MILWAUKEE — Steven Brault is not shy about making jokes at his own expense. He's self-critical and even self-deprecating at times during interviews. The left-handed pitcher credits that easy-going personality with his breakthrough on the mound in Triple-A last season.
However, he was filled with angst at times last month. Brault would become upset with himself for failing to throw a first-pitch strike, and his anger only seemed to make matters worse. It came to a head Sunday when he was notified he was moving back to the bullpen after only five starts in the rotation.
Brault, 26, is now focused on loosening up on the mound again, and he's already noticed a change in his brief time back in the Pirates' bullpen.
"My first-pitch strikes were down, so if someone came up and I threw a ball I’d say, ‘Oh, come on!’" Brault said Friday afternoon at Miller Park. "That’s not me. What me says is, ‘Well, that was one pitch and now I’ll throw the next one.’ I think that will be really important for me, and it worked for me last year. I know it will work again. It’s annoying it took a little time getting it again."
It's the second time in one year Brault encountered the problem. He walked 13 batters through his first five starts in Triple-A last season before Andy Barkett, then Indianapolis' manager, called Brault into his office. Barkett, who is now an assistant hitting coach with the Red Sox, urged the starting pitcher to relax on the mound. Brault hadn't noticed a change in his behavior until Barkett pointed it out.
In an attempt to show he was serious about his craft, Brault was getting angry after the slightest mistake. Barkett's observation allowed Brault to relax again, and he proceeded to have his best professional season. Brault was named the International League Pitcher of the Year by doing the following in his 20 starts: 1.94 ERA (first in the league), .199 opponents’ batting average (second), 1.07 WHIP (fourth) and 109 strikeouts (12th).
Brault made the Pirates' opening day roster as a reliever this season; however, he was moved into the rotation after only one outing when Joe Musgrove was placed on the 10-day disabled list. Brault proceeded to revert back to old habits.
He had a 5.54 ERA in the rotation and the Pirates lost three of the five games he started. Additionally, Brault had 14 walks to 15 strikeouts and a .345 opponents' on-base percentage. He was moved back to the bullpen following Nick Kingham's historic major league debut both out of necessity and underperformance.
The Pirates needed an additional left-handed reliever since Enny Romero struggled after joining the team earlier last month, and Brault gives their bullpen a more consistent long relief option. It also allowed Brault an opportunity to step back and evaluate all of what he did wrong.
He pitched two scoreless innings in relief against the Nationals on Wednesday, and Hurdle is ready to get Brault back on the mound as soon as Friday night.
"This way you get him the ball and there’s not that four-day window to prep, to stew, to figure out," Clint Hurdle said. "No, no, he needs to show up tonight. He might get in the game tonight, so his mind is fresh, his mind is open. He’s watching the game probably with more intent than he is as a starter because he knows when he’s going to pitch as a starter. It’s a different dynamic watching the game than when you’re out there not knowing. Guy gets hit in the shin with a line drive, he’s going to be the guy early in the game. He’s our length guy. He hasn’t pitched in a few days. I already told him, ‘We’re going to find you the ball and get you in.’"
Brault has also changed his routine back to that of a reliever. In addition to preparing to pitch more regularly, he's involved in game planning every day, as opposed to only focusing on the games he's scheduled to start.
It has been a challenging month for Brault. He entered spring training with the hope of settling into one role — either starter or reliever. Although he's expressed a desire to be a starting pitcher in the major leagues, he spoke of embracing a role that would allow him to learn in the NL.
After all, he was used as a reliever upon being recalled last July, only to be returned to Indianapolis' rotation after two relief outings. Then, Brault was back with the Pirates as a reliever in August before starting in four of his five appearances with the club in September. He pitched three scoreless innings in the Pirates' opening day, extra-inning victory over the Tigers before getting moved to the rotation last month.
He anticipated he could be needed as a starter at some point early this season, but he didn't expect there to be so much chance so soon. His focus, though, is being the same person on the mound that he is off it.
"My personality is being weird, funky," Brault said. "It’s not that I don’t care, but I don’t put as much weight on every single pitch. ... It’s hard because you want people to know you really care. You don’t want to do poorly and you care when you do poorly, but it translates differently to different people."