Altitude not a problem for this Rox pitcher

This story was excerpted from Thomas Harding’s Rockies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

DENVER – While working his way to the Majors in the Brewers organization, left-handed pitcher Brent Suter was preparing for his future – with the Rockies.

Claimed off waivers from the Brewers during the winter, Suter has lifted the Rockies’ bullpen by going 2-0 with a 0.87 ERA, a stingy 1.00 WHIP, no home runs against, and 28 strikeouts against 11 walks in 31 innings pitched. Suter’s Coors Field ERA is 1.15.

But he was prepared.

Colorado Springs, with some of the highest altitude and freakiest playing conditions in the sport, was the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate when Suter was coming through the system. Suter posted respectable ERAs of 3.31 in six starts in 2015, 3.50 in 26 games (15 starts) in 2016, and 4.42 in 10 games (eight starts) in 2017.

“People were saying, ‘Tough place to pitch’ and all that stuff, but I’d been in Colorado Springs for three years,” Suter said. “I knew what the altitude did to all my pitches. So, I had an idea of what I needed to do to make adjustments and succeed up here.”

Suter is offering four-seam and two-seam fastballs and offsetting them with a changeup that has been the put-away pitch on 15 of his strikeouts and held hitters to a .125 batting average, according to Statcast.

Toward the end of last season, Suter was excited about how his slider was developing but he has used it far less than the other pitches.

“The two-seam has come along as a really good pitch against lefties and righties, which has opened up all kinds of sequences for me, kept guys guessing,” Suter said. “Even if they see fastball, it’s a, “Where is it going?” type of thing.

Suter’s clear head and history at altitude allow him to reset after inevitable strange stuff happens. Even during this strong two months in Denver, reminders of Colorado Springs show up. It’s like the ball has a mind of its own.

“A couple times in my throwing program, I’ll get a ball where my cutter runs and my sinker cuts,” said Suter, speaking a day after one such throwing session went strangely. “I don’t know if it’s the weight distribution, but it does the complete opposite, and that never happens at sea level."

These occurrences are random, so it’s not something he uses to his advantage.

“I just get a new ball,” Suter said. “Quickly.”

“Now I’m throwing everything in every count with confidence. I’ve got a clear mindset.”