Harrison Freuck is the managing editor of Brew Crew Ball, where he's covered the Brewers since 2022. He was previously the sports editor and editor in chief of The Badger Herald, where he covered Wisconsin Badgers athletics.
We're continuing our rankings of the Brewers' 10 most valuable players in 2024 with reliever Trevor Megill. Megill finished the season with 1.3 bWAR and 1.0 fWAR, good for 15th and 12th on the team, respectively.
Megill, turning 31 in December, has found a niche across two seasons with Milwaukee after bouncing around the league prior to 2023. Between 2023 and 2024 with the Crew, Megill made 79 appearances, spanning 81 innings with a 3.11 ERA, 2.69 FIP, and 102 strikeouts.
He was especially good in 2024, making a career-high 48 appearances and picking up 21 saves in the absence of Devin Williams, totaling 50 strikeouts across 46 / innings with a 2.72 ERA and a 3.10 FIP. His 1.3 bWAR in 2024 also gave him a positive career WAR for the first time ever (0.1 career WAR).
While Megill's stats may not jump off the page, he provided consistency while Williams worked his way back from a back injury, even as several other relievers (see: Abner Uribe, Elvis Peguero, Joel Payamps) struggled to fill that gap after being given early-season opportunities.
Megill's 98.8-mph average fastball velocity ranks in the 99th percentile, and while he only throws two pitches (a 4-seam fastball 71% of the time and a knuckle curve 29% of the time), he would have ranked in the 80th percentile or better in xERA, xBA, chase rate, whiff rate, and strikeout rate had he qualified for Baseball Savant's rankings.
Entering his first arbitration year, Megill may be a key part of this Brewers' bullpen for years to come, especially with Williams' name being floated around in trade talks this winter.
We'll continue our rankings of the 10 most valuable Brewers each Monday and Wednesday into early December. Come back on Monday to see who we have at No. 8.