Series MVP John Brownell has increased his arsenal for Ducks
Ducks starting pitcher John Brownell throws a pitch to the Somerset Patriots during the second inning of Game 5 of the Atlantic League Championship Series. (Sept. 29, 2013) Credit: Ray Stubblebine
The last time John Brownell wore a Ducks cap, he was throwing eight innings in the clinching Game 5 of the Atlantic League Championship Series in September. Shortly after the final out, Brownell was named series MVP.
So who better to begin the quest for a third consecutive championship than the 30-year-old righthander? Brownell will start when the Ducks open their season at Somerset on Friday, manager Kevin Baez said at Ducks media day Saturday morning at Bethpage Ballpark in Central Islip.
"It'll be special because it's the first day of the season," Brownell said. "It's special to everybody. I'm excited to get back on the field and compete with this team. But it's just another game for me. That's how I approach it."
Brownell made 26 starts last season, finishing 9-10 with a 3.90 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 1661/3 innings. After the championship, he spent three months playing winter ball in Puerto Rico. It was his first time playing winter ball.
"It helped me," Brownell said. "Any time you get on a field and compete against another team, you gain experience and confidence."
Brownell said he worked on developing "another strategy" for when his fastball isn't working early in games.
"It forced me to throw a lot of off-speed pitches," he said. "Normally, you'd like to get through the first time through the lineup using your fastball. But it's not always going to be there. You have to adapt."
Brownell believes that his confidence in his other pitches is improved because of his time in winter ball.
"I can get outs using my curveball, my changeup or a combination of the two," he said. "Maybe even my cutter."
Brownell said he added the cutter last May.
"There're not many guys that have command of four pitches," he said. "I feel like that's something I can do pretty well."
Brownell threw 55 pitches in three innings, gave up five runs, struck out two and walked two in the Ducks' 9-4 spring training loss to the Bridgeport Bluefish. He also gave up two home runs.
"I was just working on pitches and trying to locate," he said. "I'm not worried about the result as far as the boxscore. I feel like I threw the off-speed stuff well. One of the home runs was a changeup, which I thought was a pretty good pitch. It just got up in the wind."
