Keep an Eye on Braydon Fisher

Twenty-year-old Braydon Fisher was selected by the Dodgers in the fourth round of the 2018 First-Year Player draft out of Clear Falls High School in League City Texas. League City is in the Greater Houston Metropolitan Area with a population of just over 100,000.

The 6’4”/180-pound right-hander was a stand out in high school.  In his senior season at Clear Falls, he was a bit of a strikeout machine, sending 110 batters back to the dugout in 73.2 innings pitched while compiling a 11-2 record as a starter with a 1.43 earned runs average. He was equally as impressive as a hitter with a .393 average, 37 runs batted in and seven home runs in 112 at-bats.

Fisher had committed to Lamar University in Beaumont,Texas prior to the June draft in 2018 and admits having a stressful few days prior to the draft. He said he was at home watching the draft with his parents when he got a call from his advisor who advised him to pay attention to selection 134.

“He said, ‘Pick 134, watch for it, the Dodgers,’” Fisher said. “I was sitting on the couch waiting on pick 134, and he said that around pick 129, so it was a little bit of a wait. Every pick, my anxiety got higher and my heart was racing, and then when they finally called my name, me and my parents jumped off the couch and went crazy.”

He thought about his commitment to Lamar but being selected a high as he was, just behind right-hander Michael Grove and left-hander John Rooney, he made the decision with his parents to sign with the Dodgers.

“The Dodgers are a great organization, they have a great minor league system,” Fisher said. “I was very happy with the Dodgers. … This is definitely a lifelong dream, but it’s just a step toward the ultimate dream, which is playing in the Major League, playing on TV and playing with the big boys.”

Like so many young athletes, Fisher acknowledged his parents for the hard work they put into helping him follow his dream.

“I want to thank my parents for all the money and the time and sweat and tears they’ve put in for me,” Fisher said. “I want to thank my friends for always keeping me humble and allowing me to have fun with the game and take the stress away from it. And, I want to thank my coaches for teaching me everything that they know and helping me become who I am today, whether it’s on the field or as a person.”

This is  MLB.com’s scouting report on Braydon Fisher at that time.

“Fisher’s fastball has added significant velocity in the last year and now sits in the low 90s while topping out at 96 mph with some run and sink,” the report states. “Considering that his arm is so quick and clean and he has the room to add plenty of strength to his 6-foot-4 frame, he could work in the mid-90s once he’s a finished product.”

He made his professional debut with the Arizona League Dodgers on June 28, 2018 against the AZL Mariners. He gave up two earned runs in 2.1 innings pitched. He had not yet turned 18 with a birthday on July 26. On the season he made nine starts over 22 innings pitched posting a 2.05 ERA along with 19 strikeouts and nine walks.

While throwing a bullpen early in the spring of 2019, Fisher hyper-extended his elbow which was the catalyst for  UCL surgery and he spent all of 2019 recovering from the procedure.

“I have always dealt with some soreness since high school, but this definitely came as a surprise,” Fisher said.

As with all minor league players, Fisher lost his 2020 season to Covid-19. And, like others he used the time to work on what he must do to pick up from where he left off.

What might have he worked on during his past two years? He concentrated on his off-speed pitches, putting on some weight and just returning to play healthy.

“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.”

Scouts would agree with Fisher. Their assessment was  that his slider was trending upwards before his surgery, but his changeup was still very raw.

“Physically, I’m purposely trying to add some size and strength so I can be in better shape and have more stamina,” he confirmed.

“I will be in Arizona for the whole year[2019]. My goal is to get bigger and stronger, recover well, and come back even better than I was before,” Fisher said at the time.

He did return to the field bigger and stronger for the 2021 season and was assigned to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the Low-A California League.

To date, Fisher has made nine appearances with the Quakes over 19 innings pitched. Back on May 14 he had one of those nights that he most likely wanted to forget. He surrendered nine hits and six earned runs in 2.2 innings pitched. That’s the bad news. The good news is that over the other 16.1 innings pitched he has given up two earned runs.

On the season he has struck out 27 and walked six. In his last two appearances, both in June, Fisher has pitched 7.2 innings giving up one single while walking three. He has struck out 12.

Since that one forgettable outing on May 14, Braydon Fisher has posted a 1.10 ERA along with a 0.98 WHIP over 16.1 innings pitched.

On June 6 I checked on the Quakes game and noticed that Fisher had entered the game with a runner on. By the time I switched over to the audio which first insisted I watch an advertisement, his half inning was over. Looking back at Gameday I discovered he had retired the side on three pitches, via a pop out to short and a double play.

Fisher, who will turn 21 in about a month, may well celebrate his birthday with the High-A Great Lakes Loons. Then I can view him live and not just on audio as I do with the Quakes.

Player of the Week

More Info:

Video: https://www.si.com/mlb/dodgers/news/interview-with-dodgers-pitching-prospect-braydon-fisher

Video: https://thinkbluepc.com/2020/02/14/catching-up-with-pitching-prospect-braydon-fisher/

Dodgers Minor League Report

• OKC BOXSCORE – Did not play
• TULSA BOXSCORE – The Drillers won 1-0 on just 4 hits. Romar Cuadrado drove in the only run on a walk-off single. Neither team had an extra-base hit. Andre Jackson (2.76 ERA) pitched 4 scoreless innings, and Justin Hagenman pitched the final inning for the win.
• GL BOXSCORE – History was made in Dayton for the Great Lakes Loons Wednesday night with a Miguel Vargas leadoff single in the top of the first inning to extend the third baseman’s hit streak to 25 games. Vargas broke a franchise record of 24 games that was set by Brian Cavazos-Galvez in 2010 with a 2-for-5 night against the Dragons, making him the new record-holder. The Loons (16-16) lost their second straight game to Dayton (18-14) with a 6-5 outcome. Vargas also homered as did Andy Pages. Pages was 2-3. Ching also had 2 hits. Gamboa pitched 5 innings allowing just 1 run on 2 hits. Morgan Cooper pitched an inning and allowed a hit, run, and 2 walks while striking out 2. 6′ 7″ Mike Mokma blew the game by giving up 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th, including the 2-run walk-off by Reniel Ozuna.

• RC BOXSCORE – The Quakes lost 8-5. Nothing memorable about this one…