Indians Top 100 Prospects: #31 Rob Bryson

31. Rob Bryson - Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 12/11/1987 - Height: 6'1" - Weight: 200 - Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2007	19	Helena	R	3	0	2.67	18	4	8	54.0	49	16	2	12	70	2.0	11.7	1.13
2008	20	West Virginia	A	3	2	4.25	22	5	5	55.0	43	26	3	20	73	3.3	11.9	1.15
		Lake County	A	0	1	2.19	7	0	0	12.1	6	3	1	6	11	4.4	8.0	0.97
		Career		6	3	3.34	47	9	13	121.1	98	45	6	38	154	2.8	11.4	1.12

History: Bryson was a 31st round pick in the 2006 Draft out of William Penn High School (DE) by the Milwaukee Brewers. In the last year of its existence due to changes in the CBA, Bryson was one of the biggest draft-and-follow signings in May 2007 when he signed for $300,000. He was acquired by the Indians in July 2008 as part of the C.C. Sabathia trade.

Strengths & Opportunities: Bryson throws two plus-pitches, a fastball that sits around 92-94 MPH and tops out as high as 96 MPH, and a wicked slider. He is young and is still working on refining his fastball command, but he strikes people out at a very high rate (career 11.9 K/9). His fastball is a very effective pitch because of his very strong mechanics and his ability to get good drive toward the plate with his big, thick build and use his lower half well. While his slider is already rated a plus pitch with the potential to be a plus-plus offering, he needs some work with it and to become more consistent with it. His changeup is a below average to average pitch and is a work in progress.

Some of his problems in 2008 stemmed from some changes to his mechanics that were handed down by the Brewers which he had a hard time adjusting to and getting comfortable with. As a result, his command suffered. Upon joining the Indians they did not make any immediate changes to his mechanics so they could evaluate him first. They put him in a priority bullpen role, which essentially meant he would throw every three days anywhere up to two to three innings an outing so he would see an entire lineup. The idea of such a role was to stretch him out, get him to use his other pitches, help develop his changeup, and to ensure he faced both left-handed and right-handed hitters.

Bryson was sidelined in late July with a shoulder injury that pretty much ended his season. Tests revealed he only had a partial tear of his labrum and rotator cuff. He did come back to pitch in the final week of the season, but in the offseason had surgery on the labrum to correct the issue. The surgery went well, and he should start pitching in sim games by April and could return to game action maybe sometime in June. At this point the prognosis is that he should make a full recovery and the shoulder should be as strong as ever once he is finished with his rehab.

Outlook: The Indians are very excited to have Bryson's youth, power, and athleticism in the system. He is a high ceiling pitcher who shows excellent composure pitching under pressure, and with his outstanding fastball-slider mix it projects him as a serious prospect in the backend of the bullpen, possibly a closer. Pitching out of the bullpen and in a late inning role is something that Bryson welcomes and actually prefers. His bulldog mentality and good makeup on the mound to go along with his repertoire certainly point to a future in the big leagues in such a role. That said, they will be very cautious with him this year and take it very slow in ramping him back up into game action. Bryson is all but certain to open the year in extended spring training out in Arizona, and likely will be held out of game action until short-season leagues start in June where he should begin a rehab assignment in the Arizona League.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Rob Bryson MinorLeagueBaseball.com stats page

Rob Bryson Baseball-Reference page

Rob Bryson MinorLeagueSplits.com page

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