Milwaukee Brewers Zach Davies Shapes Up As Future Ace
By Ron Juckett
Arriving last year via trade, the Milwaukee Brewers are overjoyed with the development of young pitcher Zach Davies.
Amidst a lost season, the Milwaukee Brewers may have found their future ace in Zach Davies. Called up last September to finish the 2015 season, Davies sports a 9-4 record this year in 20 starts. With an ERA of 3.58, he has adjusted to Major League hitting by allowing 111 hits in 118 innings pitched.
Drafted in the 26th round by the Baltimore Orioles out of Gilbert, AZ’s Mesquite High School in 2011, Davies posted solid numbers in 2012 and 2013 at full-season A-Ball and Advanced A-Ball. A starter in ’13 with the Frederick Keys of the Carolina League, he threw 148.2 innings in 26 games, fanning 132 while surrendering 145 hits. Impressive numbers for a 20-year-old three years younger than average at that level. Promoted to Double-A Bowie in the Eastern League, he fanned 109 in 110 frames.
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Starting 2015 with the Norfolk Tides of the Triple-A International League, his 2.84 ERA over 18 starts grabbed the attention of the Brewers. Nearly five years younger than his teammates, he kept the ball in the yard, serving up a scant four homers, while tossing a complete game. At the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, the Brewers shipped Gerardo Parra eastward for Davies.
In his first month in the Majors he drew six starts, posting a 3-2 record with a healthy WHIP of 1.206. Not owning the best control, walking 15 in 34 innings, he earned the chance to make the regular rotation this year.
After a respectable first half of the season, Davies exploded out of the gate to start the second half. In his last five starts, he is 3-0 with a 2.23 ERA. In putting more balls in play, he lowered his BABIP from a good .294 first-half mark to .263. His WHIP has also gone the right direction from 1.261 to 0.990. In June and July, his WHIP was under 1.000 for those months. Without relying on strikeouts, he adjusted to the Majors and thrived.
Most of his success comes down to his growing confidence in his arsenal. A four-pitch pitcher, he mixes a cutter and changeup with an 89-mph fastball. He will throw a curve around 11 percent of the time, according to Fangraphs, but mostly he can pound the strike zone with his change and cutter, relying on his fastball 56 percent of the time. Such a strong mix at an early age is to his and the Brewers benefit.
Not dropping a decision since June 30, Davies consistently pitches into the seventh inning under 100 pitches. His best performance this year came in a no-decision against the Cincinnati Reds on the road. In seven innings that day, he held the Reds to four hits, whiffing five. Although the Brewers lost 1-0, his ledger was spotless.
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He is homer prone, giving up 14 shots this year in 20 starts, but his sense of mixing pitches and ability to go deep into games gives Milwaukee hope they have an ace in the making.
Not bad for the 765th player taken in the draft.