Supak’s changes pay dividends
PHOENIX – By the end of last season, the only healthy member of the 40-man roster who wasn't in the major leagues with the Milwaukee Brewers was Trey Supak.
For a team that once again utilized its bullpen like crazy down the stretch, why wouldn't an ascending right-hander coming off a strong year have merited a September call-up when there were no 25-man roster constraints?
“He had a great minor-league season, so his name definitely came up,” manager Craig Counsell said.
Indeed, Supak tore it up in 20 starts at Class AA Biloxi, earning the Southern League's most outstanding pitcher award and then got his first taste of Class AAA by making seven starts for San Antonio beginning in late July.
He struggled there, but Supak figures there was another underlying issue that left him watching the Brewers' surge to the postseason from his home in College Station, Tex.
“It was one of those things,” he said recently. “I've always had a weight problem, so I guess I took that as a sign to take it seriously and lose some weight.
“Check the boxes.”
The 6-foot-5 Supak, 23, reported to his second major-league camp weighing 250 pounds last month. That's down from his high of 274 he registered going into the offseason, which is when he finally decided enough was enough and that something needed to change.
“It was a thing coming into camp last year. A little overweight, this, that,” he said. “I kind of put it in the back of my head because I felt like I was still performing well so I didn't feel like it should be that big of a deal but looking back now I'm like, ‘You're an idiot. You're stupid. You should have listened to what they said.'
“They're looking for the best for you and for them, so that was a big realization for me. I wouldn't say I was disappointed that I wasn't called up in September. It would have been nice.”
While the “a-ha” moment got the ball rolling for Supak, he's lost the weight using tried and true methods like more frequent, smaller meals, limiting snacking and upping his cardio.
“Better eating habits, working out harder, more cardio,” he said. “Just cutting out calories. It wasn't a strict or tough diet – I still ate most of the same stuff, just in portion sizes. It wasn't necessarily one thing.
“It was a lifestyle change, honestly. I feel so much better when I wake up. I'm not as lethargic, I have more energy. It's just all-around feeling better. And once I started seeing that, the byproduct of losing weight and staying in shape, then I just wanted to keep on going.
“That's where I'm at right now. I'm still trying to lose more weight, keep getting stronger, keep getting more fit.”
Under the guidance of his longtime offseason coach David Evans, Supak also instituted a change to his arm path in an attempt to take added stress off his shoulder and help reduce the inflammation that had been nagging him for the better part of two seasons.
“Last year there were a lot of times where I just felt out of sync and my body was going all over the place,” he said. “That was the extra weight, being top-heavy and everything. Overall, my strength is better so I can control myself down the mound and what I do on the mound more effectively.
“We found out what the problem was and what path of action would we take to ensure that would happen again.”
Supak has had limited opportunities so far in camp, throwing two scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
But the changes have stuck and are beginning to feel more comfortable, with a bullpen session Friday leaving him feeling great about where he's at.
“The way the pitches were coming out was exactly what I wanted,” he said. “I felt clean, I felt smooth. I just felt in control.
“We cleaned it up and it's been unbelievable. It feels brand-new.”
Supak gets a lot of ground balls with a his sinking fastball, a nice trait to have for a pitcher who could be calling Miller Park home.
In 27 starts between Biloxi and San Antonio last season he finished 12-6 with a 3.60 earned run average and a WHIP of 1.03.
He isn't a big strikeout pitcher, with 118 in 152⁄3 innings in 2019.
“He got off to a great start and pitched really, really well at Double-A. Now he has to do it at Triple-A,” Counsell said. “He didn't have success in the (Pacific Coast League) that he had in Double-A, so it's time to master that level.”
Do that, and that major-league debut could finally occur in 2020.
“I think I'm in a very good spot,” said Supak, who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates way back in December of 2015 along with Keon Broxton in exchange for infielder Jason Rogers. Rogers played just 23 games for the Pirates in 2016 and hasn't been back in the majors since.
“You've just got to go out and put up numbers. That's the thing – you've got to perform. If you don't perform, you don't stand a chance.
“The rest just takes care of itself.”