DL

Hall

Hall returns to bolster the Brewers’ middle relief depth heading into the postseason following a six-week absence recovering from an oblique strain. The oft-injured 27-year-old southpaw has looked sharp, when healthy, this season with a solid 3.35 ERA across 37 2/3 innings over 19 appearances.

Hall has been shelved since mid-August due to a right oblique strain. The 27-year-old left-hander told reporters on Saturday that he feels he’ll be ready for the NLCS — even if he doesn’t get into Sunday’s game — but that he would like to get that first appearance out of the way first if possible.

The 27-year-old southpaw has been sidelined since mid-August due to a right oblique strain. While he’s not active for Friday’s game (at least as of yet), the plan is for him to get into a game at some point over the weekend to shake off any rust heading into the postseason. With he and Trevor Megill both set to return over the weekend, the Brewers’ bullpen is getting healthy at precisely the right time.

Hall is hoping to resume throwing within two weeks and be back in about three weeks, but that seems awfully optimistic. The left-hander was placed on the IL on Saturday after getting hurt while allowing three runs in 2 2/3 innings on Friday.

It’s simply asking too much for a pitcher named DL to avoid the injured list for extended stretches. The 26-year-old former top prospect has made a seamless transition to a full-time relief role this season, but injuries remain his biggest obstacle to sustained fantasy relevance. No word on the severity of the strain, which will determine how much time he misses. Anything beyond a low-grade variety strain would put his season in serious jeopardy.

Hall has worked in this function before, and went three innings in his previous outings. The left-hander will likely get around one turn through the lineup before giving way to Quinn Priester. Hall still has a chance to be a starter someday, but he won’t get deep enough into games to qualify for wins right now.

Hall was described as an opener, but three innings is a bit more than one expects from a “traditional” opener. Hall threw 44 pitches and allowed no hard-hit balls. The Brewers probably aren’t going to extend him beyond this kind of outing anytime soon, so it’s going to be difficult for him to generate fantasy value. Still, he looks like he’ll be quite helpful to Milwaukee’s cause.

The expectation is that Quinn Priester will then work bulk innings in relief behind him. The 26-year-old southpaw has made one appearance since returning from the injured list, earning a victory over the Red Sox after allowing one run on two hits over his 2 1/3 innings of work. He’s not going to pitch deep enough into the game to earn a victory which curtails any value that he may have had from a fantasy perspective.

Hall, out since March with a lat strain, will join the Brewers pen after throwing 5 2/3 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and four walks in two appearances for Triple-A Nashville. He has a career 3.27 ERA in 41 1/3 innings as a reliever in the majors, compared a 6.49 ERA in his eight starts, and it looks like he might in the bullpen for good now.

Hall took over for Brandon Woodruff and closed the game with three innings, allowing just two hits while striking out six. The left-hander threw 39 of his 57 pitches for strikes and has now thrown 10 2/3 shutout innings during his rehab assignment with 15 strikeouts and six walks. If the Brewers are planning to keep him in the bullpen for the time being, then it would seem that he’s ready to rejoin the big league team.