Taylor Jungmann making a run at Brewers' bullpen job
GOODYEAR, Ariz. - Taylor Jungmann knows how quickly things can change in the game of baseball.
One year ago, the 27-year-old right-hander was preparing to begin the season in the Milwaukee Brewers’ starting rotation. This spring, he is battling for a somewhat undefined role in the bullpen.
This is what is called playing the cards you are dealt.
“Obviously, I’d like to be a starter but the situation doesn’t call for it right now,” Jungmann said. “I’m just doing whatever I can do to make the team.”
Things went off the rails for Jungmann soon after the 2016 season began and he has been trying to regain control ever since. Expectations were that he’d take another step forward after breaking into the majors the previous year with a 9-8 record and 3.77 earned run average in 21 starts.
Instead, the 2011 first-round draft pick staggered out of the gate, going 0-4 with a 9.15 ERA over his first five starts, suffering a loss of command that left club decision-makers with little choice but to send Jungmann down to Class AAA Colorado Springs. That move proved anything but a cure, however.
Pitching in the hitter-friendly environment in Colorado, Jungmann completely imploded, going 1-3 with a 9.87 ERA in eight outings. For his own sanity, Jungmann was given a timeout at the Brewers’ training facility in Phoenix before being reassigned to Class AA Biloxi, where he regrouped with a 3-4 record and 2.51 ERA in 13 starts.
As a reward for Jungmann pulling himself together, the Brewers brought him back to the big leagues, where he went 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in three games (one start). No longer in the picture for the starting rotation, Jungmann was told to come to spring training and vie for a bullpen job.
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In preparation for that challenge, the native Texan started throwing earlier than usual in the off-season. With an unusual crossfire delivery that requires plenty of fine-tuning, he wanted to feel comfortable on the mound before putting a Brewers uniform back on.
“I think coming in, I felt a little more comfortable than I had in the past,” Jungmann said. “I put a little extra work into getting ready before I got here. I think it has definitely helped me.”
The results certainly reflect a pitcher more in command of his pitches. In 10 spring outings, Jungmann has fashioned a 1.59 ERA with seven hits and four walks allowed over 11 1/3 innings with 10 strikeouts. Opponents are batting a measly .171 off him.
“I wouldn’t say I’m 100% where I want to be, but it’s definitely better than in years past,” he said. “So, I feel good about where I’m at. I just want to keep competing and do the best I can.
“I still have a lot to work on. The breaking ball, I feel really good about right now. Probably, the best I’ve felt with it for a long time. What I’m really trying to work on now is the changeup. It’s tough when you’re a reliever because you only get an inning here or there.”
With only a few more cuts to be made, Jungmann is squarely in the running for a spot in the bullpen. Relief work is totally foreign to him, but if this is what it takes to pitch in the big leagues at present, so be it.
“I think he’s quietly done a nice job,” manager Craig Counsell said. “Taylor has to be in the strike zone. Like most guys, you have to get to good counts. You have to get to advantage counts.
“We told Taylor the first day of spring training, ‘You’re going to compete for a bullpen spot.’ We’re evaluating him like all the other guys.”
Even if Jungmann fails to make the roster, he feels ahead of where he was last spring, when he consistently bemoaned feeling out of whack with his mechanics. Even if he finds himself back in the pitching hell of Colorado Springs, he expects better results.
“For me personally, it was big to come out and have some success after the frustrations of last season,” he said. “Now, I feel a lot better about what I’m doing. I have that confidence back.”