Don't Worry About Their ERA
While SS Orlando Arcia and OF Brett Phillips and Corey Ray are the guys that are having everybody in Brew City excited for the future of the Brewers offense and fielding, it's players like SP Josh Hader and Jorge Lopez who have people actually excited about the rotations' future. Until you look at everybody's ERA, especially at Hader, Lopez and even the guy who threw the first pitch for this season, Wily Peralta. If these guys are so good, then why are they struggling?
Well, it's really hard to find home/road splits on pitching at the AAA level at this time of year, but how about you take a look at Josh Hader's ERA in AA Biloxi and compare it to here. Sure, he gets better competition at AAA, but his ERA shouldn't rise too much based on his promotion. He has 34 strikeouts already in 27.2 innings pitched, which is phenomenal. But why is his ERA so high, at an attrocious 7.16? Wily Peralta is at the exact same ERA, and Jorge Lopez is slightly better at 6.81. Heck, the only starter with an ERA under 5.5 is Hiram Burgos who has a 5.2.
I'll give you a hint, and it's Coors Field in Denver. What is the most well-known thing about the Colorado Rockies' home stadium? It is a living hell for most pitchers, and anybody who goes there generally pitches worse there than anywhere else. The Brewers' triple-A team is in Colorado Springs, which is reportedly even worse on pitchers than Denver. Last year, SP Taylor Jungmann had a relatively high ERA, then pitched well once he got to Miller Park. SP Junior Guerra who is killing it in his rookie season had a 4.63 ERA, and he is at 3.06 in the Majors.
I know that the ERA is relatively high, but my point is, it always will be as long as the Brewers' farm is in Colorado Springs. It would be nicer to see everybody in the 4-5 ERA category of course, but there is no reason to stress about it, especially since the Brewers haven't sent any of these players down to AA.
