The initial conversation between manager Greg Tagert and pitcher Trevor Lubking did not go exactly as planned.

Over the winter, the RailCats acquired Lubking in a trade with Sussex County in the Can-Am League with the intention of using him as a starter. The hard-throwing left-hander had been told by organizations he was more suited to work out of the bullpen.

So the mention of the rotation — a place Lubking had not been since his first professional season in 2014 — gave him pause.

But he kept an open mind.

And Lubking has emerged as the RailCats’ top starter.

He’s 4-3 with a 3.83 ERA in nine games after a rough outing Sunday night in St. Paul.

“I hadn’t started in a long time, and I was a little skeptical,” Lubking said. “I had some reservations. But after going through spring training and talking to Greg a little bit more, that’s the route we decided to go.

“I’m happy about it. I’m having a good time starting.”

After analyzing Lubking’s background and talent, Tagert was confident the 26-year-old from Washington would flourish as a starter.

“At first he wasn’t as excited as I thought he’d be about the opportunity to start, but he’s really taken to this four-man rotation,” Tagert said of Lubking. “Logging a lot of innings at a small college, he was dominant at that level. Guys from that environment have done well with us, and he’s really adapted to it well.”

Tampa Bay selected Lubking out of Pacific Lutheran in the 14th round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft.

He spent one season with the Rays and another in the Milwaukee Brewers organization.

Lubking missed the 2016 and 2017 seasons because of an elbow injury.

He was with Winnipeg in 2016 when he started experiencing problems. He tried rehabilitation, but it wasn’t working, so he went home on Father’s Day of that year.

He was throwing in the spring of 2017 when the injury popped up again.

A doctor in Seattle quickly diagnosed the issue as a calcification and grinding of the olecranon process, the bony tip of the elbow.

Lubking underwent surgery, having a piece of bone with the diameter of a quarter removed.

Lubking returned last season, pitching for three independent teams. After a shaky stint with Gateway in the Frontier League, he got into a groove with San Rafael in the Pacific Association, before ending 2018 with Lincoln.

“It was a good way to get back on the circuit,” Lubking said. “I built back up.”

After Lincoln traded Lubking to Sussex County, the RailCats made a deal to land him.

“He’s done a nice job,” Tagert said of Lubking. “He has a bright future ahead of him — he really does. It can be said of anybody who has an arm like his, but once he shows more command, you can really talk about his ceiling.”

Lubking has continued to make strides.

“My pitches have been working,” he said. “There have been a couple of hiccups, but things have been going well. My arm has been bouncing back, I’ve felt good, and I’ve been able to use all of my pitches.”