Diamondbacks left-hander Mitch Bratt joins the group in St. Louis, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Bratt is currently in the taxi squad but is expected to be fit for Wednesday’s game. He’s already on the 40-man roster but the Snakes will need to make a consistent plan to make room.
The move may be in response to the recent injury woes the Diamondbacks have suffered. For most of the season, they had a quintet Merrill Kelly, Zac Gallen, Eduardo Rodríguez, Ryne Nelson again Michael Soroka.
Nelson hit the injured list four days ago with an elbow strain. Lefty glue put Soroka on IL the next day. Gallen took the ball on Saturday. Hope José Cabrera called to start on Sunday. Kelly took the ball yesterday and Rodríguez is scheduled to start tonight. No starter is listed for Wednesday. That could be Bratt or he could serve as the big man behind the opener.
Bratt, 22, was selected by the Rangers in the fifth round in 2021. He was one of the three players the Nyoka acquired when they traded Kelly to the Rangers at last year’s deadline. They later re-signed Kelly as a free agent in the offseason. They added Bratt to their 40-man roster in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.
The lefty Bratt doesn’t have a very powerful arsenal. His four-seamer and sinker both average between 90 and 91 miles per hour this year. He also throws a curveball, changeup and slider, although some classify the last pitch as a cutter. Despite the lack of gas, he was able to put up good numbers thanks to tight control of that arsenal.
He threw 424 2/3 innings in his minor league career overall, allowing 3.22 earned runs per nine. He struck out opponents at a solid 28.1% clip while only giving up walks 6.1% of the time. That includes 44 1/3 innings this year with a 2.84 ERA, a 24.7% strikeout rate and a 7.1% walk rate.
Baseball America currently ranks him as the #13 prospect in the Arizona program. FanGraphs had him ranked #20 after the offseason. Both outlets highlight his control-over-power profile. BA is optimistic, he feels Bratt has a chance to work as a middle rotation arm Marco Gonzales mold. FG envisions a traveler’s path as such Erasmo Ramírez it is very possible.
Bratt’s long streak won’t be resolved this week. For now, the Diamondbacks just need to find some stability in the rotation. Bratt recently spent a few weeks on the minor league injured list but returned last Wednesday, throwing 48 pitches in four innings. He may not be a full-time mentor but he can give the club a few decent innings.
Whether he sticks around beyond that remains to be seen. The Snakes lack depth in the rotation but have recently posted Brandon Pfaadt down for the children to stretch. He has started three minor league games in recent weeks but has yet to reach four innings. The latest, on Saturday, saw him go 3 2/3 while throwing 52 pitches. The Snakes can call him up or keep him in Triple-A to continue his expansion. If he comes up, either Cabrera or Bratt could be optioned back to Triple-A Reno.
Assuming the Diamondbacks stay in the playoff race, perhaps they could look for some rotation help at the deadline. It was once hoped that Corbin Burns he might be back by the All-Star break but he struggled and now won’t be able to pick until September at best. With Nelson and Soroka now on the IL as well, and with Gallen and Kelly struggling, the starting lineup as a whole feels fragile.
Photo courtesy of Allan Henry, Imagn Images
