Eric Lance Lauer (born June 3, 1995) is a Major League Baseball player who currently plays as a starting pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers . He was a member of the Kent State Golden Flashes of Kent State University.
Lauer made his Major League Baseball debut in 2018 with the San Diego Padres before being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers before the 2020 season.
Lauer has played on the pitch on a regular basis since then, and it’s difficult to overstate how important it has been to his arsenal. FanGraphs ranks Lauer sixth among all Major League starting pitchers in slider runs above average since reintroducing the pitch on July 3 of last season.
Though Lauer lacks the elite upside of his Brewers rotation colleagues, the changes he made to his windup and stuff in 2021 have him on track for another strong season.
Lauer was the 25th overall pick in the 2016 Draft, and he was acquired by the Brewers along with Luis Urias in the Trent Grisham and Zach Davies trade from San Diego.
A shoulder injury cut Lauer’s 2020 season short, as he only pitched 11 innings and had a 13.09 ERA. He returned in time for the 2021 season, and the Brewers began the process of retooling their southpaw.