Milwaukee Brewers DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy said that left-hander Wade Miley (shoulder) is dealing with left-shoulder soreness in camp, which is the reason why the skipper said on Friday that Miley is "50-50" to be ready for Opening Day. "Played catch, played through it. Hasn't had any problem since," Murphy said. "We just want to go slow because of his history. Everything hurts on him. Happens when you're 50." Miley isn't 50, but he's 37 and should be of no interest to fantasy managers in mixed leagues in 2024, especially since he might not even be ready for the start of the season. The good news is Miley was able to play catch on Saturday. Miley has dealt with various arm injuries the last few years and relies on weak contact to get outs. At best, he'll be a matchup-based streamer in deep-mixed leagues when he's healthy.

The Milwaukee Brewers are targeting March 14 for catcher Gary Sanchez (hand) to make his Cactus League debut. Sanchez's 2023 season came to an early end due to a fractured hand, and something came up in his physical (unrelated to last year's injury) that delayed his official signing with the Brew Crew this offseason. It has caused the 31-year-old veteran backstop to get a late start to spring training, but he's ramping things up now. Sanchez will have under two weeks to get up to speed for Opening Day, where he's expected to serve as William Contreras' backup while also seeing at-bats as the designated hitter. He had a resurgent season for the Padres by hitting 19 homers in 72 games, and while Sanchez can provide decent pop in two-catcher leagues, fantasy managers shouldn't be expecting a repeat of 2023.

Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy said on Friday morning that left-hander Wade Miley (undisclosed) is "50-50" to be ready for the start of the 2024 regular season. "We'll let you know more in about 10 days," Murphy said. It's unclear exactly what is wrong with Miley, but the soft-tossing southpaw may not be a part of Milwaukee's Opening Day rotation. The 37-year-old veteran has been slowed by elbow and shoulder injuries in recent seasons, so perhaps he's had another arm setback. Even if Miley was healthy, he wouldn't be very attractive to fantasy managers in mixed leagues. At best, he's a deep-league streaming option in favorable matchups, but his lack of strikeout upside keeps his fantasy floor low.

With Brandon Woodruff (shoulder) recovering from shoulder surgery and Corbin Burnes recently being traded to the Baltimore Orioles, right-hander Freddy Peralta was the logical choice to be the team's Opening Day starter in 2024 on the road against the New York Mets on March 28. General manager Matt Arnold confirmed this. "We are counting on him this year, and he is going to be our Opening Day starter," Arnold said. Peralta has a 3.83 ERA over 580 innings pitched in his six-year career with the Brewers. After an injury-plagued 2022, the 27-year-old stayed healthy last year and set career-highs in starts (30) and innings (165 2/3) while boasting an excellent 30.9% strikeout rate, which ranked fourth in the league. He was undone by the long ball, so if Peralta can keep the ball in the yard more in 2024, he could be even better this year as a high-end No. 2 fantasy starter.

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich faced teammates DL Hall and Devin Williams in live batting practice Tuesday but has yet to debut in a Cactus League game. The good news is that the 32-year-old is gearing up for the regular season and has gotten at least 600 plate appearances in each of the last two seasons. Yelich had a solid 2023, slashing .278/.370/.447 with 19 home runs, 106 runs scored, 76 RBI, and 28 stolen bases. The Brewers lineup may not be as strong as it has been, but Yelich should still provide all-around fantasy value hitting at the top of the lineup.