Milwaukee Brewers Starting Pitcher Poll Results

On Tuesday Brew Crew Ball readers voted on what they wanted to happen with the Brewers’ pitching rotation to start this season. On Wednesday, the vote was for what was expected to happen with the rotation. The first obvious thing we learned is that about twice as many people care about what they want rather than what they expect, although that could just be the boredom of filling out the same poll twice.

The polls included 13 potential candidates; here are the results:

Who Brewer fans WANT in the 2017 opening rotation:

1. Zach Davies - 725 (96.8% of the ballots)
2. Junior Guerra - 711 (94.9%)
3. Jimmy Nelson - 608 - (81.2%)
4. Wily Peralta - 421 (56.2%)
5. Chase Anderson - 394 (52.5%)
6. Josh Hader - 314 (41.9%)
7. Matt Garza - 191 (25.5%)
8. Jorge Lopez - 102 (13.6%)
9. Taylor Jungmann - 72 (9.6%)
10. Tommy Milone - 63 (8.4%)
11. Brandon Woodruff - 57 (7.6%)
12. Aaron Wilkerson - 31 (4.1%)
13. Luis Ortiz - 30 (4%)

Who Brewer fans EXPECT to be in the opening 2017 rotation:

1. Zach Davies - 344 (93.2%)
2. Junior Guerra - 340 (92.1%)
3. Jimmy Nelson - 280 (75.9%)
4. Chase Anderson - 226 (61.2%)
5. Matt Garza - 220 (59.6%)
6. Wily Peralta - 203 (55.0%)
7. Josh Hader - 56 (15.2%)
8. Tommy Milone - 24 (6.5%)
9. Jorge Lopez - 23 (6.2%)
10. Aaron Wilkerson - 23 (6.2%)
11. Taylor Jungmann - 13 (3.5%)
12. Brandon Woodruff - 10 (2.7%)
13. Luis Ortiz - 5 (1.4%)

Observations:

• Brewer fans both want and expect Zach Davies, Junior Guerra, and Jimmy Nelson to be in the rotation. No surprises there, even with Nelson’s poor conclusion to a season that started with such promise.
• Josh Hader is regarded as the most likely youngster to make the rotation, and the most wanted, but voters aren’t really expecting it to happen to start the season.
• There are six firm favorites that are expected to fill out the slate, but Wily Peralta coming in at sixth (in a close race) surprised me. Maybe it was the talk of converting him to a closer this off season (at least on this site). My expectation is that Chase Anderson is much more likely to begin the season as the long man/spot starter.
• Matt Garza remains a fan non-favorite (seventh in the ‘want’ balloting), but is a firm fourth in the ‘expected’ vote. Reasons given include pitching injury free, putting up numbers for a possible flip, experience, and stamina. He remains with the team for the last guaranteed year of his deal, with the possibility of a return next season on a relatively cheap contract option (or gone with a relatively cheap buyout).
• Off-season acquisition lefty Tommy Milone isn’t much wanted in the rotation, or much expected. He could join Anderson (or Peralta, I guess) in the pen as the lone lefty, with Hader back in AA Biloxi or AAA Colorado Springs.
• Taylor Jungmann’s struggles last year leave him as largely a forgotten man.
• I was surprised that Brandon Woodruff didn’t garner more support as a dark horse candidate to start this year. I would rate him as having the best shot to crack the rotation from the ‘also ran’ category, with Aaron Wilkerson a distant second. Jorge Lopez is also in the mix.
• Brewer fans have a firm grasp of what is going on with the rebuild, and are willing to wait for the youngsters to develop. The complicating factor, of course, is where to put said youngsters. SOMEBODY has to pitch for Colorado Springs, after all.

Thanks for playing! I found it very educational. I hope you all remember that Feb. 14th isn’t just the first day for pitchers and catchers to report; it’s also Remember To Maintain Your Personal Relationships Day.