It was a big week in the Major Leagues for Draft League lefty alums. Mitch Bratt (West Virginia ‘21) dealt seven scoreless innings and nine punchouts to pick up his first MLB win Wednesday. Zac Thornton (Mahoning Valley ‘22 & West Virginia ‘23) picked up his third MLB win Friday night with five shutout innings, while Nate Lavender (‘21) made his MLB debut Tuesday.
To honor this trio of southpaws, we’ll focus on one lefty from each club in the league this week with the exception of Aberdeen, which has an outstanding right-hander who needs to be mentioned.
Left-handers who gather whiffs are always an attractive option and Jacob Smoot (Trenton) fits that description to a T. The finesse southpaw has struck out 22 in 15 innings, relying mainly on a three-pitch secondary mix. From a low three-quarter release point he also creates some deception with a closed landing for good angle. His 83-mph floating changeup has been his most effective offering, landing it for a strike 61% of the time. Its 36.5% whiff rate is much due to its late arm side action. He’ll also mix a 70 mph curve with a 81-82 slider. Very rarely will he come with the heater that tops out at 89 and has averaged 87 this summer. Smoot is a throwback, similar to 1980s St. Louis Cardinals All-Star John Tudor.
Evan Grimes (Williamsport) is also an artist of the changeup. It’s an 80-mph offering with some depth and good arm speed from a low three-quarter release. His fastball tops at 88 mph from the same tunnel as his change and he’ll also keep a 76-77 mph bender down in the zone for chase and under the bat whiff. Grimes has struck out 25 batters in 22 innings to date. The mix was most effective when he won Pitcher of the Week after carrying a no-hitter through 5 2/3 innings with nine strikeouts.
Lynden Bruegman (Mahoning Valley) is not a finesse southpaw. The 6-foot-2 power left-hander attacks with the heater. It’s his primary weapon that he’s used over 70% of the time. It has produced elite whiff rates over 40% both overall and in the zone while averaging 91.6 mph. His other weapon is an 80 mph slider that acts more like a changeup, consistently getting hitters out front for soft contact and swing-throughs. The 23-year-old from Nebraska has struck out 20 hitters in 12 innings while allowing just six hits, all good for a 2.25 ERA.
Hunter Holzemer leads West Virginia with three wins and a 1.63 ERA. The 22-year-old has allowed just 17 hits in 27.2 innings and has become the Black Bear’s ace. For Holzemer, it all starts with his 86-88 mph sinker that he throws roughly one-third of the time. He can also zip the four-seamer to the top of the zone, topping out at 92 mph and averaging 90. Holzemer’s changeup is also a quality offering at 82-83 with good bottom and some slide action, while he manipulates his 77-79 slider with more sweep to left-handed hitters and a bit more depth to righties.
State College’s Zach Kilby attacks with a best-pitch slider from a high three-quarter slot. Averaging 80 mph, it’s a major weapon that hitters chase at a rate of 46.4% which helps him throw for a strike 71% of the time. Kilby will touch 87 mph with his four-seam fastball that he’s able to move around to all four quadrants of the strike zone. It’s a bit straight and doesn’t draw many in-zone whiffs, but he makes up for that with an elite chase rate of 35.7% against right-handed hitters. He’ll also equally use an 81-mph changeup and a 70-mph curve. His change-of-pace has some circle armside action while his bender will flash quality depth. Kilby has struck out 14 in 13 innings so far this summer.
Without a southpaw presence, Aberdeen’s Billy Barlow is one to know. A long-time favorite, the 6-foot-2, 230-pound right-hander is a future big-leaguer. It’s no secret that he struggled in the first half of the Draft League season, but he found his mojo in the second half with 19 strikeouts and a 1.88 ERA with just nine hits allowed in 14 innings. His power sinker is the key to his success. This pitch has averaged 91 and topped at 95.7 mph. He’s also developed a putaway 84-86 mph cutter and he’ll subtract a little bit more for a slider at 78-80. A swing role arm who pitched more than 178 innings over five seasons between Clemson and Florida, Barlow has everything needed to receive an opportunity in affiliated baseball.
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