In the final installment of OnMilwaukee.com’s three-part series about how this Milwaukee Brewers team was constructed, we look at how the Crew changed its development model in regards to pitching, and how the addition of Wei-Chung Wang is its biggest test.

Building the Brewers Part 1: Financial flexibility key to success
Building the Brewers Part 2: Development can be tough on a player

Miller Park’s high-definition scoreboard over the centerfield wall can illuminate even a bright day, and Wei-Chung Wang couldn’t help himself. He slung his torso over the bullpen wall and craned his neck to peek at the graphics flashing across its 1,500-square foot face.

It’s a $10 million piece of equipment, the scoreboard. Wang's left arm could be worth 10 times that.

It’s why he sits quietly in the bullpen, part of the long game of the Brewers development model. Wang has worked just three times through the first month of the season, for three innings. It’s a gamble, to have him there, essentially stashed away on baseball’s best team. But the payout could help the franchise remain competitive for years to come.

"You have to be a certain degree of a non-traditional thinker," said Brewers vice president/assistant general manager Gord Ash of the organization's developmental mindset. "I think that ability to see the big picture with a guy like Wang is part of that."

A change in thinking

It wasn’t long after Jason Kendall grounded out to end the 2008 National League Division Series at Miller Park that things began to change for the Milwaukee Brewers. It was the most successful season in 15 years for the organization, and its first appearance in the postseason since 1982 – but even the best laid plans need to have alternate routing.

The on-field product was going to evolve, for sure, as CC Sabathia would likely move on for far greener pastures. But the off field direction of the organization was going to be diverted as well.

Special assistant to the general manager for player personnel (and former director of scouting) Jack Zduriencik was plucked off Doug Melvin’s staff to become the general manager of the Seattle Mariners. Bruce Seid was then named the director of amateur scouting and Zack Minasian was named the manager of minor league scouting, as well as coordinator of pro scouting.

Lee Tunnell was hired off of Cincinnati’s pro scouting staff to become the organization’s minor league pitching coordinator.

"The first thing to recognize is that while you have a plan, and you must have a plan, the plan has to be flexible enough that you can adjust on the go," Ash said.

Melvin and Ash convened a pitching symposium of sorts, bringing in scouts, coaches and medical personnel to reevaluate and change how they scouted and developed pitching talent.

For all of the success the Brewers had in finding position players in Melvin and Ash’s tenure, which began in 2003, they had little success with pitchers. Yovani Gallardo was a second round pick in 2004, but after him the results weren’t mixed – they were bad.

Over six drafts, from 2003 to '08, the Brewers gained little out of the top 31 pitchers they drafted.

None of the club’s top five pitching selections in 2003, '05 or '07 reached the majors. Mark Rogers (first round, 2004) eventually made it to Milwaukee, but he was besieged by injury and is no longer with the organization.

Jeremy Jeffress (first round, 2006) and Jake Odorizzi (first round, 2008) helped bring Zack Greinke to the Brewers in 2010, but none of the other nine top pitchers selected in those drafts reached the majors.

At this symposium, there was one question the organization asked itself: what aren’t we doing?

"We went right through the whole thing," Ash remembered. "We went back to square one. We looked at the type of pitchers we were drafting. We tried to put together a kind of a protocol of what we were looking for."

There was a focus on short term and long term health, and a mentality of the players being scouted. Pitchers had to command their fastball, and be aggressive in the strike zone. There wasn't a prearranged marriage to velocity, or a desire for a specific mechanic, either. It was a vision Ron Roenicke and his pitching coach, Rick Kranitz, ascribed to as well when they were brought in prior to 2011.

"Pitching takes all shapes and forms," Ash said. "You have to have an open mind and as long as guys can throw strikes and be aggressive with the way Ron likes them to be, then they’re going to fit into our program."

The new model has worked. Since 2009, the Brewers have had a far greater rate of success rate.

In such a short developmental window, 2009 picks Hiram Burgos and Mike Fiers and 2010 selections Jimmy Nelson and Tyler Thornburg have already pitched in Milwaukee.

