It looks like Taylor Jungmann‘s redemption story will have to wait, as he apparently suffered what manager Craig Counsell is labeling a minor hip injury during his start against the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday.
After starting the season as the Milwaukee Brewers‘ third starter in the roughest fashion of his career – compiling a 9.15 earned run average over five starts – and spending most of the remainder in the minors getting himself back together, Jungmann finally got the call back up in September. Pitching out of the bullpen in his first two appearances since the apocalypse in April, he pitched well, going two innings and recording two strikeouts while allowing no walks.
The improvement in the minors and his solid bullpen start earned him the chance to start again, which he did on Saturday to mixed reviews before being pulled after the fourth inning.
Jungmann was stung early, allowing a single by Scott Schebler to set Joey Votto up for a two-run home run to center field, but quickly settled down and ended the inning. He went one-two-three in the second inning, allowed a hit and a walk in the third, and two walks and no hits in the fourth.
All in all, it was a positive outing, as the performance brought his ERA down to 7.76 despite giving up a pair of runs in only four innings, while striking out three. On the down side, Jungmann also issued four walks, something he’s struggled with throughout the season, making it seem as though all the kinks are not yet worked out.
Replacing him for Friday’s start will be Brent Suter, who made his first major-league appearance as a starter on Aug. 19. He experienced a bit of a rough initiation, giving up four earned runs and three walks while striking out only two in 4 1/3 innings.
Suter spent most of his minor league career in the starting rotation but upon reaching Double-A and Triple-A last year, also jumped in and out of the bullpen. The results seemed positive, as he still held a solid 2.63 ERA over 17 starts, but as a reliever, looked that much more impressive, putting together a 1.19 ERA with 19 strikeouts and seven walks in 22 2/3 innings of work.
The 2016 season showed much of the same in Colorado Springs. He assembled a 4.20 ERA and 1.40 walks plus hits per inning rate while striking out 52 and walking 11 in 85 2/3 innings as a starter in the first half.
Once transitioned to the bullpen, it seemed quite obvious that Suter was best-suited for relief work. Over 41 2/3 innings, he looked masterful, putting up a 1.51 ERA and 1.06 WHIP while striking out 35 and walking 9.
Since joining the Brewers bullpen, he’s only gotten better, as his ERA is currently untouched (0.00) while he boasts a fantastic .190 batting-average-against with 10 strikeouts and only two walks in 12 1/3 innings.
Regardless of whether his start on Friday goes smoothly or not, Suter has the chance to be one of the best arms out of the bullpen come 2017, and he’s surely doing his best to get a head start with every opportunity.
Jonathan Powell is the Managing Editor of Outside Pitch MLB and the Milwaukee Brewers writer. Follow him on Twitter @jonathannashhh.
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