Milwaukee Brewers activate Chase Anderson, option Brandon Woodruff

As expected, the Milwaukee Brewers welcomed back an important player to their roster earlier this morning:

Anderson wouldn’t have made the Opening Day rotation if it hadn’t been for an injury to Matt Garza, but he quickly became one of the top starters for the Brewers this season. He made 16 starts and posted a 2.89 ERA/3.44 FIP across 90.1 innings pitched, striking out a career-best 8.47 batters per nine innings while simultaneously improving his walk and home run rates. He’s found an extra gear at age 29, adding 2 MPH to his fastball this season and routinely sitting in the mid-90s.

Anderson was injured while batting on during a start on June 28th and wound up missing just under eight weeks of big league action. He made two minor league rehab starts, one with Biloxi and one with Colorado Springs, allowing five earned runs in 7.2 innings.

The Brewers mixed-and-matched with their rotation in Anderson’s absence, including three starts made by Brandon Woodruff, who was optioned back to AAA to make room for Anderson’s return. In 16.2 big league innings, the 24 year old top prospect posted a 1.62 ERA though a more suspect 12:8 K/BB ratio lead to a 4.10 FIP. He started yesterday’s game but was pulled after throwing 81 pitches in 4.2 innings while allowing one earned run.

Because of the two off days that Milwaukee has coming up in the next week and a half, they won’t need a 5th starter until September. By that time, rosters will have expanded and the Brewers can recall whoever they please without having to risk exposing anyone to waivers. David Stearns seems reluctant to gamble on losing one of the out-of-options players on his roster.

Statistics courtesy of Fangraphs