In 15 appearances last season between Kingsport and Brooklyn, Brant Rustich was a combined 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA. With a fastball clocking in at 97 miles per hour and a plus-slider, Rustich is the #6 pitching prospect in the Mets minor league system, according to Baseball America. Chatting over the phone while on his way up to Savannah on Friday, Rustich talks about his time in Brooklyn last year, his rehab this offseason and what to expect from him this season.

DemBrooklynBums.com: You were just called up to Savannah yesterday. How are you feeling?

Brant Rustich: I’m happy; I think Savannah is going to be a good place for me to get my feet wet. I’ve played for Donovan Mitchell before in Kingsport last year and in Hawaii. There’s a great coaching staff down there and I’m looking forward to being a part of a team. I haven’t had a chance yet because I’ve been hurt. I’m excited too because it’s a place I’ve never been before and I’m ready to get going.

DBB: What was Hawaii like?

Rustich: I was facing Double-A hitters there and I quickly realized that these guys were very good hitters. I probably tried to over do it a little bit and it made me throw a little harder than I should have. I thought I tried to do too much.

DBB: It’s hard to know everything about minor league players because the information is so scarce. When did you get injured?

Rustich: I kind of had dead arm. I was experiencing just an all around soreness in my arm throughout spring training. That’s why I didn’t play much with the team. I was pretty much set on making St. Lucie’s roster, but because of the injury I was working with the extended group and throwing innings because they wanted to make me a starter. Right now, I’m in the bullpen, but starting isn’t out of the question. The idea is to basically get my innings up and see what happens.

DBB: Do you attribute any of that arm soreness to playing college and pro ball last season? It was a pretty long season for you.

Rustich: I went to Hawaii and I just felt that somewhere down the line, my mechanics were acting up. It just felt like I was putting too much stress on my arm. I don’t know if I was overthrowing, but it was probably a combination of things. I went to big league camp and I was trying to impress, maybe I was trying too hard. I wasn’t thinking too much about my mechanics and that’s why they were a little bit off. My arm and my body weren’t quite in sync. Lately, we’ve just been working it out and trying to get my body and arm back in sync and get both back into shape. Hopefully, I can start to get more innings and keep getting better, so I can get where I want to be.

DBB: Speaking of your first spring training, what was that like?

Rustich: It was awesome. I’ve admired so many of those guys growing up. It was great showing up everyday and getting a chance to play with those guys. It’s a shame that I was hurt and didn’t get a chance to pitch in any spring training games, but I was scared to pitch. They wanted me to, but I couldn’t do it. It was disappointing that I didn’t get to show them what I’m capable of doing, but I think I made a smart decision in letting them know that my arm was sore. We kind of worked it out and worked on my mechanics during that time, to get me to where I want to be. I’m a little behind at this point, so I really am anxious to get to Savannah and get back to where I want to be as soon as possible.

DBB: Speaking of where you want to be, where do you want to be?

Rustich: I want to be healthy and continue to work hard. This year, I want to be as consistent as possible. It’s all about repeating your delivery and working on your mechanics. Those are the things that are going to keep me healthy. I don’t want to overthrow the ball. There where times where maybe I was scared of overthrowing the ball and now I understand that it’s not all about the velocity, there’s a lot more to this. At the big league level, those guys don’t go out there and throw the ball as hard as they can. They throw it at a level where they are at their most comfortable, which is where they can throw strikes and be healthy all season long.

DBB: Given that, do you think you’ve matured as a player because of the injury? Your philosophy sounds much different from most minor leaguers.

Rustich: I think so. I think it was Tony Bernazard or one of the area scouts that told me that everyone has to make adjustments. I had to make some too because obviously, I didn’t want to keep getting hurt. I want to pitch. I guess it got to point where I said to myself that I had to make a few adjustments. I can’t try and throw the ball as hard as I can every single time. I also used to grip the ball really firm. Lately, I’ve been loosening the grip a little bit and working on my feel of the ball, rather than just ripping it and letting it go. When you do that, you’re not going to do things you shouldn’t be doing. If you’re a little out of synch, you’re not going to pay as big a price. Also, I’ve been trying to keep my head down because in the past, it’s moved around a little bit too violently.

DBB: When you were in Brooklyn, you were throwing incredibly hard. What was your approach then?

Rustich: In Brooklyn, I was throwing the ball as close to as hard as I’ve ever thrown it, but my mechanics were good enough. They were good in sense that I wasn’t falling apart and I was capable of maintaining a high velocity without putting much strain on my arm. Now, by maintaining good mechanics, I’m trying to let the velocity come naturally, rather than try to force it. That’s what I was trying to do then. Now I’m taking a step back and thinking about what I have to do to get hitters out. When I was throwing the ball in the spring, I wasn’t throwing that hard. I wasn’t feeling good. My arm was sore and my velocity was down. It seemed the harder I wanted to throw, the harder it was for me to do what I needed to. In the past few weeks though, I’ve been working with the coaches and they have a great approach. They’ve been working with me and I feel healthy and good. I threw three innings a few days ago and my velocity is good. I’m still throwing 93-94 miles per hour. It’s plenty hard enough and eventually my velocity will increase and I’ll maintain my mechanics.

DBB: Fans in Brooklyn last year saw a heck of a lot of your fastball and your slider. Is there anything else in your arsenal that we should know about or is there anything else that you are working on?

Rustich: I’ve been working on my changeup and I think it’s come a long way. It’s one of those pitches though that you have to really trust. I’m so confident in my slider, so it’s hard to rely on another pitch, especially one that’s your third best pitch. It’s just a matter of me developing confidence in it. I know I have a good fastball and a good slider, so it’s a little bit more difficult to develop that third pitch. I have a pitch to throw when I need a strikeout or a groundball, so my changeup is definitely something I need to continue to work on. It’s an important pitch for me though, especially if I’m starting. I really have to develop it. I’m going to continue throwing it more and getting more confident with it. I’m also fooling around with a curveball as well, so that’s a fourth pitch, but it’s more in the works. It’s far from something I’d use in a game right now.

DBB: Lastly, looking back at your time in Brooklyn, what was your overall experience like?

Rustich: I loved Brooklyn. I think one time in the Cape Cod championship I played in front of a bigger crowd. But on any everyday basis, I’ve never played in front of that many people. The environment was great, everyday I pitched there I felt like I was in the big leagues. It was so much fun to play there to show up to work early every day and see all the people there. It was always like you never wanted to leave because it was so much fun. I had so much fun there too with that group of guys. What made it better was that we were winning too and getting along so well. Going to the playoffs was great too.

Photo by Jim Dolan