On a Milwaukee Brewers team laden with players who have produced unexpected performances, Tobias Myers resides right at the top of the list.

The right-handed pitcher made his major-league debut April 23, bounced back and forth between Milwaukee and Class AAA Nashville four times and has been a regular member of the starting rotation since June 7.

Myers already has posted the Brewers' two longest starts of the season, eight innings apiece on June 7 and July 10, and through 16 appearances (15 starts) he's posted a 6-4 record, 3.10 ERA – best among Milwaukee starters – and a WHIP of 1.14 with 73 strikeouts in 81⅓ innings.

Not bad at all for a guy who's with his sixth major-league organization, having signed as a minor-league free agent on Nov. 10, 2022, and ranks in only the 29th percentile with a 92.7-mph average fastball.

Myers took some time recently to answer questions from the Journal Sentinel's Todd Rosiak.

You’re in the midst of an unexpected and tremendous season. Do you wake up some mornings and feel the urge to pinch yourself?

Myers: Not that I didn't believe that it could happen. You hear stories – you're in the minor leagues, you see guys go up, struggle, come back down. Go up, struggle, come back. It takes them a few times to figure it out. And I did do that. I went up a few times, came back down. I'm not going to say I’ve figured everything out, but I think the things that hold rookies and the young guys back from having success is thinking a lot, and I think I've done a pretty good job of kind of just taking everything out of it and just treating this just like I would in Triple-A, Double-A, High-A. Wherever I would be, just, this is my team, and I'm just going to go out there every five days. It's a little easier up here to really compete for your team because there's nowhere else to go. In the minor leagues, you get lost in some games. It's a Wednesday in the middle of June, and no one really cares too much about the team. But you come up here, and no matter if it's April, May, June or September, every game is very important. And I love that part of it. I love the competitiveness of the big leagues. And I think just not looking too much into everything, just going day by day, just trying to figure out what I have to do today, and do my best at that, and move on to the next day.

You turn 26 on Aug. 5. Based on the wisdom you’ve accrued during your pro career and all the stops you’ve made, doesn’t it seem like you should be 35 or so?

Myers: I don’t feel young (laughs). I feel good. My body feels fine. But just, the amount of years I've been in the pro ball scene, yeah, it does feel like I've learned a lot, and I just got to the big leagues. But I've been to three big-league camps, and I've been around big-leaguers for a long time, so just trying to learn as much as I can from them. Yeah, it's a lot of fun. It's definitely a lot of fun. Just trying to go at it day by day. That's been just the best part about being up here, is the way the (veterans) treat me. Everybody's so great. Like, you hear all these crazy stories of what they do to rookies. I haven't experienced it too much. They've been amazing. And I can't thank this staff enough, and this team. And it shows. That's why we get some of the young guys coming up here and doing well – it’s because they make you feel like family. They make you feel like you're part of the team. And that's what is missing a lot of times.

Have there been times where you haven’t been comfortable somewhere?

Myers: Definitely that full 2022 year where I got traded in the offseason to Cleveland. And I loved that group of players over there. A great group, still close with a good amount of them. But then leaving there, going to San Francisco for a month or so, and then leaving there, going to Chicago, I'd say that was one of the years where I didn't feel as comfortable and was just kind of trying to do way too much. Trying to prove myself every single day, instead of just going out there and pitching and just doing what I can do, I think that's been the biggest difference. And then when I came over here last year, immediately, for some reason, I just felt really, really comfortable with the group and with the staff. Their philosophy is very similar to, in my opinion on the pitching side, to Tampa Bay, who I came up with. They shove in my face what I'm doing really well and they just want me to continue that and just get a little bit better every day. And I think that keeping it simple is very good for me.

You were a combined 1-15 with a 7.82 ERA in 23 games (22 starts) for three different Class AAA teams in 2022. Did things ever get so bad for you that season that you were questioning yourself or staying in the game?

Myers: Not that deep. But, yeah, in that season, it was tough. It was not fun at all. It was a struggle every day. Struggling to get up and go to the field with energy, and you just wake up and you know that's your identity. Which it's not, but that's where I was. I was in my head, thinking. It was just being young, not experienced enough, and just thinking like, ‘This is my identity. This is how people look at me.’ But they really didn't. And that whole year, my teammates were great to me, which – I wasn't helping them at all, on the field but they were great to me. Just going home that offseason, I was like, ‘You know what? I just need to get home and clear my head. Just reset everything.’ I went to a different facility. Not that it was their fault at all; just training-wise, I went back to my (former) guy and kind of just got some familiar faces around me and just went back to work. And I wasn't really too stressed, because I knew I didn't really prepare that well going into that season, and then all the moves in the middle of that year (made it worse). I think I spent four weeks in Arizona just playing catch, not really doing too much. So, I knew that didn't help me at all. I was just ready to get home and reset everything. I took a week off from throwing, went right back into it, and got back to work and felt pretty good. Felt pretty normal, like myself, I'd say by beginning of December.

