The conversation could have been deflating, the one where you’re told you’re not good enough – at least not yet – and really, there isn’t much else you could’ve done. After all, your body doesn’t perform the same as your competition.

In sports, that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? It just means that the guys without the golden arms need to work a little harder, and bide their time. In the end, it’s what helped Donovan Hand get over the fact he was being sent down the minor leagues for the seventh consecutive season instead of Alfredo Figaro.

"He throws 98 miles an hour," Hand said. "They could’ve taken either one of us and been fine but it’s hard not go with an arm. So, I didn’t take it as a demotion, a cut, I took it as I made my impression, I stayed to the last cut, I’d done everything that I wanted to do. I gave myself a shot at some point during the season.

Hand turned 27 while pitching in Nashville in April, four months removed from getting married and spending his offseason working on his stuff in winter ball down in Venezuela.

He has been a good reliever for the Brewers in their minor league system, beginning back in 2007 when he was drafted in the 14th round out of Jacksonville State University in his home state of Alabama. He climbed the ladder as you should – moving from Rookie ball to Triple A in two and a half years. But that’s where he got stuck.

"You’re always like ‘I want my shot, I want my shot,’" he said. "Of course it’d be nice to be up here in two years like some guys. But sometimes it don’t work out. This game is a lot about timing. I moved quick through the minor leagues all because of timing. Some guys got traded and I was like this stuff is easy, I’m going right up through and the big leagues next year. But no. it’s not like that some guys do, but it’s a lot about timing."

Hand pitched in 120 games for Nashville between 2010 and 2013 before finally getting the call to aid a depleted Milwaukee Brewers pitching staff at the end of May.

"I didn’t expect it that early," he admitted. "I was thinking maybe All-Star break and see what happens. I was very level-headed. Venezuela helped me out with that. Last season helped me out with a lot of ups and downs, being 27 years old with six years in the minor. I wasn’t discouraged at all. I was encouraged. Not encouraged by being cut (in the spring), but encouraged that I made it that far. There are a lot of good arms, a lot of 40-man guys that didn’t get the opportunity I did. I tried to take that opportunity as encouragement."

Since being in Milwaukee, he has been invaluable, filling the long-man role out of the bullpen and occasionally making spot starts.

"Great spring; really liked what he did," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "I like what he can do. I think he keeps the ball down well. I think he can mix speeds enough that he should be a good major league pitcher."

There might have been some question if Hand was going to be able to get thrown right into the mix after finally getting his shot, however. After all, it did take him 226 minor league games to get to Miller Park. Roenicke, for one, felt he would be able to manage it because of all that experience.

"Anytime you can deal with failure and you bounce back and you do well it’s going to prepare you for whatever level you go to," Roenicke said. "(But) some guys, they never got their chance, then they finally get their chance and they put too much pressure on themselves. So, you can look at it both ways. I thin overall, a guy who has spent more time there is going to be able to adapt to this environment a little bit quicker than a young guy who’s just coming up."

"I was ready for the moment, honestly," Hand said. "I had a great spring training. I prepared myself. I had a great first month or two in Nashville, so I was ready for the moment."

He’s living in it now, savoring each day in a Brewers uniform. Hand felt he earned his place with his body of work in the minors – now he needs to build that in the majors. As he knows, the timing of roster moves and injuries could help – or hinder – that development.

"You gotta be open minded, that’s all there is to it," he said of his immediate future with the club. "That’s the reason I’m here, because I can throw a lot. I’ve been durable the last couple years and been able to throw long, short, three out of four days, or sit five days and go and still have decent stuff.

"Obviously I don’t want to go back down, nobody does – it’s kind of an ice life to live here – and it’s easy to play in a ballpark like this every day. I’m open minded. I do take it day by day because I don’t want to take anything for granted. I worked hard to get here and it took a while longer than I wanted to to get here so it’s day by day and enjoy every day and if the next day’s the last, then you don’t have any regrets."