Tag Archive for 'Andrew Brackman'

Prospect Watch – Andrew Brackman April 30, 2009

Published
by
thesportsidiot
on April 30, 2009
in AL East, Andrew Brackman, Fantasy Baseball, MLB, MLB Prospects, NC State and New York Yankees
. 0 Comments

NC State fans know Andrew Brackman pretty well, as he was a two sport star during his time in Raleigh.  New York Yankee fans will one day know the kid’s name pretty well themselves.  The sports betting guys will learn to love him also. The Yankees took Brackman with their first round pick in the 2007 draft.  When they did so, Brackman was experiencing elbow pain, which lead to him getting Tommy John surgery later that year.  Just to make sure he would not see any time on the diamond in 2008 he went ahead and had an appendectomy.

Now Brack is back, however, and he is working on getting back into form.  Andrew is a big kid, going for 6′10″ and 270 pounds.  With a high 90’s fastball that he can reach back and get triple digits on from time to time, Brack can overpower batters.  He can also fool them with his curve, choosing either the conventional style or a knuckle curve.  Brack is developing a changeup, and when he masters it look out.

While he is not expected to contribute to the big league club this year, Brack is on the 40 man active roster.  Baseball America pegged him as the number three prospect in the Yankees’ system, and they think that with his athletic ability that he surpasses other tall pitchers in his ability to be consistent with his delivery and his “aptitude” of the game.  If you check out Brack’s stats so far this season, you will not be overly impressed.  He touts a 5.23 ERA through four starts.  In those four starts he has only logged 20.2 innings, but of course he is on a tight pitch count to open the year.  His K/9 is sitting at 8.9, but his B/9 sits at 3.5.  Credit much of that to rust; Brackman did miss about a year and a half of time due to his injuries.

So while Brack sits here on April 30th with a record of 0 – 2, a 5.23 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP, you should still take notice of him.  At age 23, he should begin his climb towards the Majors this season.  So if you live in Charleston, go see him pitch for the RiverDogs before it is too late.  I do not expect him to be there too long.  I also do not expect him to be called up this year, and if he is it will be late in the season.  Brack should have zero impact on the 2009 fantasy baseball season.