TEMPE, Ariz. – Monday won’t go down as Zack Brown’s big league debut, but as far as he’s concerned, it represented an important step in his burgeoning career.
The Brewers’ top pitching prospect (No. 6 in the club’s Top 30 according to MLB Pipeline) started Monday’s game against the Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium, throwing a scoreless inning in Los Angeles’ 4-3 victory.
“Obviously it's a bigger stage than a Minor League game, but it's the same game,” Brown said. “Until you go out there and realize it is the same game, you're going to be a little uneasy. … It definitely felt quicker. I felt more amped up. It's been six months since I've been in a game or whatever it is, so that time away from the game, it was definitely nice to have those jitters again.”
Brown retired Kole Calhoun with his first pitch, a line out to center field. The quick out helped the 24-year-old get past his initial nerves, though he would issue a walk to Jarrett Parker with his next four pitches.
The right-hander was unfazed by the free pass, getting Jonathan Lucroy to pop out to first base and Cesar Puello to hit into a fielder’s choice with his next two pitches. Four batters, seven pitches, three outs.
“I started a bunch of games last year in Double-A where the first pitch or two were nowhere near the zone,” Brown said. “It was just getting into that rhythm and throwing the first pitch for a strike, getting an out, that calmed any nerves that I had going on.”
“He did great,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “I wanted him to start just to get some of those nerves out of there. He’s an important player for us this season. He had a great season last year and he’s off to a good start.”
Brown went 9-1 with a 2.44 ERA in 22 games (21 starts) for Double-A Biloxi last season, capturing not only the Brewers’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year award, but also the Southern League’s Most Outstanding Pitcher award.
Before the game, Counsell said the word “competitor” is the first one uttered most by those that have been around Brown. The pitcher agreed that his competitive nature is one of his greatest strengths.
“I just have a little fire in me when I get out there,” Brown said. “I like to fight with myself a little bit, but ultimately, it comes down to me vs. him and who's going to be better.”
Suter aims to ‘strike out waste’
Brewers left-hander Brent Suter may be the only Major Leaguer rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and trying to save the planet, all in one Spring Training.
Suter, a vocal supporter of environmental causes via social media, is working on a #StrikeOutWaste campaign that starts with his own teammates’ habits. He circled the clubhouse Monday morning seeking signatures on a commitment to use only reusable water bottles this season. Suter already ordered the bottles and will distribute them on Tuesday.
That would make quite an impact. The Brewers go through about 20 cases of bottled water a day.
“We go through plastic like water,” Suter said without a hint of irony.
Last call
• The Brewers have hired Milwaukee radio personality Mark Richards as a second public address announcer at Miller Park. Richards, a native of West Allis, Wis., will share duties with Robb Edwards, the voice of Brewers baseball since the team’s County Stadium days, who is cutting back his schedule beginning this year.
• Infielder Mauricio Dubon was scratched from Monday’s lineup because he was under the weather, opening a spot on the bus for Milwaukee’s 2018 first-round Draft pick, Brice Turang. Giving opportunities to young players in Minor League camp is one of the good parts of Counsell’s job.
“This is a minor thing, but, like, [right-hander] Nathan Rodriguez got into a game [Sunday],” Counsell said. “That’s his first big league Spring Training game. [Left-hander] Clayton Andrews has never been to Spring Training as a professional, and he got to pitch an inning yesterday. I like those stories. Clayton Andrews walks on the mound in Spring Training for the first time, and he’s in a big league game. That’s kind of cool.
“He was great, and we learn something. I don’t know everything about all these players, especially in the Minor League camp, and he is an interesting story. He led off and pitched for Long Beach State. He wasn’t a full-time pitcher and we liked some of the things he did as a pitcher. Had a nice year at Wisconsin last year, and now he’s in a big league [game]. … I said, ‘It’s all downhill from here.’”
Up next
Zach Davies will deliver the first pitch at renovated American Family Fields of Phoenix when the complex opens for business on Tuesday for a 2:05 p.m. CT game against the Padres. The Brewers invested $65 million in the project and will show it off in a Fox Sports Wisconsin broadcast, with Brian Anderson and Bill Schroeder on the call and Sophia Minnaert in the dugout.