Sky Sox Spotlight: Milwaukee Brewers David Goforth

After the Milwaukee Brewers had traded Will Smith to the Giants and Jeremy Jeffress, along with Jonathan Lucroy to the Texas Rangers, there was a large hole left in the Milwaukee Brewers bullpen.

To help fill that hole, David Goforth was called up. Get to know the former Sky Sox and new Milwaukee Brewers bullpen arm in this weeks: Sky Sox Spotlight.

David Paul Goforth is 27 years old and is from Meridian, Mississippi. He was originally a 31st round draft choice of the Cleveland Indians in 2010 but did not sign. It turned out to be a good decision for him because he was selected in the 7th round of the 2011 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers in the following year.

Like many pitchers drafted, Goforth was originally a starting pitcher in the Brewers system. He transitioned into becoming a full-time relief pitcher, following the 2013 season. It’s paid off for Goforth, and while he doesn’t have the typical strikeout numbers you’d like to see, he’s been successful. Bernie Pleskoff, a scout that believes Goforth could be an eventual closer at the major league level, had this to say about Goforth in 2014:

I view Goforth more as a reliever than as a starter. I think he can really shut down the opposition — with increasingly greater velocity from pitch to pitch — better from the bullpen. Goforth has little to lose by letting everything go and going right after hitters for an inning as opposed to pacing himself to go deep into games. He has the pitches and the mound presence and demeanor to close games.

This is Goforth’s second call-up with the Brewers this season, and he had a previous call-up with the team last season. His season at AAA Colorado Springs wasn’t overall impressive. In 33 games and 42 innings, he gave up 44 hits, striking out 31, but also allowed 30 walks.

He struggled a bit in his first call-up with the Brewers this season, but with this call-up, he’ll get a chance to audition for a larger role for next season.