Wednesday news and notes

The Reds have signed Andrew Brackman to a MLB deal. There is a lot to talk about with this deal.

The good: Brackman has very good stuff when he is on the top of his game. When at the top of his game, he throws 91-94 and touches 97 MPH with good life on the pitch. When on top of his curveball, it rates out as a plus pitch in the high 70’s to low 80’s. While his change up lacks behind his other pitches, it is an average MLB pitch. He has a fourth option year to use (he has used 3 to this point in his career). He is incredibly athletic. He has size that is nearly unrivaled in baseball history.

The bad: He has a long history of struggling to throw strikes. In college, he walked 4.46 hitters per 9 innings for his career. In 2009, he walked 6.41 batters per 9 innings after having Tommy John surgery and missing all of 2008. He walked 7.03 guys per 9 innings in 2011 (he only walked 2.5 in 2010 between A+/AA). He only has one option remaining.

There is plenty to like and dislike at this point with Brackman. The upside is most certainly there, but it is a big risk to think he can help out the Major League team right now because of his control. With that said, he believes he has figured out his control problems:

“I’m 100 percent confident that I’ve got the thing with walks fixed,” he said. “I haven’t stopped throwing since the season ended. I’ve been throwing regular bullpens down here at North Carolina State.”

Brackman said the biggest part of turning it around is mental.

“It’s confidence,” he said. “I’ve got to be confident that I can throw all my pitches in any count.”

I am cautiously optimistic here, but I do hope that at most, the Reds are relying on him as the last guy out of the bullpen for now and move forward from there depending on his spring training. What do you guys think?

It has been a while since I have updated on the guys playing winter ball. Here is how those guys have been doing.