Spring Training is often considered “undecided.”
But there are moments, even lasting only seven pitches, that are enough to make a locker room take a look around.
This afternoon in Arizona, Easton McGee – a name often overlooked in Opening Day predictions – opened the game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the San Diego Padres with a perfect inning. Three up, three down. And among them was a strikeout that left Fernando Tatis Jr. swinging his bat in vain.
Not just a strikeout.
Three pitches.
Ending with a low sweeper outside the zone that Tatis still chased.
Before that, Ramón Laureano was down in three pitches. Will Wagner also quickly got the ball to the ground. In total: seven pitches for the top of the lineup.
Spring Training may not decide anyone’s fate. But it can change how people view a player.
McGee, 28, 6’7″, isn’t a high-profile prospect. He only has 24.1 innings of MLB experience. Last year’s ERA wasn’t great, largely due to a poor performance against the Washington Nationals in August. But if you separate the base numbers, the story is different.
In his 14.2 innings in the big league in 2025, McGee will create a chase rate of 35.1% – a very impressive figure. His ground-ball rate will reach 47.7%. A clear profile: forcing hitters to swing out of zone, and when they hit the ball, it’s mostly a low ball.
That’s not flashy.
But it’s incredibly useful.
More importantly, McGee isn’t a newcomer given a chance. He’ll remain in the Brewers’ 40-man roster throughout 2025, even as names like Bryan Hudson and Elvis Peguero – who performed better in Milwaukee – are DFA-recruited. This past winter, when the team made several injuries… Despite the setback, McGee retained his position.
This wasn’t a recurring coincidence.
Clearly, the coaching staff saw something in his pitching kit. McGee possessed three fastball variations (four-seam, cutter, sinker) along with curveball and sweeper. Interestingly, despite his low 25-degree pitching angle – easily leading people to think he was a sinker-slider pitcher – McGee relied heavily on the four-seam and curveball combination when he joined MLB last year.
That “deviation” made him harder to read on the mound.
The problem was: the Brewers’ bullpen had no shortage of options. Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe, and Grant Anderson were almost guaranteed spots. The current structure even leaned heavily towards left-handed arms. A final spot for a versatile right-hander could become a crucial tactical element.
And that’s where McGee stepped in.
Not with a declaration.
Not with media spotlight.
But with seven cold throws. A search.
At a time when many spots are decided by experience and name recognition, a perfect inning against the top hitters of the Padres serves as a reminder that the depth chart isn’t always fixed.
The Brewers haven’t said anything about changing plans. Spring Training has only just begun. One outing doesn’t make a season.
But in a fiercely competitive environment, sometimes what makes the difference isn’t the past – it’s a moment that makes the coaching staff sit up straight and take notes.
If McGee continues to maintain his chase + groundball profile, coupled with the fact that he’s been “kept” through numerous roster changes, the question isn’t whether he has a chance.
It’s more about:
are the names that seemed to have a guaranteed spot really safe?
Opening Day is just a few weeks away.
And perhaps, the biggest change for the Milwaukee bullpen will begin with an inning that many consider “unimportant.”
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