2010 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #46 Rob Bryson

46. 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	SO	AVG	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2007	19	Helena	R	3	0	2.67	18	4	8	54.0	49	16	2	12	70	.245	2.0	11.67	1.13
2008	20	West Virgina	A	3	2	4.25	22	5	5	55.0	43	26	3	20	73	.209	3.3	11.95	1.15
2008	20	Lake County	A	0	1	2.19	7	0	0	12.1	6	3	1	6	11	.140	4.5	8.18	0.99
2009	21	AZL Indians	R	0	0	12.00	3	3	0	3.0	4	4	2	2	5	.308	6.0	15.00	2.00
		Totals		6	3	3.55	50	12	13	124	102	49	8	40	159	.221	2.9	11.53	1.14

History:  Bryson was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 31st round of the 2006 Draft out of William Penn High School (DE).  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 of 2008 as part of a four player package the Indians received from the Brewers for C.C. Sabathia.  He was sidelined late in 2008 because of a tear in his labrum and rotator cuff and required offseason surgery to repair the damage and missed almost the entire 2009 season.

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.  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 the way he uses his lower half well.  While his slider is already rated a plus pitch with the potential to be a plus-plus offering, he needs to continue to develop it and become more consistent with it.  He also throws a changeup, but it is a below average to average pitch.  He is a high ceiling pitcher who shows excellent composure pitching under pressure.  His bulldog mentality and good makeup on the mound to go along with his repertoire project him as a big league backend bullpen arm.

Bryson's rehab from shoulder surgery kept him on the shelf for most of the 2009 season.  He spent the entire time out at the new Goodyear, AZ training facility rehabbing and taking part in a throwing program and was supposed to begin pitching in games in early July, but he was temporarily shut down because of a forearm injury that came about because he was compensating for his shoulder.  He eventually returned to game action for the rookie level Arizona team in late July, and almost earned a reprieve from his long stay in Arizona in late August when he was set to be activated off his rehab assignment and sent to join up with High-A Kinston who happened to be on the road in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.  Unfortunately, he had a minor setback and the plans to send him to Kinston were nixed.  He was still sort of feeling his way through things during his time in the Arizona League games, but by Instructional League in the fall he was close to 100% on the mound.  During most of the time Bryson was rehabbing his shoulder from surgery he was only topping out at 88-89 MPH, but his arm strength slowly returned and by the end of Instructional League he was sitting in the low 90s and topping out at 94 MPH.  He pitched in the new Arizona Parallel League and the rust showed as in 7.0 innings of work he allowed 10 hits, 5 runs, 6 walks, and had 9 strikeouts, but the important thing is he was on a mound and healthy as he no longer had any soreness in the shoulder.

Prior to his injury, Bryson had some command issues during the 2008 season largely the result of some changes the Brewers had made to his mechanics which he had a hard time adjusting to and getting comfortable with.  It remains to be seen now that he is fully healthy if the Indians made any adjustments to his mechanics and if his command will return this year.  Shoulder surgery is hard to fully recover from and for any pitcher to be what they were prior to the injury, so he has a tough road to hoe to prove not only his durability this coming season but his effectiveness as well.  In the back of any pitcher's mind that recently had shoulder surgery is that they could injure themselves again, so a big thing for him will be getting past that and finding the confidence to pitch and not hold anything back.  Also, now that his arm strength has returned the big thing for him will be to get the feel for his excellent slider back.

Outlook:  Bryson is officially off the rehab list, which means he has no structured throwing sessions or any restrictions on what kind of pitches he can throw so he will be able to throw his slider and changeup at will right out of the gates this season.  The Indians are still very excited about his youth, power, and athleticism in the system, and believe his outstanding fastball-slider mix projects him as a potential backend bullpen arm.  Of course it all comes back to whether or not he can stay healthy and prove that the shoulder injury is in the past.  He is 22 years old now, and will need to make up for lost time this season.  He should open the season in the bullpen at advanced Single-A Kinston, but depending on how he performs and responds to regular pitching he could move to Double-A Akron by midseason.

Photo courtesy of Tony Lastoria

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