Brewers Shift Nick Ramirez

MILWAUKEE—The Brewers have not had much luck developing lefthanded pitchers, so it only made sense to see what Nick Ramirez might be able to do in that role.

Milwaukee drafted Ramirez, 27, in the fourth round in 2011 out of Cal State Fullerton as a first baseman, but he also served as the closer in college, so he had pitching in his background.

The Brewers drafted Ramirez to play first base, and the lefthanded hitter hit 93 pro home runs in six seasons while topping out at Double-A. He hit just .206/.316/.404 at Biloxi this season, however, and that prompted a meeting with organizational staff.

All parties decided that Ramirez should try to pitch.

So Ramirez reported to instructional league this fall and focused heavily on pitching. It certainly didn’t hurt that he threw lefthanded and could hit 94 mph.

“He could be an interesting guy,” farm director Tom Flanagan said. “He was very impressive. Obviously, his history with being on the mound in college, our (scouts) knew him from back then.”

In his final season at Fullerton, Ramirez saved 16 games and struck out 31, walked eight and allowed 13 hits in 24 innings.

The Brewers also are converting catcher Parker Berberet, a 25th-rounder out of Oregon State in 2011, to the mound for the same reason. He has a good arm but hasn’t done enough offensively to move any closer to the majors.

Berberet has hit just .215 in two tries at Double-A.

“We’d like them to be two-way threats going forward—especially Nick, with the power he has from the left side as a hitter,” Flanagan said.

“We want to to combine that with what he has on the mound,”

MICROBREWS

• Righthander Taylor Williams, who had Tommy John surgery and sat out the past two seasons, threw the ball well in instructional league. He reached as high as 97 mph with his fastball. Lefthander Nathan Kirby, taken 40th overall in the 2015 draft, also made progress in his comeback from Tommy John surgery, but he did not face hitters in camp.

• The Brewers lost outfielder Rymer Liriano on waivers to the White Sox. The 25-year-old missed the 2016 season after being hit in the face by a pitch during a spring training game.