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The 2016 Milwaukee Brewers are looking to bounce back from an awful 2015. They sent off many of their players between the trade deadline last year and the offseason this year. Now they are a young team, built around pitching and hungry for success.
The Brewers know what to expect from ace Wily Peralta and veteran Matt Garza. It’s the young gun in the rotation in between those two that they are less certain of at this time. Jimmy Nelson is in his second full season as a starter after lowering his WHIP by raising his groundball out rate. Thus far in spring, Nelson appears to be regressing to his 2014 self.
The Brewers appear prepared to allow top prospect Zach Davies to start the season at Triple-A and minor free agent signee Chris Capuano walk in order for Nelson to solidify his spot in the rotation. In order for that to happen, Nelson must prove that he is worthy of his spot in the rotation this spring.
This spring has been an interesting one for Nelson. He has started three games for the Brewers. In the first two, he only pitched two innings in each and allowed more air outs than ground outs. The last game he pitched, he went six innings and got back to his ground ball success. This is what the Brewers need to see in order to feel comfortable in letting him pitch in the No. 2 spot in the rotation. In 2014 Nelson started 12 games, but had trouble with control and being too hittable. In 2015 those issues seem to go away. In 2016 Nelson will be counted on to be the No. 2 guy in the rotation. Can he take the pressure?
With Capuano still making appearances and Davies still preparing to be a starter, Nelson has pressure on him to continue to produce at spring training. More so than any other starting pitcher in the Brewers’ camp, eyes are watching his preparation. For the Brewers to feel comfortable with the plans they have in place for 2016 and beyond, Nelson must prove himself to be a true No. 2 starter this spring.
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