MILWAUKEE -- At this time last year, Hiram Burgos was preparing to make his next scheduled start for Brevard County in Single-A. Now he's one day away from making his Major League debut.
Burgos was recalled from Triple-A Nashville to start for the Brewers against the Cubs on Saturday at Miller Park.
"Right now I just feel really proud, and I'm happy and excited to be here," Burgos said. "I'm going to just keep working hard and do the same things I was doing or better."
Though his record with Nashville was 0-2, Burgos was commanding the baseball well, according to Brewers manager Ron Roenicke. The minor league pitcher of the year in Milwaukee's organization last season, Burgos had a 2.70 ERA for the Sounds in three starts.
Burgos carried over last season's success at three different levels of the minor leagues to his time pitching in the World Baseball Classic, allowing just one run in 13 innings for his home country of Puerto Rico.
The experience of pitching in big games - Puerto Rico made it to the championship game - has been beneficial to the 25-year-old.
"I think going through the WBC probably helped him a lot with what is going to happen tomorrow," Roenicke said. "Those were some big games that he was involved in and he pitched really well. I think he's going to be fine."
And though he has been waiting for this opportunity for some time, Burgos isn't expecting to be overwhelmed by his first trip to the big league mound.
"In baseball you always get those butterflies in your stomach," Burgos said. "After you throw your first pitch, everything goes away. I just have to be focused and try to win a ballgame.
"When you go through a lot of stuff when you are long, it's not like you get fear or anything. It's just another game. You have to enjoy it. That's my mentality right now."
As for Mike Fiers' demotion to Triple-A, Roenicke called the move "necessary", saying it would have been hard to get him back on track in the bullpen.
Green's season over: After having his hip examined Thursday by Brewers team physician William Raasch, infielder Taylor Green will have season-ending surgery Tuesday in Milwaukee.
The 26-year-old injured the hip during spring training and aggravated the injury diving for a ground ball.
Green described the pain in his hip as more of a sharp pain like one would get if they threw out their back. The injury comes at a bad time for Green, as opportunity to get playing time at the big league level was never greater because of injuries to third baseman Aramis Ramirez and first baseman Corey Hart.
"It would have been nice, but it's been sore for awhile," Green said. "It will be good to have it healthy."
Follow Andrew Gruman on Twitter.
