The Milwaukee Brewers will move rookie right-hander Brandon Sproat to Triple-A after his disappointing showing on Wednesday. Sproat, who arrived in Milwaukee from the New York Mets in return for All-Star right-hander Freddy Peralta during the offseason, has not lived up to his expectations this year. He has 22 appearances on the year, posting a 5.57 ERA, and already made a stop in Triple-A this season.
He went down to the minors shortly after the trade deadline, but returned on Tuesday during the Brewers' series against the division rival Cubs. He came into Wednesday's game with a seven run lead in the eighth inning, but nearly gave it all away. Sproat came out for the ninth inning after a scoreless eighth, but walked each of the first three batters he faced.
He then gave up an RBI walk before manager Pat Murphy pulled him in favor of Abner Uribe. Three more runs scored after Uribe came in, but the Brewers managed to hang on. After all was said and done, Sproat threw 1.1 innings and allowed four earned runs, though didn't surrender a hit during his outing.
"It's unacceptable," Murphy said. "If you can't throw the ball over the plate, you can't be a major-league pitcher." Walks have been a problem for Sproat all season, as his walk rate currently sits at 12.3% on the season—ranking in the bottom 10% of MLB. The Brewers are one of the deepest pitching teams in MLB, so sending Sproat down to get right in Triple-A won't hinder them too much — if at all.
Their pitching staff sports the best ERA in the National League with a 3.54 mark, which is second only to the New York Yankees across all of MLB. Sproat, 25, could still have a chance to make a return to the team before the end of the year, though if he can't get a handle on his control his chances are incredibly slim. The Brewers move on from their series against the Cubs straight into another series against a divisional opponent, as they will host the Cincinnati Reds for a three-game series beginning Friday at 6:45 p.m.
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