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Proat was called up on Monday to serve as a reliever. However, he walked four batters in the ninth inning on Wednesday night, and Brewers manager Pat Murphy did not mince words when discussing the performance: “It’s unacceptable. You’ve got to throw the ball over the plate, or you can’t be a major league pitcher...You can’t let it snowball like that.” Sproat will continue to work on his command and approach in the minors, but there’s a good chance that we don’t see him up with the Brewers again this season.
Sproat will return in a relief role, but with Brewers manager Pat Murphy also considering moving Kyle Harrison into the bullpen, there’s a chance Sproat and Harrison could form some sort of tandem. In Triple-A, it seems like the Brewers have significantly dialed back Sproat’s cutter usage, leaning into the four-seamer as his primary fastball and upping the usage of all his secondaries. We’ll see if the results improve at the big league level.
Sproat loses his spot in Milwaukee’s rotation with Kyle Harrison back from the injured list in addition to starter Dustin May coming over from the Cardinals at the trade deadline. The writing was on the wall after he surrendered four runs over three innings against the Pirates on Monday night. There’s a chance he’s back as a multi-inning reliever, where his stuff would presumably play up in shorter bursts. There was some thought from scouts and evaluators during his minor-league career that he would excel in a relief role.
Sproat was cruising along in the early stages of this one before running into trouble with two outs in the third inning when he gave up back-to-back hits and walked Esmerlyn Valdez to load the bases. He promptly surrendered a bases-clearing double to ensuing batter Spencer Horwitz that accounted for nearly all of the damage against him. He was lifted in the fourth after giving up a leadoff single and uncorking a couple wild pitches. He struck out four and also issued two walks. He’s consistently struggled to work deep into outings and holds a lackluster 5.27 ERA across 95 2/3 innings. He’s in line to face the Twins to wrap up a two-start week on Saturday, but that’s hardly a lock with Dustin May coming over in a trade and Kyle Harrison (forearm) coming off the injured list this week.
Sproat got through six tonight for just the fourth time this year, but he did show some fatigue late; his fastball went from averaging 97.0 mph in the first to 94.2 mph in the fifth and 94.4 mph in the sixth. He dropped to 0-2 in four starts this month and 3-6 overall. The Brewers will likely keep him in the rotation for now and start him against the Angels on Sunday, but if they add a starter, Sproat could be pretty interesting coming out of the pen down the stretch.
He also walked four and struck out four while throwing 62 percent of his pitches for strikes and posting a 10 percent swinging strike rate. Sproat had success with his sweeper against right-handed hitters in this one, and his cutter did have an 18 percent swinging strike rate to lefties, but no other pitches missed many bats, and he didn’t get into enough two-strike counts. Still, he seemed like he was going to complete five innings and allow just one run, but a six-pitch walk to Bo Bichette with two outs in the fifth ended his night. Chad Patrick then gave up back-to-back hits to allow Bichette to score. Sproat gets an appealing schedule with games against the Giants, Angels, and Twins coming up, but he’s hard to trust right now.
Sproat wrapped up the first half by requiring a staggering 83 pitches (51 strikes) to complete three frames in an abbreviated outing to kick off Saturday’s doubleheader at PNC Park. The 25-year-old heads into the All-Star break with a pedestrian 5.16 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 87/39 K/BB ratio over 82 innings. He’s been much better over the last few weeks, but has consistently struggled to work deep into outings.
Nothing came easy for Sproat today. He threw at least 19 pitches in all four of his innings, totaling 92 in all, while giving up five hits and walking three. It’s the eighth time in 15 starts that Sproat has failed to last five innings, though he did complete five in four of five starts while going 2-0 in June. His stuff and his strikeout rate have ticked up a bit as the season has gone along, and he’s pretty intriguing in fantasy leagues right now even with all of the quick hooks. He’ll face the Pirates in his final start of the first half.
Sproat was able to generate 13 swings and misses in his outing, and he allowed only four hard-hit balls in the contest. He had very little issue in back-to-back outings against the Reds; firing 11 1/3 innings while allowing just two runs and striking out 17 over that timeframe. The former Met prospect has lowered his ERA to 5.28, and will try and keep his good run going against the Diamondbacks on Sunday in Arizona.
Sproat gave up one hit, walked none and struck out 10. He improved to 2-4 with the win. Sproat was dominant against the Reds on Tuesday, but the Brewers decided to pull the plug after 80 pitches and six innings. The 25-year-old left his last start with a right hamstring cramp, which likely factored into the decision. Sproat has a 5.43 ERA and a 4.12 xFIP. He’s lined up to face the Reds at home next week.
