How Mississippi State prepared Brewers' Ethan Small for MLB debut at Wrigley Field

STARKVILLE – Ethan Small stood atop the mound inside Wrigley Field. The former Mississippi State baseball ace, with adrenaline rushing through him and sweat dripping from beneath his yellow and blue Milwaukee Brewers cap, scoured the environment around him.

The brick backstop sat in front of him. The green ivy provided an iconic backdrop. A sea of fans wearing red and blue shirts, jerseys and hats surrounded him.

He couldn’t find an empty seat in the Chicago cathedral of baseball. Nearly 40,000 spectators looked on as Small made his MLB debut. The nerves of reaching his goal overtook him, but the atmosphere of a raucous crowd on a sizzling May afternoon in Wrigley didn’t scare him.

Four years at Dudy Noble Field and two trips to the Men’s College World Series prepared him for his biggest moment.

“That’s the one cool thing about Mississippi State is you play in front of giant crowds all the time, especially if you go to Omaha,” Small said. “Wrigley is a little bigger than that, but thankfully I had some experience pitching in front of crowds.”

Small’s debut was short-lived: 2⅔ innings, two runs, four strikeouts and four walks.

The MLB allows for teams to add a player to the active roster ahead of doubleheaders, which is typically utilized on pitchers. The Brewers knew it was coming, so they informed their No. 8 prospect two days before the May 30 twin-bill against the Cubs.

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Brewers all-star reliever Josh Hader was complimentary of Small’s arsenal postgame, and he noted Small’s return to the big leagues would come soon.

“Baseball is a hard game, and those guys up there can really swing it,” Small said. “The big leagues have a good way of showing you what you need to work on and exposing some of your weaknesses. So I came back (to Triple-A) with just the mentality that I'm going to continue to work on that kind of stuff.”

Milwaukee’s Triple-A affiliate is the Nashville Sounds. For the Jackson, Tennessee, native, home games are about two hours east from his hometown.

Small’s trip to the Brewers began with a decision to walk away from the major leagues. After his redshirt sophomore season in 2018, Small was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 26th round.

Mississippi State had just completed a run to Omaha, and Small’s first season after Tommy John surgery wiped away his 2017 slate. He was stuck with a decision many Bulldogs will face again in a month: take the offer in the draft or bet on yourself and return for another year in Starkville.

Two things factored into Small’s decision to return and develop into a first-round pick.

“The big one, obviously, is money,” Small said. “And then, obviously, the love from school and all that stuff.”

Among Small’s first conversations when returning to Starkville was with pitching coach Scott Foxhall, who had just been hired onto Chris Lemonis’ first staff.

“We’re not going to change much,” Foxhall told Small.

It proved to be the right move. Small went 10-2 in 2019 with a 1.93 ERA. Mississippi State won 52 games in Small’s final season, but the Bulldogs fell short in Omaha for the second consecutive season.

Small is part of a plethora of elite Mississippi State players who never picked up a championship ring, and playing in the Brewers system is a frequent reminder.

Among the first to greet Small in the Wrigley clubhouse was Brewers outfielder and former Bulldog Hunter Renfroe. Small was called up with Brewers pitcher and former Bulldog Brandon Woodruff heading to the injured list, but the two were able to connect again in Memphis when Woodruff was making a rehab start with the Sounds on Saturday.

There's agony for Small in not being part of a championship team at Mississippi State, but the experience gained toward becoming a quality MLB talent is a strong consolation prize.

“You’ve got a lot more guys other than me working their way up pretty quick, too,” Small said.

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @skrajisnik3. 

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: How Mississippi State baseball prepared Brewers' Ethan Small for MLB