Brackman Shines in Bats Debut

The 6’10” right hander was rated one of the top high school pitchers in the country while at Cincinnati Moeller. During his senior year he led their basketball team to the Ohio state championship while finishing as runner-up for Mr. Basketball. At NC State he averaged 7.5 ppg for the Wolfpack hoopsters before electing to only focus on baseball.

Native Cincinnatian Andrew Brackman got his 2012 season off to a great start last night as the Louisville Bats won 9-3 at Toledo. He picked up the win by limiting the Mud Hens to one run on two hits and one walk while striking out four over six innings. He came home to the Reds as a free agent after spending four seasons in the New York Yankees organization who selected him in the first round of the 2007 draft out of North Carolina State.

The 6’10” right hander was rated one of the top high school pitchers in the country while at Cincinnati Moeller. During his senior year he led their basketball team to the Ohio state championship while finishing as runner-up for Mr. Basketball. At NC State he averaged 7.5 ppg for the Wolfpack hoopsters over his first two years. After electing to focus only on baseball a hip injury sabotaged his sophomore season. His junior year was cut short by elbow injuries that caused his draft stock to slip, making him available for the Yankees’ 30th overall selection.

His professional career got off to a rocky start with Tommy John surgery in August 2007. After returning to the mound in 2009, he put up a 5 ERA with 190 BB in 343 IP over three seasons. He was used as starter until the Yankees moved him to the bullpen at AAA in the second half of last season. He did manage two scoreless innings in the big leagues before the Yankees declined his option in October.

Last night was a glimpse of what the Reds had hoped when they inked Brackman to the one-year deal that put him on their 40-man roster. He’s been known to have a fastball that consistently hits mid-90’s. When on his game he is effective at inducing ground balls due to the downward trajectory that comes from his height. Last night he coaxed 10 ground ball outs with only three flies. He mixes speeds with a curveball coming in around 80 mph and an occasional change-up.

Brackman, now 26, and the Reds are hopeful that his injury problems are behind him. If he overcomes control issues that have haunted him as a professional we could see his intimidating figure on the mound in a Reds uniform by the end of this season. So far….so good.