Sproat appears to be fine after leaving his previous start with a right hamstring cramp. He’s going to remain in Milwaukee’s rotation as they stick with a five-man mix now that Brandon Woodruff is back in the equation. It appears to be lefty Robert Gasser heading to the bullpen as the corresponding move.
Sproat was replaced by Chad Patrick just one batter after coughing up a grand slam to Daniel Schneemann in the fourth inning. He retired the first nine hitters he faced, striking out five of them, before melting down in the fourth. The 25-year-old continues to show brief flashes of dominance before his command ultimately falters and he implodes. That was the case in this one as he completely lost the feel for his fastballs, missed too many spots, and then hung a two-strike curve that Schneemann demolished. He’s obviously in jeopardy of missing his next start against the Reds on Monday. There should be some clarity on his status at some point in the next few days.
Sproat has struggled almost everywhere else, but he was able to handle the A’s in Vegas, giving up just four hits and a walk tonight. It’s only the second time this season that he’s completed six innings, and he lowered his ERA from 6.17 to 5.70. He’ll likely make his next start Tuesday or Wednesday against the Guardians.
The Rockies got to Sproat in the first inning with one run on a double and a groundout. Three more hits in the second brought in a second run. Then Hunter Goodman took him deep for a solo homer in the third. Sproat held on for two more scoreless innings, ending his day after five with two strikeouts. The 25-year-old right-hander should be avoided for fantasy purposes when he takes a 6.17 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, and a 54/29 K/BB ratio across 54 innings into a start against the Athletics at Las Vegas Ballpark on Wednesday.
Sproat wasn’t actually too bad in striking out four and walking none today. However, he gave up two hits prior to Jeremy Peña’s homer in the third, and after he was pulled following a single, a groundout and a walk in the fifth, both inherited runners came around to score off Chris Rodriguez. Sproat has completed five innings in just one of his last six starts. Now 1-4 with a 6.24 ERA, his rotation spot is hanging by a thread. He’s in line to face the Giants on Thursday.
Sproat struck out seven and had 13 whiffs today. He dealt with a lot of traffic while walking three and hitting a batter, but he kept the Dodgers to one run through four. The fifth started with a single and his fourth walk, at which point he was pulled, and both runners came around to score off Shane Drohan. It’s the fourth time in five starts than Sproat has failed to complete five innings, and he’s now 1-3 with a 5.84 ERA overall. If he stays in the rotation — and he did get a vote of confidence from manager Pat Murphy after the game — he’ll face the Astros next weekend.
Sproat gave up three hits, walked three and struck out five. He was staked to an 8-0 lead, but couldn’t complete the fifth inning and thus failed to record the win despite the lopsided score. All three runs Sproat allowed came in the fifth inning on a two-run home run by Dansby Swanson and an RBI double by Michael Busch. It was an unfortunate ending to a promising start. Sproat will take a 5.75 ERA into his next start against the Dodgers at home this weekend.
It wasn’t Sproat’s best performance to date, but he’s finally on the board after going 0-2 in four starts for the Mets last season and 0-2 in five starts and two relief appearances to begin this year. He’s currently sporting a 5.75 ERA and a 36/20 K/BB in 36 innings. It’s likely that he’ll make his next start Sunday against the Twins.
Sproat, who struck out five and walked three, left with a 5-0 lead in a game the Brewers won 6-2, but he didn’t get the victory, of course. Instead, that went to Andy Ashby, who was credited with his sixth win after pitching two innings in relief. Sproat is 0-2 with a 5.87 ERA over five starts and two relief appearances. The Brewers are off on Thursday and Monday, so it’s possible Sproat could make a relief appearance before his next chance to start.
Recently, it’s felt like Sproat was getting over the hump. He’d pitched into the sixth inning in consecutive starts and allowed just four runs in the process. Then, he struck out the first four batters he faced in this game and the excitement grew. Just as it began to seem real, the wheels fell off in the fourth inning. Adrian Del Castillo golfed a sinker for a solo home run with one out and three batters later Nolan Arenado hit a three-run shot on nearly the same pitch, but from the perspective of a right-handed batter. He only threw seven sinkers all game, and two left the yard. Well, he’s lined up for a two-start week coming up against the Cardinals and Yankees.
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