MILWAUKEE -- Taylor Jungmann is finishing his trying season where it began -- in the big leagues.
The former first-round Draft pick, who began the year as Milwaukee's No. 3 starter but was demoted to the Minors after a series of poor starts, was among the team's second round of September callups on Tuesday. The Brewers promoted Jungmann from Double-A Biloxi and fellow right-hander Damien Magnifico from Triple-A Colorado Springs to bolster the bullpen. They also called up an extra catcher, Andrew Susac, from Colorado Springs.
Jungmann was 0-4 with a 9.15 ERA in five starts before his April 29 demotion to Colorado Springs, where he had a 9.87 ERA in eight starts. As a rookie in 2015, he went 9-8 with a 3.77 ERA in 21 starts.
Jungmann declined to comment on his difficulties in Colorado Springs, where his struggles led to the Brewers sending him to their complex in Phoenix to clear his mind. On June 30 -- 20 days after his final Triple-A outing -- he debuted at Biloxi. He made 13 starts at that level and posted a 2.51 ERA, including a 1.90 ERA and a .187 opponents' average over his final 10 starts.
"He's made strides," general manager David Stearns said two weeks ago. "I think his confidence has increased."
For Jungmann, the time spent in Phoenix paid significant dividends.
"I think that was a turning point," Jungmann said. "I was glad they allowed me to do that. It was a situation where I was struggling pretty bad. It was some time to really work on my mechanics and throw a couple live BPs where I could get a situation where I wasn't trying to compete too hard or overdo it or have to worry about results."
The Brewers are working with a six-man rotation and plan to do so for at least one more turn, according to manager Craig Counsell. Jungmann will work out of the 12-man bullpen, though there remains an opportunity to start later on.
"He struggled in Triple-A and went to Arizona, and then really got on track in Biloxi and pitched well over a pretty good stretch of time," Counsell said. "You earn it here. It's not a reward, necessarily. He earned it. He's back, and we're going to try to find him some innings. We'll find him some innings."
Magnifico made two appearances in an earlier stint with the Brewers. Susac will be making his Brewers debut after being acquired in an Aug. 1 trade with the Giants. Susac missed time down the stretch with an oblique injury but sealed his callup when he was able to play for the SkySox during their final series of the season.
Susac played in the Majors for the Giants in 2014 and 2015, hitting .240/.309/.407 in 243 plate appearances. Counsell plans on giving Susac a share of starts as the team's third catcher.