SAN FRANCISCO -- Brewers manager Pat Murphy said during Spring Training that Craig Yoho¡¯s changeup was the nastiest pitch he saw throughout camp.
That pitch has made its way to the big leagues.
The Brewers called up Yoho, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the club's No. 18 prospect, from Triple-A Nashville for Monday¡¯s 5-2 loss to the Giants at Oracle Park, where the 25-year-old flashed his signature pitch but also gave up a run, in part because of the oddly shaky defense that dotted Milwaukee¡¯s night. Righty Logan Henderson was optioned to Nashville and lefty Nestor Cortes (left elbow flexor strain) was transferred to the 60-day injured list in corresponding moves.
Yoho had a dominant 2024 in the Minors, as he posted a 0.94 ERA and struck out 101 batters in 57 2/3 innings across three levels of Milwaukee¡¯s system. He hasn¡¯t missed a beat this year either, as he hasn¡¯t allowed an earned run through 9 2/3 frames for the Sounds.
¡°I got off to a hot start at Triple-A and felt like I put myself into the conversation, and I¡¯m here; now I¡¯m ready to help this team win,¡± Yoho said.
The right-hander hopes it was worth the wait. Patience has been one of Yoho¡¯s best assets, from being unrecruited out of high school in Indiana to going 1,082 days between collegiate games because of injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yoho converted from infielder to pitcher during that stretch and began to hone a changeup that caught the eye of Brewers scout Ginger Poulson, who pushed hard for Milwaukee to make Yoho an eighth-round Draft pick in 2023 -- even though he had barely pitched.
He¡¯s part of a wave of Midwesterners to find their way to the Brewers lately, joining a roster that includes fellow Indianian Chad Patrick along with Caleb Durbin, Bryan Hudson and Quinn Priester from Illinois, Eric Haase from Michigan and Isaac Collins from Minnesota. Tyler Alexander gets a nod, too -- he was born in Chicago but went to high school in Texas.
Maybe there will be more in the future. Among Poulson¡¯s other signees in the system are Luke Adams (Brewers No. 8 prospect) from Illinois and Bishop Letson (No. 14) and Josh Adamczewski from Indiana.
¡°She¡¯s one of the hardest-working scouts in our organization,¡± GM Matt Arnold said. ¡°Credit goes to her for identifying him as an amateur. And credit to him for just continuing to get better and working hard. He¡¯s a great kid, and I¡¯m super happy for him.¡±
Poulson wasn¡¯t going to miss a chance to see Yoho pitch in the big leagues. She landed in San Francisco on Monday right around the time they were singing the national anthem at Oracle Park. Other Yoho supporters on hand included his wife, Sydni, and the couple¡¯s 8-month-old daughter, Daisy.
¡°There was obviously that wait, and it puts that chip on your shoulder because this is where everybody wants to be,¡± Yoho said. ¡°The goal isn¡¯t just to get here, though. I want to get here, and I want to be a big leaguer and I want to be here the rest of my career. So that chip still remains there.¡±
Yoho features a mid-90s sinker, a cutter and a sweeper among his pitch mix. But the star of the show is that high-70s changeup.
During Yoho¡¯s time at Triple-A over the past two seasons, his changeup has limited batters to six hits in 47 at-bats and 17 strikeouts. He has allowed 30 batted balls on that changeup during that span, and only four were classified as hard hit.
¡°The fact that he¡¯s been through some adversity, so driven, I think once he settles in he¡¯s going to be a force for us,¡± Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.
His debut was better than it looked in the box score. Yoho¡¯s first pitch of the eighth inning was that signature changeup on the way to a strikeout, but then he walked LaMonte Wade Jr. and gave up a single to Wilmer Flores that stayed fair by an inch.
Yoho had a path out of the inning when Patrick Bailey hit a shallow flyout to center field and Wade broke for home, where Murphy believed he would have been out easily had Garrett Mitchell got the ball out of his glove cleanly.
Instead, the throw was cut off on the infield and the Giants added an insurance run.
It was emblematic of the night. For every defensive gem -- Jackson Chourio¡¯s diving catch in right field with the bases loaded to end the second inning, and Caleb Durbin¡¯s terrific play on Willy Adames¡¯ rocket to third base in the third -- it seemed there were two or three fumbles.
¡°You can¡¯t plan on winning games if you don¡¯t play solid defense,¡± Murphy said.
Yoho has his sights on much better days ahead.
¡°The goals I¡¯ve had have been kind of crazy,¡± Yoho said. ¡°Why limit myself? I just kept pushing the boundaries, and now my feet are here in San Francisco. That¡¯s crazy.¡±