Immediate Dividends

 

You know, I think a lot of people, at the end of the dealings the Brewers made pre-season, probably thought the biggest immediate piece they gained was somebody like Jett Williams or Brandon Sproat. But uh...looking like it's Kyle Harrison. Meaning the Giants saw what they had, relegated him to 5th starter, and traded him for Rafael Devers, and then the Red Sox barely used him and traded him for Caleb Durbin before anybody really realized what they had with this guy. 

And considering that he's in a pitching staff that includes Chad Patrick, dealt for both Jace Peterson and Abraham Toro before landing in Milwaukee, Quinn Priester, who was an afterthought in two different deals before landing in Milwaukee, and Coleman Crow, dealt for Eduardo Escobar and Adrian Houser in two different deals both teams currently regret, not even factoring Sproat in...it's very clear the Milwaukee Brewers know something that a lot of other teams don't. 

Think about it. Woodruff, Misiorowski and Henderson were drafted by them, the other guys were scouted and picked up for nothing. And they've all found success there. The rest of the team's full of that mentality. When they were dealt, nobody was thinking anything about Andrew Vaughn, Joey Ortiz, Brandon Lockridge and David Hamilton, and they've become vital pieces of this team. Lockridge is very much a 'use when Chourio is hurt' guy but he's not bad in his own right. Also, William Contreras is only on this team because the Braves wanted a catching upgrade and the A's wanted Manny Pina as a backup. So, you know, if you've lost hope in him, we'll take a chance. The gambles that most other teams take don't pay off as much as the Brewers' do because the Brewers just seem to have the right information most of the time. They do their homework, bet on the right horses and reap the benefits. 

So Kyle Harrison's very impressive debut is a shock to everyone...except the Brewers. 3-1 record, 35 Ks, 2.12 ERA...yeah, they knew. It's not a starring role exactly, as that would be the Miz's distinction, but it's arguably a better statistical start than the balls-to-the-wall flame throwing the Miz is doing. And if it's sustainable, and the Brewers can keep him around, that's a foundational guy. Funny how all these foundational guys keep showing up at the right time for this team. 

So even as this team is still technically a last place team, nobody's really referring to them as one because they're within reach of the nearest two teams and they're about to regain momentum due to the return of Jackson Chourio, already on fire. The Yankees series may make that a little difficult, but this is still a great team looking to surprise a lot of people.

Coming Tomorrow- For years he'd been the outer satellite of one of the most consistent rotations in the bigs. Now, when his team needs him the most, he's finally stepped up.