MILWAUKEE — With plenty to discuss about the Brewers these days, our Dennis Krause got the insights of former Brewers pitcher Jerry Augustine for Spectrum News 1.
Let’s talk first about the “Miz Kid,” Jacob Misiorowski. Combines great fastballs with terrific poise. Dan Plesac has called him the best pitcher of the Brewers system has ever produced. What do you think?
Augustine: I agree. I agree because you see a young man come in, I like the poise he has on the mound and what he what he’s done when he gets to the mound. Usually, young pitchers get there and they get in tough situations right away, they try to speed up the game. He doesn’t. He’s been able to back off the game and get his composure and go about his job. One thing that’s really been good about him, look at the numbers for strike one pitches. Last game, 22 of 25 first pitch strikes. He had nine 0-2 counts out of 25 hitters. That means he’s commanding the strike zone, getting out ahead of a hitter and using all his pitches.
Brandon Woodruff might return as soon as this weekend in Miami. What will his return mean?
Augustine: I think just his veteran leadership. I always call him the warrior because he’s the type of guy that any time you need a guy to go in the ballgame and give you everything he’s got, he does that. He has a good idea of what he has to do to be successful. He’s going to challenge hitters, and he takes that ability every time [he] goes out there. I’m going to give you the best I got and boy, that really helps the ballclub. It’s good for the ballclub. He throws strikes, and he’s a very good pitcher.
Someone has to go to the bullpen. It’s been reported it might be Chad Patrick. Would that be the right move?
Augustine: I think Chad Patrick is a good guy to go to the bullpen because he’s got quality stuff. He can command the strike zone. He uses all his pitches. He’s been as a starter, been doing very well. If there’s a guy that would have to go to the bullpen, I think he’s the one guy right now that you might be looking at.
For a while, it looked like the Cubs might run away with the division, but things have really tightened up.
Augustine: It really has. I think when you talk about baseball and you talk about this division, look at the top four teams in the division, all over 500. That’s telling you something, with four series left until the All-Star break. It’s going to set a tone for the second half. No one’s going to run away with it. I think the Cubs knew that they were playing well.
Everything was going well. But you know what? When you have four teams over .500, it’s anybody’s ballgame.
In the month of July, do you anticipate the Brewers making any trades? Is there an area you do not feel good about?
Augustine: I think any way you can improve your ballclub. I think that’s one thing that’s a sign of Matt Arnold. He looks at the ballclub as a whole and how can I improve it, whether it be on the infield part of it, or is it going to be an outfielder be traded? Pitching is always something that they’ll try to get.
You can never have enough pitching. So if it’s something that can benefit this ballclub, make it better for the next two months to make them really strong as they go into that big September month, he’ll do it.
