Meet the Team: Brent Suter
By Kevin Henry
In his seven seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, Brent Suter earned a reputation as a pitcher who can fill a variety of roles. From starting a game to getting critical outs when needed in relief, he now brings that versatile reputation to the Colorado Rockies, the team that claimed him off waivers in mid-November to bring another veteran arm into the franchise’s pitching arsenal.
Suter is ready to begin a new chapter in Denver after a bittersweet end to his time in Milwaukee.
“I was hoping to stay one more year and just finish out the arbitration years with them, but I knew something was bound to happen,” Suter said. “When the GM (Matt Arnold) called me and said, ‘Hey, we put you on waivers this morning and you got claimed by the Rockies. Thanks for everything,’ then it really hit me that my time with the Brewers was over and I was starting a whole new chapter with the Rockies. I got really excited.”
That excitement has been building for the 33-year-old southpaw ever since, thanks, in part, to conversations with Manager Bud Black and Pitching Coach Darryl Scott about what is to come in 2023 and what his role might be.
If recent history is any indication, Suter could well be an option in the back end of the bullpen for the Rockies, filling some of the void left by Carlos Estévez, who signed this offseason with the Los Angeles Angels, as well as Tyler Kinley, who underwent elbow surgery and is expected to miss time in 2023. Last season in Milwaukee, Suter made 34 of his 54 appearances in the seventh, eighth, or ninth innings.
Suter’s 54 games last season (covering 66.2 innings) were the fourth most for the Brewers in 2022. Suter pitched in 61 games the year before, showing his ability to be effective and durable. He has also flashed an ability to pitch multiple innings, throwing two frames or more 13 times last season.
“The versatility that he provides is an added bonus for us and for our pitching staff,” Black said. “The ability to go multiple innings, the ability to come in and be told, ‘Hey, you’re getting one guy out, two outs, a left-hander, or whatever is needed, to handle what’s given to him. There’s an attitude and some pitching instincts that he will get the job done.’”
Suter said he is ready to embrace whatever is needed from him in 2023.
“High leverage, low leverage, it doesn’t matter. I just want to pitch,” Suter said. “I’m going to try to be that guy who just fills in where needed. That’s where I see I can bring value, being ready from pitch one to pitch 150. However many pitches are needed, I’ll be ready.”
Suter’s ability to be ready for any situation is a big plus for the Rockies, Black said.
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“I think he’s a very competent relief pitcher. I think he’s dependable. There’s a consistency to performance,” Black said. “We’re going to trust the fact that he’s going to throw strikes and he’s going to be prepared. During his career, he has shown that he’s a dependable reliever and whatever role that he’s been put into, and he answers the call whenever needed.”
Suter posted a career-low 7.8 hits allowed per-nine-innings last season working exclusively out of the bullpen, but also a career-low 105 ERA+. Knowing he will be pitching in Denver this season, Suter is not backing down from the challenge of pitching at altitude, thanks, in part, to parts of three seasons when he pitched in Colorado Springs for Milwaukee’s Triple-A team.
He will use that knowledge from the past to help him this season, just like he has every time the Brewers visited Denver and Suter was called upon then.
“When I got to the mound, my pitches were able to play relatively smooth compared to lower altitude places,” said Suter, who will deploy a primary combination of fastballs and changeups. “The one thing I really want to focus on is breaking balls, especially to lefties, and making sure I stay on top of that. It might not have the bite at Coors that it does at lower altitude, but I want to make sure I’m executing that glove side, down and away as best as I can. That’s going to be a point of focus for me this offseason.”
With a new team and new home stadium, Suter said he is ready to start picking the brains of his fellow Rockies pitchers.
“I’m always an open book and I want to learn and get better,” Suter said. “If those guys see something, I want them to feel more than comfortable to come up to me and give me a tip or let me know if I’m tipping at all or doing anything that could give the offense an advantage because we’re on the same team. Now I don’t have to pitch against these guys, and I’m really glad about that.”
A native of Cincinnati, the city where he now calls home in the offseason, Suter brings a reputation of not only being dependable, but also having fun while doing it. Earning the nickname of “The Raptor,” Suter said he will likely include the Jurassic Park theme as part of his entrance music from the bullpen this season. It’s a nickname that he has embraced since his time in the Minor Leagues.
“Tim Dillard, who is now a color commentator with the Brewers, was one of my teammates in the Minors. He’s just a hilarious guy and he noticed that I was running my sprints out in the outfield like a raptor,” Suter chuckled. “So every time I’d run by him, he would make raptor noises. That nickname stuck and when I got to the Majors, the Brewers PR team asked if I would mind if they used the Jurassic Park theme song as my walk out song. We did that and it’s kind of taken off ever since then.”
Away from the diamond, Suter plays golf (“I’m not great at it”) and plays and writes music. Suter plays the guitar, drums, and piano and writes songs on the side. He also wrote a book, “The Binky Bandit”, inspired by his dog’s habit of stealing his son’s pacifier.
“I love all kinds of sports, all kinds of arts, all kinds of activities,” Suter said. “I just try to love life and try to exude joy wherever I go, so that’s what I’m going to try to do here with the Rockies. I’m going to try to bring as much positivity and all that stuff as I can.”
— ROCKIES —
