The Brewers are once again pausing the rehab assignment of Quinn Priester, reports Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Priester struggled on Monday in a start in the Arizona Complex League, walking five hitters in 2 2/3 innings while surrendering three earned runs. He also uncorked three wild pitches. Rosiak clarifies that Priester was “without physical complaint,” so the pause isn’t the result of a new injury.
It’s nonetheless another unfortunate note in Priester’s season, which he’s spent on the injured list for neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome. Priester struggled when he first attempted to rehab at Triple-A and was pulled from that assignment early last month. He resumed pitching on May 16th, but control continues to be an issue. Priester has walked 16 batters in 11 innings across his last five appearances. The last two of those were in the Complex League, where Priester was re-assigned on May 30th.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy reflected on Priester’s rehab after the Monday outing. “It doesn’t bode well to be ready to pitch in the major leagues,” said Murphy. “I think he’s still a ways away, but I think it’s trending in the right direction in that he felt really good, didn’t feel any pain at all.” Murphy added that the team hasn’t considered surgery for Priester and will instead give him more time to recover the feeling in his fingers.
At this point, the timeline for Priester’s return to the Majors is unclear. The Brewers will understandably proceed with caution given the stops and starts in Priester’s rehab. He still needs to get the walks under control, not to mention build up to a full starter’s workload. Per Rosiak, Priester was set to throw five innings and 70-75 pitches in his next appearance after Monday. He maxed out at 3 1/3 innings on June 2nd and is yet to go twice through the batting order in his rehab appearances. At this rate, Priester likely won’t be back until the second half of the season.
Milwaukee’s rotation has fared well overall despite Priester’s absence. The group’s 3.50 ERA is fifth-best in the Majors, and their 27.2% strikeout rate is tops among all clubs (Phillies starters are second at 24.3%). Much of the credit, especially for the strikeouts, goes to Jacob Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison atop the rotation. The back half of the rotation hasn’t fared as well. Brandon Sproat has a 5.70 ERA in 13 appearances (11 starts), while Robert Gasser made one strong start on June 3rd and three mixed to bad ones otherwise. Shane Drohan has allowed five earned runs in 10 1/3 innings across two starts since converting from the bullpen.
Brandon Woodruff and Logan Henderson were both solid before going on the injured list earlier in the season. Woodruff is expected back this month and Henderson in early July, per the team’s injury report at MLB.com. Priester had a 3.32 ERA in 157 1/3 innings last year and can lengthen the rotation once he’s fully healthy. The Brewers have ridden their strong top of the rotation and above-average offense to a 41-25 record thus far, four games ahead of the Cardinals in the NL Central.
Photo courtesy of Benny Sieu, Imagn Images
