Brewers place starter Aaron Ashby on injured list

The Brewers announced they’ve placed starter Aaron Ashby on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 17, due to left forearm inflammation. Star reliever Josh Hader has been activated from the restricted list — he’d taken a bit more than the allotted three days on paternity leave — to take Ashby’s spot on the active roster.

Forearm inflammation is always an eyebrow-raising diagnosis for a pitcher, but Ashby downplayed any long-term concern when speaking with reporters (video provided by Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). The southpaw indicated he’d felt some discomfort when trying to throw a breaking ball during yesterday’s bullpen session, necessitating the IL stint. He quickly added that an MRI conducted today didn’t reveal any structural damage, however, and expressed a desire to get back to throwing after a few days of rest.

It seems as if Ashby’s IL stint could be relatively brief, although the club will surely exercise caution with a young arm of his caliber. Regarded as one of the game’s top pitching prospects after a promising debut effort late last season, Ashby has started eight of his 14 outings this year. He’s tossed 55 innings of 4.25 ERA ball, but his excellent 27.5% strikeout rate and 62.2% ground-ball percentage demonstrate a rare combination. Ashby and Alex Cobb are the only pitchers (minimum 40 innings) to generate both strikeouts and worm burners at that kind of clip this season.

Ashby becomes the third Milwaukee starter to land on the shelf. Freddy Peralta will be out until after the All-Star Break due to a shoulder issue, while Brandon Woodruff has missed the past few weeks with a high ankle sprain and a bout with Raynaud’s syndrome. That leaves Milwaukee with a four-man staff of Corbin Burnes, Adrian Houser, Eric Lauer and Jason Alexander at the moment, although Woodruff is expected back soon after beginning a minor league rehab assignment last week.