While 2018 proved the most memorable year of his professional pitching career, the 2019 season will offer even bigger opportunities for Seymour native Zack Brown.
On Wednesday, Brown will report with the Milwaukee Brewers’ pitchers and catchers for spring training in Phoenix, Arizona.
Brown, who was picked by the Brewers with the 141st pick in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB draft, will get his first major league work in the coming weeks.
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Nine Brewers farmhands were invited to major league camp. Four of those invited players — Brown, Bubba Derby, Jon Olczak and Miguel Sánchez — are pitchers.
“I don’t remember the exact date, but our farm director called me mid- to late-January letting me know that I was invited to big league camp,” Brown said. “It was an exciting couple of weeks. I started getting anxious, and I’m ready for the opportunity. That’s all it is for me — a good opportunity.”
In past spring trainings, Brown, 24, exclusively worked with the minor league teams.
“For the first couple springs, I was just on the minor league side. (Minor leaguers) pretty much do the same exact thing but show up a week later than big league pitchers and catchers,” Brown said. “We play less games and have a little more practice time. We then played about two weeks worth of games before leaving for season. It is pretty much identical. Now, it’s just a bigger scale.”
Last week, Brown drove by himself from Seymour to Phoenix over a three-day span. He said he stopped in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, before arriving in Phoenix.
In 2018, Brown was named the Brewers’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year after a stellar season of pitching with the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers in Mississippi.
By the season’s end, in 125.2 innings of work, Brown finished 9-1 with a 2.44 ERA with 116 strikeouts against 36 walks in 22 games (21 starts) with Biloxi.
Brown, listed at 6-1 and 180 pounds, was named the Southern League’s Most Outstanding Pitcher and was a midseason and postseason All-Star.
He led both the Southern League and organization in ERA and ranked among the league leaders in WHIP (second, 1.05), opponent batting average (second, .207) and fewest walks per nine innings for starting pitchers (second, 9.91).
Brown has faced some tough batters, but nothing like what’s to come.
“You’ll get the rehab guy every once in a while coming down to the minors, and last year, I threw in one Triple-A spring training game where there were a few,” Brown said. “I saw a couple big league guys, from the Angels I think, but I haven’t faced a full lineup of major league talent. I’m looking forward to that kind of competition and opportunity.”
If he doesn’t crack the Brewers’ roster, Brown is expected to pitch for the Triple-A San Antonio Missions in ‘19.
This spring marks the 22nd season for the Brewers at Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix. The game schedule consists of a total of 31 games (15 home, 16 road).
The facility in Maryvale recently underwent a huge makeover.
In November, the Phoenix City Council voted in favor of a plan to renovate the park, which has served as the spring training home of the Milwaukee Brewers since 1998, according to brewers.com.
The Brewers invested $60 million in the construction phase of the program and have assumed operation and maintenance (as well as related costs) of the facility.
The city of Phoenix will allocate $2 million each year for the next five years for renovations, and the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority will contribute approximately $5.7 million.
The plan keeps the club in Maryvale through at least the year 2042, the second-longest commitment in the Cactus League.
Since the turn of the new year, Brown has mostly done his workouts in Seymour.
“I’ve been able to spend time for myself and with the baseball community back home,” Brown said. “Coach (Jeremy) Richey and Mr. (Brandon) Harpe and the whole community have shown a lot of support, not only me, but for my family. It has been a really cool experience so far.”
Brown said he also went to Milwaukee for Winter Fan Fest at the end of January.
Position players will report Feb. 18, and the first full-team workout is Feb. 19. The Crew will open exhibition games against the Chicago Cubs on Feb. 23 and conclude March 26 against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Opening day for the Brewers is against the St. Louis Cardinals on March 28 at Miller Park.
Information will be released on spring training pitching rotations in the coming weeks.
“I think I’m just most excited about being around the guys and acclimated to that environment,” Brown said. “Your dream as a player is to play in the big leagues. I think this is just one step in the right direction for me. It’s building on the season I had last year and just keep moving forward.”
Dates, times and broadcast information on the Brewers’ spring training can be found online at brewers.com.