Brian Pearl entered 2013 coming off of a previous season where he had both success and struggles. He was dominant as the Bakersfield Blaze closer but really struggled with the transition to AA where he posted an ERA just over 7.00 with Pensacola in the second half of the season. He would begin the season on the DL, but would make his debut in the middle of April with the Bakersfield Blaze.
Pearl would begin his season with two perfect innings on April 16th for the Bakersfield Blaze where he struck out two hitters. That game set the tone for his return to Bakersfield as he would throw five more games with the Blaze on the month and only allow 1 runs with 8 more strikeouts to finish the month with a 1.29 ERA in 7 innings with 2 walks and 10 strikeouts to go along with a0.86 WHIP.
May began with a quick appearance where the righty reliever would face just one batter as he picked up the save on the 1st of the month. He would follow that up with 4 more innings over the next 8 day with one earned run before being promoted to Double-A Pensacola. His first game back at the level didn’t go well as he allowed 4 runs over 0.2 innings against Chattanooga. He rebounded well with 2 perfect innings two days later against Chattanooga and would finish out the month allowing just one more run over 8.1 innings with 6 strikeouts. On the month between two stops he posted a 4.05 ERA in 13.1 innings with 5 walks and 11 strikeouts.
June began with a shutout inning against Montgomery where he also added a strikeout, though Montgomery would get a run against him in his next outing over 1.2 innings. Pearl would throw 3.1 shutout innings with 3 strikeouts over his next three outings before making his final appearance of the month on the 14th against Mobile. He allowed a run in an inning of work before being placed on the disabled list 10 days later. For the month he would finish with a 2.57 ERA over 7 innings with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts.
The right hander would come off the the disabled list and get into a game on the 2nd of July, though he didn’t record an out while allowing an earned run. Pearl would throw 1.2 shutout innings between the 6th and 10th before making his final appearance of the season where he allowed a solo home run against Montgomery in an inning of work. He was placed on the disabled list with a shoulder strain on the 18th and would not return. He finished out July with a 6.75 ERA in 2.2 innings.
Season Stats
| Team | W | L | ERA | SV | IP | H | HR | BB | K | WHIP | BB% | K% | K/BB |
| Bakersfield | 0 | 0 | 1.59 | 3 | 11.1 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 1.24 | 10.6% | 29.8% | 2.8 |
| Pensacola | 3 | 0 | 4.58 | 0 | 17.2 | 23 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 1.53 | 5.3% | 15.8% | 3.0 |
| Total | 3 | 0 | 3.41 | 3 | 29.0 | 32 | 2 | 9 | 26 | 1.41 | 7.3% | 21.1% | 2.9 |
Overall Thoughts
Brian Pearl was rebounding well from a disappointing second half in 2012 with what he had been doing before getting injured, having posted a 3.41 ERA in 29 innings with good walk and strikeout rates. He lost a season to Tommy John surgery a year after he was drafted and now he is looking at missing another year after undergoing surgery once again after his 2013 season ended prematurely.
For more player season review, you can see the entire list here.