Milwaukee Brewers: Brent Suter Wins NL Reliever of the Month For September

Coming back from Tommy John surgery, Milwaukee Brewers lefty Brent Suter has claimed the title of Reliever Of The Month to wrap up the 2019 season.

Brent Suter didn’t make his first appearance back on the mound until September 2nd, where he was a big contributor to the Milwaukee Brewers stretch run to postseason. Suter did miss the second half of the 2018 season and first half of the 2019 season due to his surgery and rehabilitation. But the way he’s been performing? It’s like he never left.

In his return, he’s had nine relief appearances where he’s drawing in a 0.49 ERA, recording 15 strikeouts and seven of his nine appearances he went multiple innings. Although a slow pitcher, he is a fast, hard-working individual who really displays his talent when he is pitching. In just the last 49 batters Suter has faced, he has only allowed 6 hits and a single home run.

Suter doesn’t throw fast or hard, his top velocity usually reaching around 87 MPH, but when he’s throwing his pitches, he definitely knows where his target is and how to switch it up on the batter at the plate. He’s has the fastest pace between pitches in MLB, almost leaving opposing hitters no time to think of ways they can avoid striking out against Suter.

Delivering fastballs high in the strike zone, his lightning pace, and deceptive delivery is something that batters ultimately fear for, and those who face Suter for the first time, often have no idea what’s coming their way.

Suter isn’t being allowed to pitch in back-to-back days quite yet, due to the return of his surgery and preventing the risk of possibly overdoing it for him. As much as he volunteers himself to go back-to-back, the Milwaukee Brewers bullpen can’t risk anything right now and must follow the medical orders.

Though, with his health improving, we could potentially see him going back-to-back games come the 2020 season and even spring training, that is, if he doesn’t rejoin the starting rotation. The bullpen seems to be slowly getting back to full health, with Woodruff returning after an oblique injury kept him out for two months, and Suter returning after a long rehabilitation process.

According to Craig Counsell in an interview with MLB writer Adam McCalvy, he said, “Brent’s probably one of the reasons we’ve been able to get through this. He’s given us more than we expected”.

Suter came back and is exceeding expectations people thought he wouldn’t be reaching for a while. I think it’s safe to say that we will be seeing Brent Suter on the postseason roster as a reliever for the upcoming games.

Congrats to Brent Suter on claiming the NL Reliever of the Month, a well deserved title to someone who works for it, and is dedicated to his sport.