And then you got another chance to start fresh with the Brewers. That jump-started your career, didn't it?

Myers: A couple familiar faces over here as well. They gave me a big-league invite (to spring training) after going 1-15 with an 8.00 ERA. That’s all I could ask for. That was my main focus – try to get a big-league invite, get myself in front of these coaches and show them what I can do.

You’ve played for 13 different minor-league teams dating to your first year in 2016 and most recently this season at Class AAA Nashville. Isn’t that a lifetime of experience in pro ball?

Myers: Most definitely. And on top of that, I think I have like, four rings in the minor leagues. We won short season with Tampa, low-A with Tampa. High-A, we were going to win it, but we got that hurricane in 2019 in Florida that canceled everything. We had a really, really good chance to win that, and then Triple-A in 2021. So, I had a good team pretty much every single year. It was a lot of fun. We were always winning. It was fun to play. It was definitely a good experience for me. I think that’s kind of what I'm feeling right now with this team. The camaraderie we have, the fun we have, and the seriousness we have as well on the field, I think it's very similar to what I had coming up with Tampa. We were all really, really close. We had the same group together each level – Low-A, High-A, whatever. And we just got really close-knit. And it felt fun. It felt like a game. It felt like there wasn't too much pressure every single night. And then I leave Tampa and get to another place where I'm not that comfortable, and I needed to adjust a little quicker. And I just put all my energy into trying to pitch perfect instead of just have fun, meet some new guys, and let things fall into place. I was trying to force everything. ‘Do this, this, this,’ instead of just having fun and enjoying it. I think that's what I'm doing best now and last year, just enjoying my peers, having fun and hopefully making some lifelong friendships.

You were traded by Tampa Bay to Cleveland in 2021 for Junior Caminero, who became a big prospect and broke into the majors last year at age 19. Cleveland didn’t ultimately receive the payoff, but here you’re the guy who’s making a big impact at the highest level now. Do you ever hear that narrative?

Myers:  Last year, me being in Double-A the whole season, I had the privilege to face him, I think, like 14 at-bats. And I think he was 2 for 14. Good battles. He's a really, really, good player, a really talented player. I’m sure you guys are going to be seeing him for the next 10 years. But it's been cool. I've been traded twice for major-league players. So, that just makes you feel wanted and just puts your confidence up a little bit. But after that season in ’22, yeah, I deleted my Twitter for that reason right there – just too much going on, But it's fun now. I haven't seen him in about a year, but if I do see him, we're cool. We talk, of course. I wish him the best. I mean, I don't think he needs it because he's a pretty good baseball player (laughs).

Since you’ve kind of burst onto the scene this season, it seems like nobody really knows much about you personally. So, what would you like people to know about you?

Myers: I don't have too many crazy hobbies. Like to play some video games. Like to spend some time with the fiancee, friends, family. Me and the fiancee love to go try different coffee shops in different cities. That's one of our little things we like to do, especially traveling to all these big-league cities. It's cool to go try different foods. But I just picked up on golf this offseason. Fully addicted. I think it was really good for me, because I never really had an offseason habit or routine. It was always just train, go back, walk the dogs, or do the house stuff. Just go through the day. But this offseason, I got into golf and had something to take my mind off baseball. I think that really helped out a lot, just being able to go train, then I can just take my mind off baseball and just live my normal life, and instead of putting every single thing into baseball. And as far as personality, just kind of quiet, like to have fun. Once I get comfortable, I get a little bit louder and start annoying some of the older guys. Just try to be a good teammate, good person every day, and just help the team win as much as I can, whether it's on the mound, the dugout, BP, whatever. Just try to keep things loose and have some fun.

You’re a native Floridian who, as we’ve talked about, has lived all over the country. Where does Milwaukee rank for you?

Myers: I really like Milwaukee. I love it. I've been in the city, staying in the downtown area. And I love how there's a lot to do, but it's not overwhelming. We've had some events over the past couple weeks where, yeah, it'll get pretty rowdy and a lot of traffic and what not. I'm not a huge big-city guy. Like, if I had a chance to live somewhere, it would not be in, like, New York City, Chicago. It wouldn't be a big city, Here, you can go downtown and have a nice dinner, walk and you don't have to worry about parking issues and traffic and everything. So, yeah, I love Milwaukee. No complaints at all.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Get to know Q&A with Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Tobias Myers