Tidy health report suits Mundelein's Murphy

Two MRIs of Brendan Murphy's left shoulder are as clean as his apartment.

That's good news, actually.

"I haven't had any elbow pain, any structural shoulder pain," Murphy, the former Mundelein pitcher who was drafted and signed by the Milwaukee Brewers last summer, said from Arizona.

The bad news is that the 19-year-old lefty hasn't been on a mound since April after feeling pain in his lat muscle in late March while getting ready to pitch in an intrasquad game.

The lat strain has sidelined the Brewers' 2017 fourth-round draft choice the entire summer. And with the minor league seasons ending in a couple of weeks, Murphy's best bet to get on the mound anytime soon appears to be instructional league next month.

He's aiming for that.

"I've gotten a lot stronger, shoulder-wise, lat-wise," said the 6-foot-4, 200-pounder. "We're going to take some more time off to let it heal. Based on how I feel is what I do for the day. There's no specific, set plan."

Murphy, who signed a letter of intent to pitch for Arizona State University in Tempe before deciding instead to pitch for the Brewers, is living in Phoenix and adjusting to life as a professional baseball player. It's been tough on several levels, especially considering for the first time in his life he hasn't been able to play the game he loves.

He was a two-time captain of the Daily Herald Lake County All-Area team.

"I've never been hurt or anything," said Murphy, who won 27 games in three varsity seasons for Mundelein and helped the Mustangs finished second in the state his junior year, but struggled after signing with Milwaukee, posting a 6.19 ERA in 16 innings in the Arizona League. "It stinks because all of my friends that I was drafted with are in Montana (Advanced Rookie ball) doing really well. I have a couple that stayed back with me, and it's good to have them around."

Murphy is rooming with two other ballplayers, both from Australia, and learning about more than just baseball. He cooks - and even cleans.

"My apartment's cleaner than my room has been my entire life," Murphy said with a laugh.

Murphy had a pair of MRIs on the his shoulder in the spring and said a cortisone shot "worked for about a week" before the pain returned in the front of his shoulder.

"We started focusing more on the lat when I came back here (to Arizona), and it's been feeling better," Murphy said. "I've been doing a lot of (physical therapy) and (plyometrics) to keep my arm active."

While Murphy has been relegated to working with weighted balls and playing long toss, he knows the smart move is to stay patient with his recovery plan. He worked out with former Mundelein lefty Ryan Borucki all last winter and watched him finally fulfill his dream of reaching the majors this summer after six years in the minors.

Borucki was called up by Toronto in late June and has made 10 starts for the Blue Jays.

"I've been talking to him quite frequently because when he was drafted he had elbow problems," Murphy said. "I've just been admiring what he's been doing up in the big leagues."

The pain in Murphy's shoulder has gone away, he said. Now he just has to keep moving forward with his rehab and focus on his long-term future. He doesn't turn 20 until January.

"It's slow," he said of his recovery. "But I'm happy it's slow, rather than coming back really fast and getting hurt and having more injuries. It is what it is."

And for now, it's not bad.