Brewers activate and option Coleman Crow

Crow is working his way back from a flexor strain that put him on the shelf back in early June. The 25-year-old rookie should be an option for the Brewers again after the All-Star break once he gets a couple tune-up outings under his belt.

An MRI came back pretty good, so the Brewers are hoping Crow won’t need much time off. Maybe we’ll see him again just after the All-Star break, though if the Brewers have Brandon Woodruff and Logan Henderson healthy then, Crow might be left in Triple-A.

That certainly doesn’t sound good, as forearm flexor strains are often precursors to elbow issues. No word yet on the severity of the issue or how long the Brewers expect the 25-year-old hurler to be sidelined for. Craig Yoho was recalled from Triple-A Nashville in a corresponding move on Friday.

Crow’s cutter and curveball produced many strikeouts in the minors, but it’s going to be tougher sledding in the majors while he’s throwing 89-93 mph with his four-seamer and sinker. Nine of the 18 Giants to face him today came away with hits and a couple of others walked. Crow has a 5.94 ERA and a 13 percent strikeout rate through four big-league starts. With fresh arms needed, it seems pretty likely that he’ll be sent down prior to the Brewers’ series opener Friday in Colorado.

Crow allowed one run in the first and three in the third before being pulled from his third big-league start at just 61 pitches. It’s quite possible he’ll head back to Triple-A now, but if not, he’ll likely start at home against the Giants on Wednesday. He has a 3.14 ERA and an 8/3 K/B in 14 1/3 innings to date.

It’s a tough spot, especially in hitter-friendly Daikin Park, but Crow will get a chance to replace an injured Logan Henderson in Milwaukee’s rotation. The 25-year-old rookie has done a nice job in a pair of spot starts this season, posting a strong 2.61 ERA and 7/1 K/BB ratio across 10 1/3 innings of work. He’s a name to watch as a potential streaming option in deeper mixed leagues.

Crow probably isn’t more than a streaming option at this point, but figures to take Logan Henderson’s spot in the rotation tomorrow against the Cardinals. Crow has a 2.61 ERA in 10 1/3 innings over his two spot starts so far this year, striking out seven.

Crow returns to the minors after allowing one run over five innings on Friday in a spot start against the Twins. The 25-year-old pitching prospect has allowed just three runs with a 7/1 K/BB ratio over 10 1/3 innings across a pair of starts in the majors this season. He figures to get a more permanent look in Milwaukee’s rotation at some point down the road, but that seems unlikely to happen this summer, barring something unexpected. He’ll continue to be up-and-down as an emergency spot starter moving forward.

It was a strong outing for Crow, who has allowed just three earned runs in his first 10 1/3 innings pitched this season. His lone blemish came in the sixth inning when James Outman came around to score on a ground ball double play by Brooks Lee. Crow doesn’t have overpowering stuff and has struck out just seven batters thus far, but he’s excelled at keeping them off base and limiting runs. If he isn’t sent back to Triple-A, Crow’s next scheduled start would come on the road on Wednesday against the Cubs.

He’ll start tonight against the Twins. Crow allowed two earned runs in 5 1/3 innings against the Marlins earlier this year in his MLB debut and the 25-year-old makes a decent stream against the Twins.