The Milwaukee Brewers starting rotation received some disheartening news this week, with the announcement that right hander Freddy Peralta will be on the shelf for a lot longer than initially expected after battling what has been classified as a right posterior shoulder strain. Another steady member of the rotation will now miss some time, as Brandon Woodruff was later announced to head to the 15-day injured list on Monday afternoon with a high ankle sprain. Manager Craig Counsell is hopeful that the injured list stint will be short, the hard-throwing righty will be out until at least mid-June, which is a huge blow to the Brewers rotation depth, and to fantasy managers’ rosters as well.
Aaron Ashby is expected to get some starts in Peralta’s place; with Woodruff’s absence and a spot start needed, the Brewers called up their top pitching prospect in Ethan Small. Small is ironically enough, 6’4” and 215 lbs. The 25-year-old southpaw had a 1.88 ERA while pitching at the AAA level this year. Since he was drafted in 2019, Small has a 1.78 ERA and 177 strikeouts in 136 2/3 innings.
Small started the matinee game in a Memorial Day doubleheader versus the Cubs at Wrigley Field, striking out Willson Contreras for his first major league punchout, and eventually striking out four. He finished the afternoon going 2 2/3 innings, giving up two earned runs off four hits, and walking four.
Though these are far from ideal numbers (this was a debut, after all), promise certainly appeared in the form of a limit of hard contact, and a well-located elevated fastball averaging at 91.2 MPH. The four-seamer earned seven whiffs and four called strikes, good for a 31% CSW (called strikes plus whiffs) on that pitch, and 29% on his arsenal overall.
The Brewers eventually beat the Cubs in the first game of this doubleheader, 7-6. Milwaukee’s rotation options will be interesting going forward. Small was optioned to AAA shortly after his debut and won’t be taking Woodruff’s place in the rotation, though he could still return to Milwaukee very soon for future starts. Luke Barker, an undrafted 30-year-old righty, was selected from Triple-A Nashville to add another arm to the roster, and Justin Topa was moved to the 60-day injured list to make room for Barker.
Notable Performances
Nolan Gorman is making his case for being more than just the other Nolan on the Cardinals. He’s batting 387/.472/.677 through 36 plate appearances, and crushed his first major league home run on Saturday, where he eventually went 4-for-4 at the dish. With a ridiculous 224 wRC+, Gorman provides a much-needed left handed power bat to the Cardinals’ lineup.
Though you’ve probably heard about him many times before, Manny Machado continues to demonstrate excellence at the plate; he currently leads the National League in batting average (.353), OBP (.432), fWAR (4.4), and is second in the league in OPS (1.021). The third baseman carries a highly impressive .431 wOBA and 183 wRC+.
William Contreras has the fourth highest OPS (1.266) in all of baseball from the past ten days. Contreras was named a National League May All-Star, with a strong 1.022 OPS and five home runs this month. The catcher also leads Major League Baseball in slugging percentage at .698, amongst all players with at least 60 plate appearances. He’s gone from being rostered in 20% of Yahoo leagues a week ago to 54% rostered today, so you already know he’s a hot pickup.
Alejandro Kirk is having himself a rather strong May: in 22 games, he has a .324/.397/.471 triple-slash line, including a homer, seven RBI, and seven doubles. The 23-year-old catcher is also demonstrating more patience at the plate, with a decent 12.1% BB% and a 8.6% K%, to accompany a respectable whiff% (12.8) and chase rate (24.1%).
Ketel Marte has been fantastic in May, and was named a National League May All-Star: this month he has a .418 OBP contributing to a strong .942 OPS. The 28-year-old infielder is also carrying a nice 11 game hitting streak, and is a game away from his career high hit streak total of 12 games. This also includes five multi-hit games.
Injury Report
Tim Anderson will head to the 10-day injured list after fielding a ground ball up the middle during Sunday’s victory over the Cubs, resulting in a groin strain. White Sox manager Tony La Russa said the severity of his groin strain and length of his absence will need to be determined by an MRI. Anderson has been Chicago’s top hitter, slashing .356/.393/.503 on the season including five homers, 19 RBI, and seven stolen bases.
Max Muncy was placed on the 10-day injured list with left elbow inflammation. He missed two games this past week due to the issue; the concerning part is that this is the same elbow that he partially tore his UCL in last September. This is just the third time in Muncy’s career that he has been placed on the injured list. Edwin Rios should see some extended time at the plate.
A handful of third basemen also went on the injured list this week:
Anthony Rendon went on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with right wrist inflammation. Rendon has not played since Thursday; expect him to be sidelined for at least a few weeks. The 31-year-old carries a .242/.335/.403 triple-slash line including 15 runs scored, five home runs, 23 RBI and two stolen bases across 173 plate appearances this season.
Josh Donaldson spent a stint on the Covid-19 injured list, and will now head to the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation. The move is retroactive to May 24; expect for him to miss a week’s worth of games. Marwin Gonzalez is filling in at third base during Donaldson’s leave.
Kris Bryant went on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 23, with a lower back strain. Prior to returning to the injured list, Bryant missed nearly four weeks of games because of this nagging back issue, and played just two games before the ailment resurfaced. Though his return timeline is unclear, Bryant was able to go through some baseball activity for the first time on Thursday.
Honor Roll
Shane McClanahan (6 IP, 1 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 7 K on Sunday), Jorge Soler (2-for-3, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB on Sunday), Corey Seager (3-for-4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, SB on Saturday), Nathan Eovaldi (9 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K on Saturday), Bobby Witt, Jr. (3-for-5, HR, 3B, 2 R, 3 RBI, SB on Friday), Chris Flexen (7 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 6 K on Friday), Frankie Montas (7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 11 K on Thursday), Kyle Farmer (4-for-4, 3 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI on Thursday), Kole Calhoun (3-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R on Wednesday), Robbie Ray (6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 10 K, 2 HR on Wednesday), Joc Pederson (4-for-6, 3 HR, 8 RBI on Tuesday), Sonny Gray (7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 K on Tuesday), Tyler Anderson (8 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 0 BB, 8 K on Monday), Julio Rodriguez (2-for-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI on Monday)
Batting Around
On Saturday, a Minor League Baseball game between the Buffalo Bisons and Columbus Clippers was delayed due to a squirrel running onto the field during play. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the critter scampered onto the infield grass and took a moment to pause in front of the mound and then proceeded to roam behind home plate. The Clippers sent a player armed with a gum bucket to apprehend the intruder, but it managed to escape. Soon after, players from both teams including the bullpen and grounds crew attempted to corner the squirrel, which resulted in a high volume of humans attempting to capture it. After some cartoon-style hijinks, a groundskeeper finally managed to catch the squirrel with their bare hands, promptly placing it in a bucket. Announcers speculated that the squirrel entered the field of play via the groundskeepers’ area and had no clear right-of-way to exit. While we have no update on whether or not the critter was released successfully, we do have an apology from the Richmond Flying Squirrels. Hey, we’re all fans here.
Thanks for tuning into this Memorial Day edition of the Week that Was. Join us next week for more stories, updates, and great feats from around Major League Baseball.
