Milwaukee Brewers: How did Zach Davies look on Monday?

Zach Davies took a big step towards returning to the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night. Will his impressive outing allow him to make his way back to the Majors soon?

In his start for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Monday, Zach Davies made the Clinton LumberKings look like a…Minor League baseball team. Davies did something on Monday that he’s never done in the Majors or Minors before.

What did Davies do?

Davies tossed a complete game shutout, and only needed 85 pitches to do so. He threw 66 of 85 pitches for strikes, and generated 12 ground balls. Davies also allowed only seven hits and zero walks while striking out six.

How good are the Clinton LumberKings?

They’re the Seattle Mariners Single-A affiliate. The only two top-30 prospects in their lineup tonight were Joseph Rosa and Johnny Adams. They are, respectively, ranked as the 29th and 30th best prospects in the Mariners system. Coming into Monday, Rosa was hitting .213, and Adams was hitting .214.

Tristen Lutz and Payton Henry were the two best prospects on the field, and they weren’t playing against Davies.

What does this do for Davies timeline?

It probably doesn’t change it? It’s great to see him healthy enough to work the full nine innings, but he was always going to return in early September. He probably won’t need another start, but he’s going to have to slum it in Single-A for a few more days until rosters expand.

It wouldn’t come as a huge shock to see Davies make his return to the Milwaukee Brewers on September 1st or 2nd. Asking him to make his Major League return on September 3rd against the Chicago Cubs is a large ask, and the Brewers are more likely to set the rotation so the Cubs have to face Jhoulys Chacin, Chase Anderson, and Freddy Peralta, instead of Davies. They could use Davies in the weekend series against the Washington Nationals to give everyone an extra day off.