BCB Top Prospects Year in Review: #10 Taylor Jungmann

Last winter, we asked you to rank the top 20 prospects in the Brewers organization. Here's what you came up with:

Oh man, look at that. All those Taylors! Obviously, there will be a lot of upheaval on the prospect list this winter, as these prospects are replaced by a big influx of talent from a flurry of trades, some breakout performances and the draft. Taylor Jungmann will not be on this year's list. It is not because he's been jumped.

Jungmann started the year off very slowly at Triple-A Colorado Springs. The thin air of the Rockies may have contributed to Jungmann's struggles. Though interestingly enough he tallied a career-low 0.30 HR/9 rate with the Sky Sox. Instead I'll point to a high BABIP (.349) and a very low strand rate (54.8%) as possible causes for his poor numbers. Whatever the reason Jungmann's 6.37 ERA in 59.1 innings -- nine starts -- was not the sort of start Jungmann was looking for in his fourth professional season. But oh, what was to come.

Jungmann was promoted to the big league club on June 9, throwing seven innings of one run ball against the 97-win Pittsburgh Pirates. He went on to surrender three or fewer runs in 11 of his first 13 starts, including a three-hit complete game against the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 25-year-old sputtered down the stretch, going 0-3 with an ERA of 9.53 in his final five starts, and only pitching past the fifth inning once. He was plagued by the home run ball, allowing a ghastly 3.24 HR/9 over those final 22.2 innings. However he still finished the season with a 3.77 ERA which led all starters. He was fifth on the team in fWAR (1.6) despite spending the first two months in the minors.

Plenty of words have been spilled about how much of Jungmann's fast start is sustainable, though I don't think anyone thinks we're looking at an elite, front-of-the-rotation starter. His rough September tempered some of the enthusiasm for Jungmann somewhat, though he's obviously better than what he showed over the season's final month. Jungmann is fine as one of the better pitchers on a rebuilding team and he'll hopefully be around as a No. 4 or 5 starter once the Brewers are back in contention.