‘Exciting’ development
Brewers' Knebel flashes pre-surgery form with better command, increased velocity.
Lost somewhat in the Milwaukee Brewers’ surprising 18-3 pummeling of the St. Louis Cardinals at Miller Park on Tuesday evening was a deNot that manager Craig Counsell termed “exciting.”
In what was by far his most impressive performance since undergoing Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery in April 2019, reliever Corey Knebel flashed electric stuff in covering the final two innings. Knebel recorded all six outs via strikeouts and the hitters he faced were not fillins used to give regulars rest in a blowout.
only did Knebel throw 20 of 29 pitches for strikes, the velocity on his fastball was pre-surgery vintage. He hit 97 mph with several pitches and sat consistently at 96 mph, a level he had not displayed previously while on the comeback trail after missing all of the ’19 season.
“His second inning was exciting,” Counsell said. “I’ll use that word bevelopment
cause there was 96, 97 there, swings and misses again. There’s no question he’s going in the right direction. I think that’s what we’re seeing right now.”
No player on the Brewers’ roster was impacted more by the COVID-19 shutdown of the game near the end of spring training. The plan for Knebel’s return to the majors was to start the season in the minors, pitch there six to eight weeks, then rejoin the Brewers with plenty of game action under his belt.
The pandemic eventually caused what had become inevitable for some time – there would be no minor-league games this year. Like everyone else, Knebel went home during the 31⁄2-month shutdown and tried to keep his arm in shape with a throwing program and mock bullpen sessions.
Keeping your arm in shape is not the same as facing hitters in game competition. The Brewers tried to give Knebel, 28, as much intrasquad action as possible during a rushed three-week summer camp, then decided to keep him on the major-league roster rather than assign him to the alternate training site in Appleton.
It soon became evident that Knebel was not quite ready for major-league competition. He struggled with command, his velocity was down three or four clicks and he paid the price for it. Over nine games, he posted a 9.45 ERA with four homers allowed over one sixouting stretch.
The final straw came Aug. 19 in Minnesota when Counsell gave Knebel the ninth inning with a 9-1 lead. The first batter, Marwin Gonzalez, homered and Knebel allowed three hits, a walk and two runs before he was removed with two outs, with Alex Claudio coming on to finish the game.
Knebel’s out-of-whack pitching mechanics contributed to hamstring tightness and the club used that as a reason to put him on the 10-day injured list, allowing for a rehab assignment in Camp Appleton afterward to get himself back together.
“I thought it would be a blessing in disguise to have three months off with the quarantine to get ready for the season,” Knebel said. “But it took a little bit to get everything going and moving forward. During my IL stint, I got a lot more work in once the hamstring healed. I got to throw a couple of bullpens in Appleton, then came back here and I’ve thrown three times.
“It’s good to get back out there and start throwing some innings. That’s the only way it’s going to feel normal again. Once I get back to my normal self, I’ve got to keep going out there and pitching. We’ve got (nearly) two weeks left in the regular season, then get ready for the postseason.”
As for the command he showed during his brilliant two-inning stint against St. Louis, Knebel said, “That was definitely the most positive thing that came out of that outing, of all the outings I’ve had this year. The command was a little shaky in a couple (early outings), then I’d lose it and get it back.
“(Tuesday), I felt like I had good command of a majority of my pitches. So, that was the most positive thing coming out of that outing.”
The fourth-place Brewers will have a better chance to close ground and squeeze into the playoffs if Knebel continues to throw as he did against the Cardinals. He even broke out a secret weapon nobody knew he had – a changeup. Knebel threw it five times, including the final pitch of the game that Paul DeJong took for strike three to become his sixth victim.
“They looked at me like, ‘What the hell are you throwing? You don’t throw that,’ ” Knebel said with a smile. “I think it surprised not only me but the hitters, too. That’s a pitch I’ve been working on for probably six years now. I just had never thrown it in a game.
“I decided, ‘Why not? You’ve been working on it six years. It’s about time you threw it in a game.’ I feel like it definitely threw off some of the hitters.”
Asked if he received any pointers from rookie teammate Devin Williams, whose wicked changeup has been tormenting hitters all season, Knebel said, “I just like watching his changeup and seeing how he thinks about it when he’s throwing it. I told him, ‘If you cut your changeup in half, and then cut that in half again, I think that’s what mine looked like (that) night.’
“I’ll take that. It’s still a really good pitch if you cut his in half twice.”
Counsell noted that adding a changeup to Knebel’s fastball/curveball combo will help in the long run. But, as far as helping the Brewers over the final weekplus of the season, the Brewers’ skipper said the return of Knebel’s velocity is the key.
“Corey has been dominant with those two pitches before this pitch, and I think he has the ability to be again,” Counsell said. “Pitchers always have to look for ways to evolve and do the next thing.
“But I still think the velocity and rise on his fastball we’re accustomed to seeing is occurring more and more the last two times he was on the mound.”