With the 2019 MLB draft now less than two weeks away, one can’t help but look back to last year’s event and recall the trio of pitchers the Dodgers selected over the first several rounds.
Right-hander Michael Grove and lefty John Rooney were chosen in the second and third roundsof the draft, respectively. Both immediately entered the Dodgers’ top prospect rankings amid their first years in the system. Grove has already worked his way up to High-A Rancho Cucamonga and is ranked as the 14th best prospect in the system by MLB Pipeline, while Rooney isn’t far behind in Low-A Great Lakes as the 23rd best prospect in the organization.
But there’s another future star, righty Braydon Fisher, who could be as good as either Grove or Rooney. After undergoing UCL surgery just last month, Fisher will be spending his entire season with the AZL League Dodgers as he begins a long recovery program.
Despite being on the shelf, the 18-year-old Texas native is currently rated as the 22nd best prospect in the Los Angeles system, just ahead of Rooney.
Fisher was kind enough to sit down with us last weekend and chat about a few things related to his baseball career.
He was the Dodgers’ fourth-round selection in 2018 out of Clear Falls High School in Texas and was somewhat of a surprise pick. Despite earning TSWA 6A All-State honors, he wasn’t a regular on the summer showcase circuit as a junior, which made him a bit of an unknown on the national level. Nevertheless, he did emerge at the World Wood Bat Association Championships, where his physical build and velocity impressed scouts to the point of making him a Top 150 pick.
He made it to the desert in time to log nine starts for the AZL Dodgers last year, tallying 11 appearances—two in relief—compiling a 1-2 record with a 2.05 ERA. He struck out 19 and walked nine batters over an even 22 innings of work. While throwing a bullpen early this spring, Fisher hyper-extended his elbow which was the catalyst for the surgery.
“I have always dealt with some soreness since high school, but this definitely came as a surprise,” Fisher said.
Growing up in Texas, there are plenty of professional teams in the area for a youngster to follow. Yet, Fisher revealed that he was a fan of the Astros during his childhood.
“My favorite team was the Houston Astros because that was my hometown team,” he explained. “I never really had a favorite player, but the one I remember the most was Craig Biggio.”
When asked who the most influential teammate or coach was over the course of his young career, Fisher quickly mentioned Cameron Johnson, the coach for his 13-15 year old summer team.
“He loves the game of baseball so much. That really rubbed off on me,” Fisher stated.
At 18 years of age, Fisher already throws four pitches, something that may put him ahead of the curve when it comes to ascending the organizational ladder. What’s more, it’s rare to see a teenager throw as hard as Fisher did before his surgery.
“I throw a four-seam fastball, a two-seam fastball, a curve ball and a changeup. The four-seam has to be my best pitch because the off speed stuff is still developing,” he said. “The fastest I’ve ever been clocked was 96 MPH in high school.”
The thing about Fisher is that he’s 6-foot-4, but when he was drafted, he weighed just 180 lb. As he continues to mature physically and round out his physique, he may end up throwing with less effort, which theoretically could produce even more velocity on his fastball. Since joining the Dodgers’ farm, he has already bulked up to 195 lb.
“Physically, I’m purposely trying to add some size and strength so I can be in better shape and have more stamina,” he confirmed.
Looking ahead to the remained of the year, a high dose of strength and conditioning appears to be in store for the young right-hander.
“I will be in Arizona for the whole year. My goal is to get bigger and stronger, recover well, and come back even better than I was before,” Fisher said.
Fans should definitely keep their eyes on Fisher when he begins to compete again in 2020. With his build, his mechanics and an already advanced repertoire, his ceiling is undoubtedly extremely high.
Think Blue Planning Committee 
Wow, I forgot he was that young. Definitely someone to keep tabs on. Thanks for the writeup Dennis.
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Love the write ups on the young guys. Thx Dennis. Looks like another banner group of young arms. AF loves his pitching!
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Nice write up Dennis. This guy sounds like he could follow in Buehler’s footsteps. 96 mph with a sore arm? Yoiks. And I like the fact he already throws a two steamer. I agree with both you and Jefe, Fisher will be someone to keep an eye on.
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Glad you’re feeling better bear! Good to have you back
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This bullpen has no right sharing the same clubhouse with our starting pitching! It’s just a dumpster fire down there!
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The problem isn’t that the bullpen is so horrible, it’s that they’re so horribly inconsistent. Most of these guys have had some good outings but by the time you think you can count on them they have a night like Floro and Fergie did tonight and that pretty much applies to everyone in the bullpen, from Kenley on down.
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Pretty much.
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Looks like I’m getting Ryu Saturday in Pittsburgh. Thunderstorms are in the forecast. I hope they take a detour.
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If you get heavy thunderstorms the bad news is you won’t see Ryu. The good news is you won’t see the bullpen.
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According to the forecast, the storms won’t be steady, so I’m hopeful right now that they’ll get the game played. We’ll probably have a better idea come Friday.
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How about this, you get 7 innings of Ryu shutout ball and the rain comes with us leading 1-0. Game called, so no bullpen.
The perfect solution. You’re welcome.
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By all means Andy let’s continue to pretend the bullpen isn’t really a problem. Just keep looking at your charts and computer programs about how Yimi Garcia’s soon rate makes him an elite pitcher and maybe it will come true. In all seriousness though if I was the rest of the team I wouldn’t allow those guys to dress in the sane locker room as me. Put their shit in the hallway or the public bathroom, Kenley too.
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Our bullpen is 21st in ERA and 19th in SV%. We suck. But that loss was a team effort. You only score 1 you don’t deserve to win.
Why is Floro throwing in back to back games? I don’t like that strategy. Jansen can do it on occasion but with as many arms as we have down there, and 3 days off in the last week, there should be plenty of rested arms available. Ferguson’s ERA now up to 4.6. Its 11.8 in his last 7 games. Whaddup with him?
I don’t understand Yimi. Why can’t he find corners with those spinners? No matter the pitch, whether it’s a 100 mph fastball or a 3000 spin rate, if you throw it over the middle of the plate ML hitters will barrel it up. And the interesting thing is….. in 2019 his barrel % is actually down. In addition to that his XBA, and WHIP are down too, but his hard hit % is up. I don’t get it, but from the few games I’ve seen he appears to be missing in the strike zone. That is a command issue. Come on Rick, get through to this guy.
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The problem with Ferguson is that he can’t consistently throw his curve for strikes so hitters just sit on his fastball. They have to send him down to learn a third pitch, a slider could make him an elite pitcher, and if he can’t then he won’t be a MLB pitcher.
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What I can’t understand is why guys at this level don’t throw the 2 seamer more often. It’s 2 pitches in 1, breaking down and away and down and in depending on thumb placement. It’s also 2 foot shorter than the 4 seamer. I could teach it in one afternoon. If Ferguson could throw that for strikes he wouldn’t need to groove his curve, he could bounce it. He could also throw a Gagne changeup and screw hitters into the ground with it. These pitches are just not that difficult to learn. I think the problem with today’s pitchers is that they learn only how to throw through a brick wall. The “art” of pitching went the way of the hit and run and the bunt.
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Your comment makes a whole lotta sense to me Scoop, but then what do I know? Now that you’re back in SoCal you’ll have some time to spend with Fergie. I’ll create a diversion so they don’t try to throw you out of the stadium and you show him how to throw it. It’s time we fans took things into our own hands.
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We fans couldn’t screw up the bull pen any worse than it already is, I’ll bet scoop could help them.
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Thank you, no gut doctor today.
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