is ready to contribute sounds substantially better than the 2024 rotation of Peralta-Rea-Miley and who even knows anymore.
If Milwaukee gets off to a good start, pitching and defense will be the reason. The floor for this pitching staff is actually fairly high, even with some of the question marks that exist. And if you're a pessimist, Civale and Cortes are both in their walk years, meaning if the Brewers are struggling to win games and those two pitchers aren't the reason they might net you some decent prospects from contending teams.
If Woodruff can come back healthy, and the rest of the Milwaukee rotation works to their career averages, this starting rotation has the chance to be pretty good!
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