ST. LOUIS – There will never be another Major League Baseball player with the same path to the big leagues as Brad Brach.
He was a 42nd-round pick by the San Diego Padres in the 2008 MLB Draft out of Monmouth University in New Jersey, a round that doesn’t even exist anymore. The MLB Draft was shortened to 40 rounds in 2012 and now it sits at 20 rounds this year because of pandemic-related changes.
Short-season leagues disappeared as MLB cut 40 minor league affiliates prior to the 2021 season. The Reds lost the Billings Mustangs and the Greeneville Reds as their short-season affiliates and all organizations are capped at 180 players.
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“It makes me a little sad for the guys who the organization just took a shot on,” Brach said. “I know there are other routes for guys like me to get signed or something like that. At the same time, you understand why they shortened it just because it doesn’t happen very often.”
Independent ball will likely become more popular with fewer minor league players, but that could be a much harder path to the big leagues because they still have to work their way into affiliated baseball at some point.
There may not be 42nd-round picks anymore, but Brach thought a similar path could be playing Independent ball for two or three years and receiving a chance from an organization afterward. Would he have considered Independent ball if he wasn’t drafted in 2008?
“It’s a good question,” Brach said. “I know my dad definitely wanted me to go play Indy ball if that was going to be the route. I don’t know.
“It got to about the 40th round and I was just thinking, ‘OK, maybe baseball is not what I’m going to be doing.’ I’m just glad I didn’t have to make the decision.”
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Brach, an All-Star in 2016 with the Baltimore Orioles, is in his 11th Major League season. He’s emerged as an important arm in the Cincinnati Reds’ bullpen, yielding four runs and eight hits in 10 2/3 innings while striking out 15. His velocity is up this year and his funky delivery makes him a tough at-bat for hitters.
Before the 35-year-old right-hander made a career for himself, he wasn’t sure about his future in baseball when he was picked in the 42nd round.
He pitched well in rookie-ball for the Padres in his first pro season, posting a 2.01 ERA across 18 relief appearances, but he went back to school to complete his degree during the offseason.
“It was kind of my mom forcing me to go back and do it,” he said. “She was just like, ‘why don’t you go back, so that if baseball doesn’t work out, you’re done with your degree and you don’t have to finish up school?’
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“I’m really glad she edged me to go back and finish up. It’s something that I’m still to this day probably the proudest of.”
It’s tough being a low-round pick. There is always pressure to perform immediately because the organization didn’t invest much into the draft selection.
Brach thought to himself that he needed to focus on his numbers. Don’t worry about velocity. Don’t worry about developing a new pitch. Just put up solid numbers and maybe it’ll buy himself another year to impress coaches.
He described himself as a “nervous wreck,” during his first minor league spring training.
“I had no idea if I was going to make a team, if I was going to get released,” Brach said. “It was just not a very fun time for me. I think the second-to-last day of camp, one of the (coaches) came up to me and was like, ‘hey, we’re going to have you close and I think you’re going to do a really good job at it in Low-A.’ I was thrilled at that point just to make a team, let alone be the closer.”
Brach continued to pitch well at the lower levels of the minor leagues – 1.27 ERA and 33 saves in Low-A in 2009 – but he always kept his backup plans open. Following a stellar year at Low-A, he was a substitute teacher and a volunteer basketball coach during the winter.
“That’s kind of what I was planning on doing,” said Brach, who signed around a $1,000 bonus after he was drafted. “I was going to be a teacher. I was going to coach basketball and baseball. I was happy with that if baseball didn’t work out. Just kind of see what the basketball coaching life was like.
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“It was tough just trying to do my training, make enough money to get through the offseason and help coach, but it was definitely a great experience. It was kind of like, ‘hey, this is what the future might hold.’”
It wasn’t until he pitched well at High-A in 2010 – 2.47 ERA and 41 saves across 62 relief appearances – and the Padres sent him to the Arizona Fall League that he felt he wasn’t at risk of being cut.
He made his MLB debut in 2011 and was a stellar reliever for the Baltimore Orioles for several seasons.
Fast forward a decade and Brach found himself fighting for his career again. He struggled with the New York Mets last year and his velocity was way down, which he attributes to the shortened season. He signed with the Kansas City Royals this spring as a non-roster invitee.
"This year, I was telling some of the guys, really put stuff in perspective for me,” Brach said. “The last six or seven years straight I’m in the big leagues and it can be gone like that.”
Brach credited Royals pitching coach Cal Eldred and bullpen coach Larry Carter for putting in a lot of time with him. He was informed he wasn’t going to make the Royals’ Opening Day roster midway through camp, but those pitching coaches worked with him to help him refine his mechanics.
He spent a month at Kansas City’s alternate site. He was called up for one day after another reliever went on the injured list before he was designated for assignment.
“The alternate site was tough,” Brach said. “I was away from my family and kids. I’m sitting there thinking, maybe I will never get a shot again. This could be it.”
After Brach was designated for assignment, the Reds signed him to a minor league contract and sent him to Triple-A Louisville.
He wasn’t there long. Brach didn’t allow an earned run in 6 2/3 innings at Louisville when he was promoted to the Reds’ bullpen. He felt like himself, he said, when he saw swings and misses on certain pitches.
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Brach was on the provisional roster for the Team USA Olympic qualifier, a backup plan if he wasn’t called up to the Majors, but he’s grateful that he received a chance in the Reds’ bullpen.
He defied the odds when he made the Major Leagues from the 42nd round of the MLB Draft and he hopes to keep defying them.
“Really, just want to enjoy this time,” Brach said. “Thankfully, and hopefully, this is a second lease – or for me, this might be a fifth or sixth lease to regain some of my career. Just really having fun.”
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