Jim Henderson and Brandon Kintzler were free agent acquisitions in 2009. Marco Estrada was claimed off waivers in 2010. Johnny Hellweg was acquired in the summer of 2012. Alfredo Figaro (free agent) and Michael Blazek (trade) were brought in in 2013.

"We built what we thought was the perfect model and we went from there," Ash said.

It all led to the flyer taken on Dec. 12, 2013 in the Rule 5 Draft, left-hander 47 1/3 innings off Tommy John surgery.

The model's biggest test

On April 25, his 22nd birthday, Wei-Chung Wang sat in the Brewers dugout and looked out over the diamond. He wore a batting glove on his right hand, and rubbed a baseball.

"It’s special," he said through translator Jay Hsu. "All those fields, Fenway Park, Philadelphia and PNC (in Pittsburgh) and here, I usually just watched on the TV and right now I’m on the field. And flying, flying to road games, is special for me."

The Brewers believe he’s special. Or, can be.

He was a star in Taiwan, a member of the 2004 Little League World Series team and its 2010 World Junior team. After competing in the World Port Tournament, the Pittsburgh Pirates signed him as an international free agent in the winter of 2011, but he failed a physical.

"When I was signed in high school, I was pitching hurt already," he admitted, waving his gloved hand over his left elbow. "And I heard of a lot of people, they come to USA to play and they fail the physicals because they are already injured. So I was worried about that before I came."

Rather than just void the contract entirely, Pittsburgh re-worked it. His potential was too great to just cut the cord entirely.

After missing all of 2012, Wang was sent to the Gulf Coast League (rookie ball) where he started 11 times in 12 games. He was on a strict innings limit, but he couldn’t have been more effective. In those 47 1/3 innings he pounded the strike zone, striking out 42 while walking four.

Pittsburgh did not put Wang on its 40-man roster, leaving him exposed in the Rule 5 draft. It was a calculated gamble – any player drafted must make that major-league team out of camp and stay in the big leagues or be returned.

Who would do that, with so little to see?

"It pretty much started, I wouldn’t say ended, but just about ended, with a scout seeing him in the Gulf Coast League and grading him out and projecting on what he thought he could be," said Minasian, who is now the Brewers director of pro scouting.

He pushed Melvin to make the pick.

For the Brewers, it was also a gamble – one that could cost $50,000 and a roster spot if it worked out. But after losing their 2013 first round draft pick to St. Louis for signing Kyle Lohse, the Brewers felt this was a way to acquire a first round-level talent at a cost that could never be duplicated.

Wang was a perfect fit for how the Brewers are built – scout and acquire while keeping the bottom line in mind.

"If we saw him and we did think he had that potential, well then we just got a prospect for $50,000 that we think, if he’s a first round talent, those guys are in the $2 million range," Minasian said.

"He showed us during the spring that his mound presence was very good," Ash added. "He showed us that he was a confident young man. And, that he had enough ability to throw strikes to be used in a situation that we’ll need to use him in. Now all of a sudden we’ve got an extra guy that we didn’t count on and it’s almost like getting your draft choice back."

As the price of starting pitching soars – 29-year-old Max Scherzer turned down a $144 million extension offer from Detroit this offseason while 26-year-old Clayton Kershaw inked a $215 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers (both are former first round picks) – the Brewers decided to play the long game with Wang.

While it is a restriction on Roenicke – he doesn’t feel comfortable using Wang in close games yet – it’s why Kranitz and Tunnell are part of the mix.

"That’s the thing about these young guys that’s so nice is you see them grow," Kranitz said about developing young arms at the end of 2013. "You may not see it for a half a year or a year of learning or exploring or understanding yourself. It’s still taking a beating or taking some tough outings. That’s the hardest part, is getting beat around by some big leaguers, some very good teams and very good hitters and still coming back the next five days and not be overwhelmed with it. That’s the biggest thing a young guy has to focus on or get over, because it’s going to happen. It’s going to happen. But you’ve got to believe in yourself. That’s probably the biggest hurdle any guy has, whether he has stuff or not."

