When thinking of a title to start about starting pitching, my first thought was surprise. If you look at the stats from 2018 and compared it to what you thought might happen in March, it shows a different story. Derek Johnson continues to be one of the best coaches in baseball. Why he didn’t get considered to be a manager somewhere is beyond me. Johnson showed his worth with this pitching staff time and again. I hope no major market team with deep pockets wrestles him away. He is a wizard and knows things about these starting pitchers that I do not.

Jhoulys Chacin – The ace of this staff. It’s amazing that Chacin became the guy for the Brewers. A pitcher who was notoriously bad against lefties figured out in a left-friendly home park in Milwaukee. Chacin became known for his devastating slider that continued to fool hitters all year including October. This was one of David Stearns best signings. GRADE: A

Wade Miley – If you were to tell me in March that Wade Miley would grade out as one of your best pitchers of the year, I would call you a liar. Brewers took a chance with Miley who came in on a minor league deal in March and pitched his ass off in Spring Training. After an injury held him out, Miley came back only to get hurt again. Once fully healthy, he became a steady rock in this rotation. Brewers may have won the NL Central going away if Miley had been healthy all season. GRADE: A-

Gio Gonzalez – Brewers will likely move on from Gio Gonzalez this offseason, but for the time he spent in Milwaukee, it was a good one. He pitched really well for the Brewers, and it sucked to see him get hurt in Game 4. Gio helped with the September push to the NL Central crown and deserves a ton of credit for reviving his season down the stretch. I was way wrong about him. GRADE: B+

Junior Guerra – This could have been the end for Junior Guerra. After a rough 2017 season, Guerra bounced back in a big way. He did have some struggles in August, but overall, Guerra put in an efficient year. He looked great out of the bullpen this October, and that might be his future home. Guerra should still factor into the Brewers’ plans moving forward. GRADE: B

Freddy Peralta – How excited should I be for Yung Fred? That’s the question I’ll ask myself all offseason. He could be a strong pitcher for this team, but I’m not sure he will ever be an ace. Peralta needs a second pitch in the worst way. This doesn’t mean I think he’s a bullpen arm, rather, he needs to find something to get lefties out. He was dynamite versus righties, and who couldn’t forget his Game 4 outing. GRADE: B

Brent Suter – If we were grading on clubhouse presence, Suter would get an A, but we’re grading on pitching. He did get hurt in the middle of the season, and it’s unknown if he will be back next year after Tommy John. Suter did have some flashes, but the struggles were there too. He gave up way too many homers. Suter gave up 18 homers which was the same as Chacin in 92 less innings. That’s not good. GRADE: C+

Chase Anderson – The crazy thing about Anderson’s season is you look at his ERA and it sits at 3.53. That’s not terrible. But you keep moving your eyes to right to see the 30 homers given up and nearly 2 per nine innings, and that’s awful. Anderson needs to work on how he can avoid the longball especially at Miller Park. GRADE: C

Zach Davies – Whew, tough year for Zach. He did not pitch very well early on in the year then missed most of the season with an injury. He did pitch well in September against the Chicago Cubs, but Davies faces an uphill battle to make the rotation next season. GRADE: D+

Charlie.