MILWAUKEE – Before Brandon Sproat and Jeferson Quero took the field on Sunday, the Brewers hadn’t had an all-rookie starting pitcher/catcher battery since July 11, 2018 in Miami, where a braces-wearing Freddy Peralta started against the Marlins with Jacob Nottingham behind the plate.
How appropriate that Peralta was part of that equation, since he was the centerpiece of the January trade with the Mets that brought Sproat (with infield prospect Jett Williams) to Milwaukee.
Sproat (Brewers No. 5 prospect, MLB Pipeline No. 97) endured a forgettable Brewers debut before the team rallied late for a 9-7 win over the White Sox, throwing 86 pitches for nine outs and allowing seven earned runs on six hits, including a trio of home runs. He worked with just-promoted Quero (Brewers No. 8), who was behind home plate and went 0-for-1 with a walk in his Major League debut.
“It’s exciting because both of these guys are part of our future,” manager Pat Murphy said a few hours before the first pitch. “With the injuries we have, this is how it lines up. I’m excited about both guys.”
Sproat was in the rotation from the start of Spring Training, Murphy revealed Sunday morning, but the injuries sped up the timeline for Quero. He was promoted after one game at Triple-A Nashville after the Brewers learned first baseman Andrew Vaughn would miss 4-6 weeks with a fractured hamate bone in his left hand.
Adding Quero gave the Brewers an extra right-handed bat, and freed the primary backup to starting catcher William Contreras, Gary Sánchez, to play first base against left-handed pitchers. With a lefty on the mound for Chicago on Sunday, all three were in the lineup: Contreras at designated hitter, Sánchez at first base and Quero at catcher.
“He caught me once in the spring, I think, and it was the day we struck out eight,” said Brewers left-hander Kyle Harrison, referring to a March 8 start against the Mariners with Quero as his batterymate. “I was definitely impressed with how advanced he was and how he was calling the game. We were on the same page. That was cool to see.”
What does a pitcher work for when he’s paired with a less experienced catcher?
“You want pace of game, know what he wants to put down, conviction,” Harrison said. “Conviction and trust are the thing. You want to know he’s thinking about the hitter, the scouting reports all of that stuff. For any catcher, that’s the next step.”
And what did Murphy learn in Spring Training about Sproat?
“I wasn’t easy on him. He’s great,” Murphy said. “I really believe that this guy is going to be successful. It might not happen overnight, but I believe in him.”
Sproat’s debut was a struggle from the start. He walked White Sox leadoff man Chase Meidroth on five pitches, then Munetaka Murakami on seven pitches. Miguel Vargas followed with a fly ball to center field that should have been caught, but fell for a single after Blake Perkins got a bad read.
Those mistakes proved costly when Colson Montgomery hit the next pitch – a cutter – for a grand slam, the first of three home runs surrendered by Sproat in his three innings. One of them came from Murakami, who became the fourth player since at least 1901 to homer in his first three games in the Major Leagues.
By the fourth inning, Sproat’s day was done.
“I didn’t do my job today, but the bullpen came in and picked me up,” Sproat said. “They all did a phenomenal job and the offense never gave up. That was great to see after putting us down.”
There will be more opportunities. Pitching coach Chris Hook already mentioned some potential mechanical adjustments, Sproat said. And Murphy visited the mound in the middle of an inning with words of encouragement Sproat will remember.
“The message he gave was really reassuring,” Sproat said. “It was like, ‘Hey man, obviously this isn’t how you want to start it, but let’s get back to pitching for the name on the front of your jersey.’ That was definitely nice to hear. I’ve got guys behind me.”