2011 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #27 Rob Bryson

Rob Bryson – Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 12/11/1987 – Height: 6’1” – Weight: 200 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

(Photo: Ken Carr)

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, he 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 is a high ceiling pitcher who is one of the Indians’ best young relief prospects who has a lot of power and a very good pitch mix to get hitters out. He throws a fastball, slider, and changeup, with the fastball and slider both being plus pitches. His fastball consistently comes in on hitters at 92-94 MPH and has touched 96 MPH. He has 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 all help to make his fastball very effective. His plus slider is a wicked pitch for right-handers, and still has room for development into a potential plus-plus offering.

For a long time Bryson’s changeup was a below average offering and did not get a lot of attention as he mainly pitched with his fastball-slider, but it is now an average to fringe above average offering for him. During his down time and his rehab from shoulder surgery in 2009 he spent a lot of time refining his changeup by throwing it a lot, and he now feels very comfortable with it. Depending on the day, his changeup is on par with his slider, and when that happens it gives him two secondary offerings to attack hitters and almost be unhittable. He has a bulldog mentality on the mound where he goes right after hitters and shows excellent composure pitching under pressure. His aggressive mentality along with his stuff and makeup project him as a big league backend bullpen arm.

The Indians have always been excited about Bryson’s arm, but the primary goal last season was about sustaining his health and stuff coming off of shoulder surgery. After missing so much development time in 2009 rehabbing from the surgery and dealing with setbacks, the Indians were careful on how he was used last season and is why he only appeared in 33 games and pitched 53.1 innings. His arm strength was slow to return in 2009 as he was only at 88-90 MPH when he came back and then in Instructional League in the fall of 2009 he was in the low 90s, but he was back up to his normal velocity last year and pitching without any fear.

Opportunities: Prior to his injury, Bryson had some command issues and last year those command issues surfaced as he moved up to the higher levels. Tackling those command issues will be a big key for him in 2011. He needs to refine the command of all of his pitches in order to limit walks, but especially his fastball command so he is able to effectively and accurately spot it to both sides of the plate. While his slider is his go to pitch and the best pitch in his arsenal, he needs to continue to develop it and become more consistent with it. He made some strides with his changeup in the last year, and he needs to continue refining it so it gives him a weapon to attack left-handers and also give right-handers a different look. He had a minor setback with his shoulder right before the Carolina League All Star break last year and was shut down as a precaution and was out of action for almost four weeks. He needs to continue to strengthen his shoulder and prove he is durable enough to log a lot of innings out of the pen as a priority bullpen arm in the late innings of games.

Outlook: After missing almost all of the 2009 season after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery the previous offseason, Bryson had a very good comeback season last year. He came back last year healthy and back on top of his game and again looks like the top flight relief prospect the Indians were high on when they acquired him from the Brewers in the C.C. Sabathia trade. The Indians like his youth, power, and athleticism and believe his outstanding fastball-slider mix projects him as a potential backend bullpen arm. He should open the 2011 season at Double-A Akron.

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2007	19	Helena	R	3	0	2.67	18	8	54.0	49	16	2	12	70	.245	2.0	11.7	1.13
2008	20	West Virginia	A	3	2	4.25	22	5	55.0	43	26	3	20	73	.209	3.3	11.9	1.15
2008	20	Lake County	A	0	1	2.19	7	0	12.1	6	3	1	6	11	.140	4.4	8.0	0.97
2009	21	AZL Indians	R	0	0	12.00	3	0	3.0	4	4	2	2	5	.308	6.0	15.0	2.00
2010	22	Lake County	A	4	0	4.05	8	0	13.1	13	6	2	2	21	.236	1.4	14.2	1.13
2010	22	Kinston	A+	2	1	2.25	13	1	20.0	7	5	2	8	38	.108	0.9	17.1	0.75
2010	22	Akron	AA	1	1	1.80	12	0	20.0	11	4	1	11	21	.162	5.0	9.4	1.10
		MiLB Totals		13	5	3.24	83	14	177.2	133	64	13	61	239	.205	3.1	12.1	3.92

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