MLB: Breaking down 4 of the game’s top pitching prospects
By Sean Basile
Early on in the 2022 MLB regular season, several teams have trotted out their top pitching prospects for their Major League debuts.
In this article, we’re going to go through four of MLB’s top pitching prospects and break down what makes them so special … or perhaps not so special.
The facts and figures I will use will be as of April 26, just in case you happen to stumble upon this after each stud rookie pitcher’s next starts, and all of this info can be found directly on Baseball Savant.
Let’s get started and begin in dreary Seattle……
Matt Brash, Seattle Mariners
Brash is the Mariners’ number 6 overall prospect according to MLB.com and the number 3 pitching prospect behind George Kirby and Emerson Hancock.
He has gotten off to a decent start thus far, pitching to a 1-1 record with a 4.20 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 15 innings.
Even in his one loss against the White Sox in his debut, he allowed just a pair of earned runs in 5.1 innings of work with six strikeouts also to his credit.
Like many young pitchers, walks are what is seeming to be his issue out of the gate. He had six against the Astros in his second game in just 5.1 innings, and then he followed that up with four against the Royals in 4.1 innings during his most recent start.
Control is not there right now, but that is an issue that can be cleaned up, especially with the caliber of stuff Brash has at his disposal.
If you’ve read any of my work here on Call to the Pen, you already know how much I love me some spin.
The fastball spin for Brash is not there quite yet, sitting at just 2,206 rpm (well below average). However, the velo is certainly plentiful as he’s sitting pretty at close to 96 mph on his number one pitch.
But have no fear. Brash has himself elite level spin on both of his breaking pitches, and that is going to make him a serious weapon in this Mariners rotation for years to come … once he irons out his command of course.
The typical rpm rate for curveballs in today’s game is around 2,500 rpm give or take, while the typical slider spin is closer to 2,400 rpm.
Brash, in just three professional starts and 138 pitches between the curve and slider, has demonstrated 2,812 rpm of spin on his slider and 2,885 rpm on his curve. It cannot get more elite than that, especially for a rookie.
He throws hard and has electric secondary pitches. Once he becomes more comfortable and reels in his control, Matt Brash could be a top-of-the-line starter in this league.