SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Jacob Barnes is bidding to be a big part of the Brewers' bullpen, as he works towards cracking his first Opening Day roster. The hard-throwing right-hander struck out two and induced two groundouts, effectively pounding the strike zone in the late innings of the Brewers' 1-0 loss to the Royals.
Barnes said he wanted to revert to his power-pitching ways after a string of poor performances, which he said stemmed from experimenting in odd pitch sequences, a common Spring Training practice. He entered Saturday with a 12.71 ERA and .464 average against in 5 2/3 innings.
"My first few outings were fine, and then we started discussing some other stuff. I think they saw the foundation was there, and they said, 'Let's try this,'" Barnes said. "I got out of what my approach was all of last year and even at the beginning of Spring Training."
• Brewers Spring Training: Schedule | Information | Gear
Barnes said his struggles were rooted in pitch selection. For example, Barnes would labor an at-bat working each of the four corners of the strike zone rather than throw a pitch he believed could get an out. The idea was to train his body to throw in unusual situations.
In some cases, that led some 0-2 counts to hits, Barnes said. He talked about it with Brewers manager Craig Counsell in the dugout after exiting Thursday's game against the A's.
"When it starts happening two or three outings in a row, you don't want it to continue," Barnes said. "So now my mindset is, 'OK, we've done it, now let's get back to getting outs.'"
"Jacob is a power pitcher and is just an aggressive, come-at-you, here-it-is -- just kind of getting into that mentality, not really overthinking it," Counsell said. "So just I think that's the mentality that he's speaking of."
Barnes was a serviceable short reliever in the second half of '16, throwing 15 scoreless outings of at least one inning and finishing with a 2.70 ERA in 26 2/3 frames. September baseball, in which Barnes made 11 of his 27 outings, can be sometimes challenging to gauge a player, with rosters expanded and many teams out of the postseason hunt, but Barnes nonetheless entered spring on the club's radar for '17.
His fate could be in the Brewers' decision to carry a bullpen with either seven or eight relievers, and Taylor Jungmann and Rob Scahill, both right-handers, are competing for roster spots. Jungmann, who entered '16 as a starter, is coming off a season that included a demotion to the Minors, but has a 1.59 ERA in 11 1/3 innings this spring. Scahill, a non-roster invitee, had been scoreless through 10 innings until giving up a walk-off homer to Raul Mondesi on Saturday.
The Brewers are also receiving a strong case from slugging first baseman Jesus Aguilar, who is batting .490 with a 1.431 OPS and has a hit in 10 straight games. If Aguilar makes the roster, it could be at the expense of a reliever.
"Obviously, when we're competing for jobs, there's a line that you have to try to work around," Barnes said. "Your first goal is to make the team, but the long-term goal is to better yourself as a pitcher or whatever you're at. So that's what the fine line is. I kind of got to the point where I'm kind of like: 'OK I've got to get back to what I know works.' The player always kind of knows."
Daniel Kramer