September call-ups are upon us as rosters extend from 25 players to 40 for the rest of the month.
With a team like the Milwaukee Brewers out of the race, it’s time to see what their young players can do, especially some of the minor leaguers they acquired at the trade deadline. One of those players was called up today in Zach Davies, a starting pitcher who was traded by the Baltimore Orioles for Gerardo Parra. Davies, who has not pitched his best up in AAA Colorado Springs for the Brewers, was the Orioles #3 minor league prospect.
Davies, who is 22 years old, has a career 3.55 ERA in the minor leagues in 86 starts. At a lean 6’0″, 160 pounds, “Davies has an average 88-92 mph fastball and curveball…but the separators are his plus changeup and above average command, skills that bode well for outperforming his scouting upside,” according to FanGraphs.
As you can see in his statistics throughout the minors provided by Baseball-Reference.com, Davies has trouble striking out guys, and the ball is put into play a lot. He rarely gives up a home run ball, but his WHIP numbers are a bit concerning. Still, the Brewers recognize that Davies has a lot of work left to do, and he would not have been as highly ranked as he was in the Orioles system without reason.
| Year | Lev | Aff | W | L | GS | IP | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | A | BAL | 5 | 7 | 3.86 | 17 | 114.1 | 1.356 | 8.6 | 0.9 | 3.6 | 7.2 |
| 2013 | A+ | BAL | 7 | 9 | 3.69 | 26 | 148.2 | 1.231 | 8.8 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 8.0 |
| 2014 | AA | BAL | 10 | 7 | 3.35 | 20 | 110.0 | 1.255 | 8.7 | 0.7 | 2.6 | 8.9 |
| 2014 | Fal | 3 | 0 | 1.75 | 7 | 25.2 | 1.091 | 6.3 | 0.4 | 3.5 | 8.1 | |
| 2015 | AAA | BAL,MIL | 6 | 8 | 3.30 | 23 | 128.1 | 1.356 | 9.0 | 0.4 | 3.2 | 7.2 |
| 2015 | AAA | BAL | 5 | 6 | 2.84 | 18 | 101.1 | 1.224 | 8.1 | 0.4 | 2.9 | 7.2 |
| 2015 | AAA | MIL | 1 | 2 | 5.00 | 5 | 27.0 | 1.852 | 12.7 | 0.7 | 4.0 | 7.0 |
| 4 Seasons | 28 | 31 | 3.55 | 86 | 501.1 | 1.297 | 8.8 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 7.8 |
Since joining the team, he is 1-2 with a 5.00 ERA in five starts with a very high WHIP of 1.85, 21 strikeouts, and 12 walks. The team is not concerned about his numbers in those five starts, as Taylor Jungmann struggled just as much in AAA this season before being called up. And let’s remember, he’s only 22!
Davies will make his major league debut for the Brewers on Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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