Position: RHRP
Bats/Throws: R/R
Date of Birth: 4/12/1986 (32)
Traditional (2018) Stats: 3.59 ERA, 62.2 IP, 1.60, 8.62 K/9, 4.02 BB/9, 0.72 HR/9
Advanced Stats: 0.3 bWAR, 0.7 fWAR, 3.67 FIP, .344 BABIP
Brach has seemingly been on the Mets radar for years now due to many trade rumors connecting him to the Mets. Since 2014, Brach has been one of the better and more reliable relievers in all of baseball. He has pitched more than 60 innings every year since 2014 while also posting a 145 ERA+ in that time. His work has mostly gone unnoticed due to sharing a bullpen with Darren O’Day, Zach Britton, and Andrew Miller, briefly.
While Brach was still had a decent 2018, it was not up to his standards of a good season. He posted a 116 ERA+ between the Orioles and Braves. That said, he was much better with the Braves than he was with Baltimore. His ERA+ in Atlanta was 269.
Terrible defense in Baltimore plus other factors had his hits-per-nine innings at a whopping 11.5. With the Braves, it was a more reasonable 8.4. His BABIP against would indicate that he was unlucky because it was .371 with Baltimore and .296 with Baltimore.
Brach’s overall velocity dipped from previous years but it was at 94.6 MPH with Atlanta. The smarter team in Atlanta probably fixed up his mechanics and got it back up to where it was before. He also got good spin on his changeup. It was clocked at 1,958 RPMs, one of the better marks in baseball.
Contract
It is near February and Brach has had next to no rumors regarding his status. He is looking at a one-year deal worth about $3-4 million. See Joe Smith in the 2016-2017 offseason as a mold for him. He’s also from Freehold, New Jersey for what it’s worth. You might hear it 200 times over the next year or so.
Reccomendation
I would certainly take him on a one-year deal. He seems like a good bet as someone who can be a good and stable arm out of the bullpen. He is a bargain in this current market.
