Milwaukee Brewers: Jeremy Jeffress to make first career start

Milwaukee Brewers reliever Jeremy Jeffress is slated to make his first Major League start.

This is comes after appearing 263 times in relief during his career. The majority of these appearances occurred in a Milwaukee Brewers uniform. 172 to be exact. All of those coming during three separate stints as a member of the Crew.

The Brewers selected Jeffress out of high school with the 16th overall selection back in 2006. He debut in 2010, pitching in ten games. Following that year, a trade to Kansas City took place.

The full trade included Lorenzo Cain, Jake Odorizzi, and Jeremy Jeffress being sent to the Royals. In return, the Brewers acquired Zack Greinke and Yuniesky Betencourt. Along with cash, as well.

He moved around from Kansas City to Toronto over the next few years before finding himself back with the Milwaukee Brewers. In 2014, the Blue Jays designated Jeffress for assignment. Afterward, the team that drafted him signed him to a minor league contract. He did eventually make it back up to the big leagues.

Surprise! He once again got dealt away in 2016. This time to the Texas Rangers. He accompanied Jonathan Lucroy in the deal that brought Lewis Brinson to the organization. Of course, Luis Ortiz and Ryan Cordell came along too.

The team flipped Cordell this season for Anthony Swarzak around trade deadline time. That was the first domino to fall. The team made the move to reacquire Jeffress following the Swarzak deal.

And why not? Jeffress is most comfortable in a Brewer uniform. He has played for three other teams in his career, all in shorter stints. As a Milwaukee reliever, he holds an ERA of 2.41. The next lowest mark came about during his time with Toronto where he posted a 3.49.

That is not the only indicator. During his five years with the Milwaukee Brewer, Jeffress struck out 151 batters. The number for the other six years with other teams stands at 78. Whatever the reason, it is safe to say that Jeffress pitches better in Brewer Blue.

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Considering his 11 year experience as a relief pitcher this will more than likely be a bullpen game early on. But still, it is quite the honor for the sporadic Brewer to get the ball as the starting pitcher.