Prospect Watch Braeden Ogle Looking to Bounce Back After Injuries
When pitcher Braeden Ogle was drafted in the fourth round of the 2016 Major League draft, he was one of the top high school left-handed pitchers in the state of Florida. He was a young power arm, with his fastball hitting in the low to mid-90s and that kind of young talent is hard to find. Since joining the Pirates organization, he has suffered a couple of injuries that have ended his time in starting rotations, but he hasn't let that stop his development in the Minot Leagues, he now serves as a power arm out of the bullpen who when needed can give the Pirates some innings when their starters struggle. The move to the bullpen has also helped his velocity as he can let it fly more rather than trying to save himself to work deeper into games.
Last season, Ogle split time between Class Low-A Greensboro and Advanced-A Bradenton making 27 appearances, two starts, and posting a 4.81 ERA in 41 innings of work. Ogle dealt with shoulder tightness from an earlier injury in his career and had to spend two different stints on the disabled list last season and was shut down in early August. Because of his shoulder issues, his strikeout rate and walk rate both took hits as he allowed 16 free passes while striking out 35 batters. It has been an adjustment for Ogle not being in the starting rotation anymore, but he is trying his best to live up to his fourth-round selection status from 2016.
Ogle came to the Pirates from Jenson Beach High School where he was a two-sport star, playing both baseball and basketball. Baseball is where he excelled the most as he became the team's top pitcher and had an impressive senior year. He made nine appearances for Jenson Beach High School and went 5-1 with a 1.40 ERA. Opponents hit just .135 against him that season as he dominated his high school peers. When the Pirates were looking at Ogle, they saw a power left-handed arm and jumped on the opportunity to sign the big talent. They ended up drafting him in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB Draft and, after deciding to not go to the University of Florida to play baseball, he would sign just a couple weeks later.
Ogle didn't have to go too far from his home town to start his career as he went across the state to play for the Gulf Coast League Pirates. He started his professional career in the rotation for the GCL Pirates, and despite his 0-2 record he pitched well posting a 2.60 ERA in 27.1 innings of work. Being a high school arm, the Pirates eased him into the starting rotation and he threw back-to-back two-inning outings where he did not allow a run to start his pro career. As the season went on, he started to go deeper and deeper into games, and the success was still there. He allowed more than one earned run only once in his eight starts and ended up turning in a quality start by the end of the season.
His ERA could have been a lot lower than it was had it not been for a start where he allowed five earned runs over four innings of work, his worst start of the year. If you take out that outing, his ERA drops to 1.19 on the year. He posted decent strikeout numbers fanning 20 batters in 27.1 innings of work but struggled a little with his control walking 11. He was more of a pitch to contact type hitter and didn't allow many to reach base as opponents hit just .188 off the left-hander and he pitched to an impressive 1.05 WHIP that season. With Ogle still needing some more time to develop, he would remain in rookie ball for the 2017 season but made the move up north to the Bristol Pirates in the Appalachian League.
Ogle would continue his work in the starting rotation for Bristol as he nearly doubled his workload throwing in 43 innings of work. He continued to pitch well in Rookie Ball and saw no real jump in his numbers besides the fact that he worked in more games. He posted a 3.14 ERA in those ten starts while walking 16 batters and striking out 35. However, opponents started to figure Ogle out and his opponent batting average jumped to .242, but he was able to keep his Whip in the low one's posting a 1.30 mark during that season. Ogle started to work deeper into games, but the longer he went the more struggles he seemed to have.
His first start of the season sent his ERA sky-high as he allowed four earned runs in four innings of work in a loss. However, he would settle down after that turning in four consecutive quality starts heading into the month of July. His best stretch of the season came from July 25th through August 12th when he pitched to a 0.69 ERA over four starts allowing just one earned run. However, Ogle left his final start with pain in his right, and he would have to go on the 60-day Disabled List and was shut down for the rest of the season. It turned out to be worse than Ogle thought as he discovered he needed surgery to fix a torn meniscus.
Thankfully for Ogle, he was ready to go for the 2018 regular season and was promoted to full-season baseball with the Class Low-A West Virginia Power. He would end up appearing in just four games for the Power that season as shoulder inflammation would put him on the Disabled List and setback after setback during his rehab assignment ended his season. The work he did do on the mound was pretty good as he turned in two quality starts and never allowed more than three earned runs in a game. He had a 2.65 ERA in 17 innings of work and actually posted the best strikeout numbers of his career with 21. However, he struggled mightily with his control, due in part because of the shoulder inflammation, as he walked 11 batters during that span.
He would return during the 2019 season and would stay in Low-A ball with the Greensboro Grasshoppers. He made the transition to the bullpen, serving as a long-reliever, and pitched to a 3.65 ERA. He continued to show an elevated strikeout rate with 34 in 31.2 innings of work and his opponents hit just .237 against him. He also came back with better control as he walked 10 batters and had a walk per nine rate of 2.38 that season. He started the season as a long reliever but would end up transitioning into a one-inning reliever and that allowed him to rev up the velocity to the upper 90s.
He would be promoted to Advanced-A Bradenton at the end of June and he had a strong start to his Marauders career. He allowed just one earned run in 6.1 innings of work while striking out seven batters. However, his shoulder problems would return and he was shut down the entire month of July and the first part of August. He came back in mid-August and appeared in four games to finish the season posting three consecutive scoreless appearances out of the bullpen. He ended his time with the Marauders posting a 3.18 ERA in 11.1 innings of work while striking out 10 and walking three batters.
Ogle was going to finally be fully healthy in 2020, but since COVID-19 shut down the season, he has been forced to work from home. Whenever Minor League baseball does return, I look for Ogle to once again be in the Marauders bullpen working as a short-relief/late-inning option for the Marauders. He seems to be more confident in this role and it allows him to up the velocity a little bit. It will also help limit his workload and help him stay healthy as he won't be working his arm as much. He may not be the highly touted left-handed starter the Pirates thought he was in the draft, but he can still make an impact in the Big Leagues one day working out of the bullpen.
The Major League Baseball season is set yo begin on July 23rd and July 24th with teams reporting to Spring Training on July 1st. As the season gets closer, we at Buccos Cove are determined to get you ready for the Coronavirus shortened season with analysis, predictions, and everything you need to know before the season begins. Be sure to follow us on Facebook at Buccos Cove for all the exciting Pittsburgh Pirates coverage every single day.
Comments
Post a Comment