Brewers Slammed For Not Protecting Promising Young Pitcher From Rule 5 Draft

The Milwaukee Brewers are off to a slow start in 2025. They ran away with the National League Central in 2024, winning 93 games, but have yet to replicate that success.

This year, they sit at 23-25 and in fourth place in the division, five games back of first. They are certainly feeling the losses of Willy Adames and Devin Williams. However, those aren't the only losses that are hurting them at the moment.

In fact, Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report believes that another decision is hurting them more. Last offseason, they lost right-hander Shane Smith to the Chicago White Sox in the Rule 5 Draft.

"After he had spent four years in the minors, Milwaukee had to decide whether to place Shane Smith on its 40-man roster or allow him to be taken in this winter's Rule 5 draft. They opted not to protect him, and the Chicago White Sox snagged him with the first pick. He has been their MVP with a 2.05 ERA through nine starts," Miller writes.

"Meanwhile, Milwaukee also took a pitcher in the Rule 5 draft, selecting Connor Thomas from St. Louis. He made two appearances before landing on the IL, allowing 12 earned runs in 5.1 innings."

Smith has certainly pitched well for the White Sox, even with the team struggling as badly as they are. But had he been protected by the Brewers, their pitching woes wouldn't be so pronounced.

Later in the season, they could have had a top three of Smith, Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff.