Drew Rasmussen was drafted three times and has endured two Tommy John surgeries. In other words, he waited a long time for this night.

So it surprised the 25-year-old Brewers pitching prospect when a sense of calm preceded his Major League debut in Wednesday’s 9-3 win over the Twins. Toeing the mound out in the visitors’ bullpen in the top of the seventh inning, Rasmussen said he thought to himself, "Wow, I thought I would feel a little bit more alive than this.”

That was about to change.

“Sure enough, the third out was recorded and it hit me all at once: 'Oh my Lord, I can't believe it,’” he said. “That was one heck of an experience. It happened so fast.”

Milwaukee's No. 10 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, tamed that sudden rush of emotion and the Twins, striking out three batters and working around two hits while lighting up the radar gun in a scoreless, two-inning stint. Of Rasmussen’s 39 pitches, 29 were four-seam fastballs, averaging 97.5 mph and topping out at 99.2 mph on a pitch to Twins outfielder Byron Buxton for a strikeout that ended the seventh. Rasmussen returned to the mound in the eighth and delivered another scoreless frame.

Unlike Angel Perdomo, the 6-foot-8 left-hander who debuted the night before with the Brewers facing a 2-0 deficit, Rasmussen had some margin for error. Milwaukee owned an 8-1 lead when he reached the mound and was met by catcher Manny Piña.

“Manny had probably the best mound visit before I started throwing that I could have possibly imagined,” Rasmussen said. “He said, 'Hey man, first off, I just want to tell you congratulations. You've made it. Congratulations.' Then he said, 'Hey, I need you to take a deep breath. We're going to work together. Trust me. We've been rolling today. We've got a good game plan against these guys.'

“Just having the opportunity to watch everyone and just see how they love working with our catchers, I've got all the faith in the world. Knowing you have a guy back there who is helping guide you along, it helps you be able to relax a lot faster.”

So, that’s what Rasmussen did.

“I don’t know if you can have two more contrasting styles,” said Brewers left-hander Brett Anderson, who had just exited the game after six savvy innings of one-run ball. “I was throwing my hot garbage up there for six innings and he comes out throwing upper 90s. So it was a good contrast. It was fun to watch him.”

Said Brewers manager Craig Counsell: “It's hard not to like that. The best thing was there was poise.”

Rasmussen possesses so much poise, in fact, that Counsell considered using him in the Brewers’ extra-inning game against the Cubs on Saturday. That would have been an unconventional spot for a reliever making his Major League debut, but Counsell believed Rasmussen had shown enough ability to throw strikes that he could handle it. In the end, Counsell opted to wait.

“He's got work to do and has growth that has to happen,” Counsell said, “but he's got a good foundation. Ninety-nine [mph] is a good place to start.”

Rasmussen was asked where he believes he got his poise.

“Personally, I think rehab is the hardest thing you can go through in this game,” he said. “I've gotten the pleasure to not only experience that once, but twice, for extended amounts of time. Every day is a blessing to be able to play this game, so I think I've already gone through the worst of it.

“I'm going to have bad days. That's how this game works. This game is very hard. But nothing will be as bad as rehabbing. And so, since I've already faced that, on the field, everything will take care of itself.”