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Get to Know: Brewers pitcher Zach Davies

Zach Davies stands 6 feet and weights 155 pounds, but his arm packs a punch.
Zach Davies stands 6 feet and weights 155 pounds, but his arm packs a punch. Credit: Getty Images
June 27, 2016

By Todd Rosiak of the Journal Sentinel

June 27, 2016 0

The Journal Sentinel's Todd Rosiak caught up with Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Zach Davies on Saturday, the day after he received a no-decision in a five-inning outing against Washington's Max Scherzer. Davies, 23, is 5-3 with a 3.74 earned run average and WHIP of 1.18 in 13 starts. He was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles on July 31 in exchange for outfielder Gerardo Parra. Davies is pitching for the Brewers on a one-year deal that's paying him $507,500.

You threw 104 pitches last night. What does your arm feel like today, Jello? I feel fine today. This is one of those times in the season where my body feels good. Hopefully it keeps feeling that way and I bounce back from starts. But it varies. At certain points of the season your body's going to feel terrible the day after. At other times it's like nothing really happened. You just relax and it's a normal day. I think it just depends on how you're feeling during the season.

How do you keep your arm healthy and ready to go over the course of a 162-game season? I do the normal shoulder, rotator cuff and scapula exercises. Weighted exercises 2-3 days a week. If I have a long start then I'll go three times. If it's a normal five days I'll go twice. Just making sure you get workouts in, get your conditioning in. If you get knotted up or tight, get in the training room and get some soft tissue massage done to release it. That plays a role in it, too, because once things start tightening up, everything goes.

You opened the season at Class AAA Colorado Springs, and pitched there for part of last season after you were traded to the Brewers. Do you feel it's possible for a pitcher to be successful there over the long haul (in the thin air at altitude)? Definitely. You have to judge it based on where you're at. Pitchers in Denver, they're judging their stats on where they're pitching. If you have a 4.50 ERA with the Rockies, you know you're doing OK. It's going to even out if you pitch better on the road. You know it's there. It's a mentality thing. You get over it and you just try to make sure you're pitching deep into games. You know you can make quality pitches that might get hit, but you still need to execute the pitch. I think it's trusting yourself, knowing that things will get better. You have to trust in what you've done in the past and apply it to what's coming.

How does the altitude affect the way you throw, and how your pitches behave? (Breaking balls) aren't as sharp, but you can adjust to that. For me, I throw an over-the-top curveball, so here I can start it a little higher than I could in Colorado. In Colorado I needed to make sure I'm starting the ball a little bit lower so it finishes at the bottom of the zone there. You get a feel after you've warmed up in the bullpen where your release point is. Big thing is the changeup and cutter there, because they're pitches that don't move a whole lot but give the hitter a different view from the fastball. If your stuff kind of flattens out and you can't find a release point, that does help.

You have a four-pitch arsenal (fastball, changeup, curveball, slider). What's your best pitch? I think it's always been my changeup. It's always been that pitch for me, just because I had a feel for it coming into pro ball. I've been able to throw it in every count I need to, at any time. But I'm also at a point with that pitch where I can do so many meticulous things with it that it's exciting for me.

The changeup is one of the toughest pitches to master because it's such a feel pitch, correct? I don't know if it's the toughest, but it's definitely tough to get a feel for it because it is such a feel pitch. You've got to trust that you can relax your arm but also throw it like a fastball. You've got to be loose and relaxed but also aggressive with it like a fastball to make it seem like one.

I'd imagine you're sick of hearing about your size and your youthful appearance. Do you still hear those kinds of comments daily? Pretty much. But it's always happened. I kind of take it as a chip on my shoulder because people are in disbelief. It's like it's a fluke. But at the same time I know I've had success in the past and as long as I keep working and as long as I keep doing the things that are beneficial to my career, it'll continue.

Is it satisfying to be able to prove people wrong? You're a successful starting pitcher in the major leagues at 6 feet and 155 pounds. I think short term, yes. I think in the long term, that's definitely not my goal, to be that. But for now it can be satisfying to go out there and prove some people wrong that don't believe. But for the people that have been there the entire time that have given me the opportunity, I'm glad that I can show that I can be successful and it will pay off.

How big were you in high school? About the same.

Yet you earned a scholarship to Arizona State, a traditional college baseball powerhouse. So it sounds like your size really has never been a true hindrance. Probably the travel-ball time period is when it affected me the most, because that's the biggest difference in strength and size for guys. When I was 10-11 years old I was playing up a year and a half, and everybody was right around 12. That was a big difference for me. But I put in a lot of work and time to try and crack the rosters and things. But it paid off, and I think that was a huge thing for me early on — facing adversity and showing myself that hard work will pay off if you're committed to it.

You have a cool tattoo of the Seattle skyline on your left forearm. I assume that's an homage to where you grew up? I grew up in a suburb just south of Seattle, kind of past Tacoma and Federal Way. We moved to the Phoenix area when I was around seven. I enjoy Seattle and at some point in my life I'm going to move back there. I've grown to love Arizona, too. Looking back I've realized how important it was — even though it wasn't for me — and what a huge benefit it was for me to play baseball year-round. To be able to go outside in 120-degree heat in the summer or 80-degree weather in the winter and just be able to play every single month of the year.

Do you think you'd be where you are today had your family not made that move? I'm not sure. I think I still would have had the drive to try to compete and work as hard as I could. But at the same time I don't know if not being able to play for six months out of the year would have come into play.

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