Brewers 25-Year-Old Creating Buzz As Opening Day Roster Candidate

Will we see Coleman Crow crack the roster?

Jul 27, 2020; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; A Milwaukee Brewers hat and glove on the dugout rail against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the tenth inning at PNC Park.Milwaukee won 6-5 in eleven innings. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Brewers have plenty of uncertainty on their pitching staff, which creates an ideal scenario for a relative unknown to step up.

After acquiring Brandon Sproat and Kyle Harrison in trades, there should be intense competition on the pitching staff with several contenders in play for various roles. Only Brandon Woodruff, Quinn Priester, and Jacob Misiorowski should be considered true locks for the rotation, and it won't be easy for this group of starters to cover a traditional workload.

There should therefore be openings for some true swingmen on this Brewers staff, and that could be where 25-year-old Coleman Crow comes into play.

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Is Coleman Crow a strong candidate to make MLB debut around opening day?

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Coleman Crow (72) stretches during spring training workouts Monday, February 16, 2026, at American Family Fields of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona. | Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On Monday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com identified Crow as a "dark horse" candidate to make the Brewers' opening day roster, which would provide an alternative to some of the left-handers who have served in multi-inning roles in seasons past.

"The Brewers begin the spring with fewer question marks than recent years, but one of the big unknowns is how they’ll fill out a pitching staff that is short of candidates to log 30 starts and 200 innings, and long on multi-inning bullpen options who will be critical to covering the middle innings," McCalvy wrote.

"Aaron Ashby and DL Hall are known commodities in that role, but manager Pat Murphy also mentioned Crow as a possibility after the 25-year-old was added to the 40-man roster last fall. Acquired from the Mets in December 2023 for Tyrone Taylor and Adrian Houser, Crow missed extended time last season with hip and flexor injuries."

Crow put up gaudy numbers at Double-A and Triple-A in an injury-shortened season. The Brewers thought it prudent to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, but that is far from a guarantee that he makes the cut when Milwaukee has to trim its roster to 26 players.

There's a lot left to sort out over the next four weeks. But the very fact that we're starting to see Crow's name pop up means he could generate real momentum with a strong next few weeks.

More MLB: Brewers Opening Day Roster Projection 1.0: Which Newcomers Make the Cut?