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D-backs' Augenstein learning in AFL

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Bryan Augenstein made the jump from Double-A to the Majors last May. (Bill Mitchell/Four Seam Images)

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By Danny Wild / MLB.com

11/10/09 6:32 PM EST

It's been nearly six months since Bryan Augenstein fought his nerves in his Major League debut in Phoenix. The 23-year-old was back in town and on the mound Tuesday afternoon, hoping to prove he's ready for another chance.

Augenstein allowed three hits and struck out two over four innings in his best start of the fall as the Scottsdale Scorpions blanked the Phoenix Desert Dogs, 2-0. The right-hander reached 93 mph on the radar gun with his fastball and was happy to finally have a solid outing.

"It's been a ride, all season long," said Augenstein, who began the year at Double-A and finished it in the D-backs' bullpen. "The hitters in Double-A are pretty good, and I was feeling really good at the beginning of the year. I had decent starts [with Arizona], but not the greatest. I learned a lot all season."

Augenstein (1-3) stressed that his stint in the Arizona Fall League is primarily a learning experience. Like many others in the circuit, he's working on refining his pitches, command and building confidence for 2010.

"I feel much more comfortable with any situation now," he said. "I'm fine-tuning the small things and trying to be as consistent as possible. That's the biggest difference between pitching up in the Majors -- being consistent."

Consistency has eluded the Florida native this fall -- he's endured a pair of rough outings with Scottsdale, allowing four runs over 1 2/3 innings in his debut on Oct. 17 and five runs over 1 2/3 frames in his previous start on Nov. 4.

Things finally clicked Tuesday.

"The two starts I did pretty bad in, it was mostly establishing the strike zone," he said. "The fastball is the big one for me, but I need to throw my sinker, that gets me the majority of my outs. Establishing that early is really important for me."

The University of Florida product, who features a fastball, slider and change along with a sinker, walked one and lowered his AFL ERA to 4.72. He threw 32 of 48 pitches for strikes and induced eight grounders and a pair of fly balls.

"This start, I commanded my fastball on both sides of the plate and that really allowed me to establish the fastball," he said. "I got behind hitters in my last start, so it was hard going to secondary pitches. My changeup was really good today, I've been working on that as well."

The right-hander had an early lead to protect after Phillies prospect Domonic Brown lined an RBI single in the first inning. Rockies shortstop Hector Gomez hit a one-out RBI double in the second to make it 2-0.

Athletics right-hander James Simmons (1-3) allowed both runs on five hits over four innings for Phoenix.

Augenstein, Arizona's seventh-round pick in the 2007 Draft, came out of Spring Training with Double-A Mobile but was called up to the Majors on May 13 for his debut against Cincinnati. He allowed 11 runs over 11 1/3 innings in two starts with the Diamondbacks and was assigned to Triple-A Reno for much of the season. Arizona gave him another shot in September, but he was limited to bullpen work.

"It was a great experience. Obviously with my starts earlier in the year, my nerves were going, but I made my Major League debut and that's everything you can ever ask for," he said. "Coming back with a September call-up as a reliever, it wasn't something I was used to. I hadn't relieved my entire year, but I learned a lot from that, too."

Augenstein is back to starting in the AFL, but it doesn't mean he'll have that role if he gets back to the Majors next spring. Whatever the role, he hopes it'll be in the big leagues.

"If they come up with more starters, I'm open to a relieving role as well," he said. "It's definitely a learning process and I'm happy with how everything went this year."

A Midwest League All-Star for Class A South Bend in 2008, the 23-year-old shot through the D-backs system in three years. He's still a work-in-progress, though.

"I'm learning a lot. When you have a bad outing, that's when the best pitchers learn the most. They find what they can do to get better," Augenstein said. "So I'm trying to learn as much as I can, feel my body out, see what I need to make changes on and come into Spring Training with the best conditioning my body can be in. Hopefully, I can earn a spot to be in the big leagues next year."

Danny Wild is an editor for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.