Game Thread #22: Milwaukee Brewers (11-10) vs. Athletics (10-11)

Logan Henderson and Milwaukee look to win a third consecutive series

Happy Easter Sunday to those of you who celebrate!

Apart from the holiday, today’s matchup against the A’s is also a cause for celebration. Rookie Logan Henderson, the Brewers’ No. 12 prospect, will be making his major league debut. The 23-year-old right-hander was drafted in the fourth round in 2021 out of McLennan Community College (TX), where he won the Junior College World Series MVP award. Henderson actually started last season in High-A, but made it all the way to Nashville by the end of the season.

Henderson has solid stuff, but nothing that’s going to blow anybody away. His two main pitches are a fastball (sitting 91-94) and a changeup. The fastball averages about 17 inches of vertical break, and therefore tends to play faster than its velocity. Henderson’s changeup, which tends to fade (breaking down and in on a right-handed batter) has also generated plenty of swings and misses at the minor league level (15.4 K/9 this season at AAA).

About 87.5% of the pitches that Henderson has thrown this year in the minors were recorded by Statcast as either a fastball or changeup. Some scouts project he may eventually serve as a better reliever than a starter due to his reliance on two pitches. At the very least, he’ll probably need a third pitch to be successful as a starting pitcher long-term.

Henderson did debut a new cutter last season, which he’s been throwing more frequently since he got to Triple-A. Even if the cutter never ends up becoming a go-to pitch for him, Henderson has performed well as a pro (3.12 ERA as a minor leaguer) and should be able to give the Brewers a few good innings today.

On the mound for the A’s today is veteran lefty Jeffrey Springs, acquired from Tampa Bay in the offseason. Springs is tied (with 14 other pitchers) for the major league lead in wins (three). He had a breakout season with Tampa Bay in 2022 (2.46 ERA in 25 starts), but missed most of 2023 and 2024 due to left arm ulnar neuritis. Springs sports a 4.50 ERA through four starts this season.

As for the lineup? The top four spots in the lineup are pretty solidified at this point with Brice Turang/Jackson Chourio/Christian Yelich/William Contreras. Contreras is at DH today, presumably to give Eric Haase the opportunity to catch Henderson (his former teammmate with the Nashville Sounds). Christian Yelich will play left field today, moving Chourio to right, Frelick to center, and giving Garrett Mitchell the day off.

The other notable difference today is that Sal Frelick, normally the five hitter, will hit sixth in favor of Rhys Hoskins. Frelick has had a hit in each of his last four games, while Hoskins hasn’t had a hit since the Tigers series, so why would Pat Murphy make this change?

My best guess has to do with Springs. Hoskins’ career OPS is almost a full 100 points higher against left-handed pitchers (.892 vs .799). Murph moved Hoskins up to the cleanup spot against the last lefty the Brewers faced (Tarik Skubal), and it paid off — Hoskins went 1-for-3 and scored the Brewers’ only run.

First pitch is at 1:10 p.m. on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin and the Brewers Radio Network. Today’s full lineups, for both teams, are below: