Projecting the Brewers’ Prospects: David Goforth

David Goforth could be in the Brewers’ bullpen someday. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

In December, the staff of Reviewing the Brew will be looking at the Top 10 Milwaukee Brewers’ prospects as ranked by Baseball America. When the Brewers look toward the future, they’ll do so with these top 10 players in mind.

Today’s prospect is right-handed pitcher David Goforth.

In 2013, Goforth, 25, saw the promotion from Advanced A Brevard County to Double-A Huntsville. He had a pretty decent season this year between both leagues, posting an ERA of 3.17 and a record of 11-9 in 34 games (18 starts). Goforth has been primarily used as a reliever and going down the road, I don’t see that role changing much for him. He had a combined K/9 of 6.6 and a BB/9 of 3.3.

Just this past month, Goforth took a part in the Arizona Fall League and pitched with the Surprise Saguaros who went on to win the league’s championship. During the stretch of the short season, Goforth was an effective reliever for the Saguaros, sporting an ERA of 3.75 in 12 innings (12 appearances) and had an impressive K/9 of 11.25. Out of the seven Brewers’ prospects to play in the league, Goforth was the only one named to the Fall Star Game.

According to Scouting Book, Goforth’s arsenal is simply one of a reliever considering the very few pitches he works with. He does offer a fastball that has touched up to 99 mph, but usually averages around 92. Goforth also presents a curveball and  a change-up, but they aren’t as dominant as his fastball. In the stretch of things, Goforth is built more for a reliever role as the Huntsville Stars transitioned him more for late innings, with 16 out of 20 appearances coming out of the bullpen.

In 2014, I’d expect Goforth to still be working in Double-A for at least half of the season before he makes the trip to Nashville to play with the Sounds in Triple-A. He has a pretty limited arsenal and he seemed to struggle with walks. I don’t know that we’ll see Goforth in Milwaukee this season, but if we do, it probably wouldn’t be until September should the Brewers place him on the 40-man roster.