SURPRISE, Ariz. – Big surprise: Aaron Ashby was one of the openers when Brewers pitchers got their first looks at hitters in Spring Training.
Ashby and fellow lefty Robert Gasser were first to go when pitchers threw live batting practice at the start of Spring Training, prompting pitching coach Chris Hook to jokingly tip reporters that Ashby was slated to start four of the Brewers’ first five Cactus League games.
In reality, Ashby waited until Thursday's 5-1 win over the Rangers to make his spring debut as part of the team’s uniquely patient approach to pitching in these early stages of Spring Training, working around three hits and a walk in two scoreless innings at Surprise Stadium.
He got used to going first last October, when the 27-year-old appeared in seven of the Brewers’ nine games in the NLDS against the Cubs and in the NLCS against the Dodgers, including three starts as an “opener.” He started Games 1 and 3 against the Dodgers and pitched relief in Game 2.
"It was a learning experience,” Ashby said. “I don’t think that I executed to the ability that I could have, or that the team needed me to. That part sticks out the most to me.”
Take his matchups with Shohei Ohtani in the NLCS. Ashby couldn’t get him out despite executing every pitch in his arsenal. He was not the only big league pitcher to face that problem.
"But knowing what that feels like when it’s the biggest moment of the season, that helps me control the emotions of it,” Ashby said. “You know how to dial it in. Just, like, not doing too much, but falling back on your preparation instead.”
He also learned he likes to pitch as often as possible, which will be a critical trait this season. The Brewers are never laden with veterans, but this year’s staff is particularly inexperienced on the starters’ side, with Brandon Woodruff the only rotation candidate entering the year with at least two years of Major League service.
That means flexibility will be critical, and both Ashby and fellow left-hander DL Hall, who followed him to the mound against the Rangers on Thursday, offer it. A former starting pitcher who has drifted toward the bullpen because of injuries in recent years, including an oblique issue that scuttled his bid for the starting rotation last year at this time, 27 of Ashby’s 43 outings last season covered four or more outs. His longest appearance spanned 3 2/3 innings and 50 pitches, in Game 2 of a doubleheader against the Cubs on Aug. 19.
“He’s a super valuable guy,” manager Pat Murphy said. “And he loves to throw. Building him up [this spring] is necessary because he could be an insertion [to the starting rotation] at any time. When he’s opening a game, you don’t know whether he’s going to go three innings or if he’s going to go one.”
The Brewers have been cautious about their innings so far this spring. Because they played deep into October last year, Murphy and pitching coaches Hook, Jim Henderson and Juan Sandoval have devised a more conservative schedule that has frontline arms like Woodruff, Quinn Priester and Jacob Misiorowski getting their early work in simulated games that allow better control of pitch counts.
In the team’s first six spring games going into Thursday, only 18 of the team’s first 56 innings pitched came from pitchers in Major League camp. That began to change on Thursday against Texas, and now two rotation candidates are on the list of probable starters in the coming days: Brandon Sproat on Friday against the White Sox and Chad Patrick on Sunday at the Royals.
“We have less game reps,” Ashby said. “But not less reps.”
Ashby would love to be a Major League starter, but for now he’s accepted whatever assignment he’s been handed. That has required developing a reliever’s routine. Early last season, Ashby would ask for an inning or even two to warm up, but by season’s end he found that he could be ready to pitch in a game as quickly as 90 seconds after the bullpen phone rang.
“I think last year we saw that you need starting pitching,” Ashby said. “We had an abundance of starting pitchers last year, and then you get to the middle of the season, and, holy [bleep], we don’t have any starting pitching. So it’s always extraordinarily valuable to have guys built up.”
He’s ready for anything.
"My body feels good, recovery feels good,” Ashby said. “I was more than happy to take the ball because you never know how long you have to play this game.”