Even in limited work, Wang has shown the Brewers he has the stuff, and the makeup.

He’s thrown 126 pitches, 73 for strikes (58 percent). He's appeared just four times, alternating flawless innings with 6-run, 3-inning outings.

According to the BrooksBaseball.net PITCHf/x tool, his fastball went from 93 against the Cardinals, to 94 against the Pirates and he hit 96 against the Cubs. This after his fastball sat in the low 90s in spring training.

"OK, in my mind, I wonder where does it stop? Where can this go?," Minasian said. "How good can he be? That’s the million dollar question with him. The longer we can hold on to him and hopefully get him through the season while still wining a ton of ballgames, I think the better off we’re going to be as an organization."

There is concern over essentially "stashing" a player that Roenicke isn’t ready to use, especially on a club that owns the league’s best record. But from a development perspective, the Brewers front office feels differently.

"It is a tough thing to go through because you’re trying to look out for the kid too and his development – you don’t want to stunt his growth," Minasian said. "I think there’s a lot of good things he can learn from being around this environment. (A) major league pitching coach. Our old roving pitching coach Lee Tunnell is now our bullpen coach. There’s a lot of good people to be around. Yovani Gallardo’s a veteran pitcher. Kyle Lohse is a veteran pitcher.

"And to Wang’s credit, his personality has fit. A lot of times guys may come from that level – just from the minor leagues in general – and they’re personalities don’t fit and people don’t take to them. They don’t care about teaching them and I think his has, and the guys have, I think, tried to help him as much as they’ve could make an adjustment not only in baseball, but just to this lifestyle, because it is a lot."

Third base coach Ed Sedar walked by as Wang spoke in the dugout, staring. Wang put his hand up to his face and turned his head, shielding a grin.

On his way back, Sedar shouted "He’s as happy as a rooster to be here!," drawing a laugh.

"I know I’m a rookie, so right now it’s a good chance for me to learn," Wang said. "In the bullpen I will see the situations and I am learning what situations I will go (in) or if I needs to warm up. I’m understanding, understanding about how I won’t pitch a lot, but just keep learning. Still right now, I feel so special. Every time I talk about Rule 5, I feel special because I know that there are so many good players and why did they pick me? How lucky am I? I feel so lucky and I appreciate the Brewers picking me."

"I believe in myself but I know it takes time to show myself and to learn a lot of stuff. So right now I’m just learning. I feel I can pitch in the big leagues."

The big question – the big risk – is if he can learn to do so while on the roster of a team that harbors championship hopes.

For instance, in Wednesday's outing in St. Louis, Wang used his slider for the first time in the major leagues while also working in his changeup (a pitch he didn't use against Chicago) and curveball.

"I hear Thornburg talk about it, and he's been a starting pitcher – you don't want to get away from developing, though," said reliever Jim Henderson, who spent 10 years in the minors before being called up.  "You don't want to get away from going out there in a one-inning type of role and get away from throwing your third or fourth pitch, because you never know what the future holds. At the same time, you need to make sure you're making the right pitches at the right time; make sure you still practice your strengths. Work on your strengths as much as possible, but if you have a chance to throw in some of your weaker pitchers, throw it in there so you can still develop in this game."

One might say the results in St. Louis were fairly predictable in such an instance. Wang walked his first two batters of the year and didn't throw at least 60 percent of his pitches for strikes while giving up six runs in three innings.

"Usually this is something you’re doing in your minor league system," Minasian admitted. "So it’s difficult to grasp how his developing process is going. It’s a very odd situation, to say the least. It’s a very odd situation."

It’s a situation the Brewers front office believes the team can work through, though, with the model they put in place long ago.

"What I wanted to see during the spring was just show me you have it," Minasian said. "You don’t have to do it every pitch, but if I know you have it and you’re an athletic guy and you can repeat your delivery, arm action, you have some aptitudes and you can take to instruction, then I feel like over time, there’s a really good chance you’re going to develop those secondary pitcher an become the pitcher we hope and think he can be."