Double-A Chesapeake pitcher Braxton Bragg recently made the jump from High-A Aberdeen, and so far with the Baysox, Bragg has posted a 1.35 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 13.1 innings.
The 6-foot-2, 207-pound right-hander earned a promotion after not allowing a run in 16.1 innings with the IronBirds to start the year.
“It’s a great year so far,” Bragg said on Glenn Clark Radio on May 8. “A lot of hard work and stuff, but it’s a lot of fun doing what I’m doing right now. … I didn’t really change much mechanically. I just kind of gained weight. I gained like 10, 15 pounds. I started throwing the kick change, which is like the hottest pitch in baseball right now. It just clicked for me. It’s been a great pitch so far this year. The velo ticked up with gaining weight.”
Succeeding at the Double-A level has been a big confidence boost for Bragg. He’s excited to see what he can do at this level for the rest of the season.
“The confidence definitely has grown,” Bragg said. “Before you get into pro ball, you think, ‘Oh my gosh, Double-A, those dudes are unbelievable. … Going into this season [in] spring training, I’ve always been confident in myself to get anyone out. Going into spring training, I got to face some big leaguers. After facing big leaguers, it kind of changed my whole perspective on everything. If I can get the best in the business out, I can get anyone out.”
Bragg, 24, always had the confidence he could compete at the Double-A level. He’s always carried a high level of confidence.
“I’ve always been just super competitive in everything,” Bragg said. “Even when I was in college, I remember going to big league games in Kansas City, and I’d be like, ‘Man, I can go out there and pitch right now. I throw just as hard as this guy.’ Looking back on it, that’s just funny because actually being in pro ball and seeing how big leaguers are, I would’ve gotten destroyed.”
Playing baseball was always on Bragg’s mind as a coach’s kid, and he’s glad that he’s getting to live out his dream. He hopes to one day be a big leaguer.
“My dad coaches baseball at my high school,” Bragg said. “I grew up playing baseball my whole life and grew up playing basketball, too. High school baseball started to get a little more serious and I started to get better. I played for my dad, which was awesome. It’s one of the best times of my life, those four years. I just grew up my whole life pretty much knowing I was going to play baseball.”
Bragg is grateful to have been selected by the Orioles in the eighth round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Dallas Baptist because they’ve already made him a better pitcher.
“I’m very grateful for being drafted by the Orioles because I developed as a pitcher in a way I didn’t really imagine myself coming out of college,” Bragg said. “Being in an analytical organization, I didn’t know anything about analytics until I got drafted by the Orioles and I started learning all this stuff. I think it’s been very helpful for me.”
For more from Bragg, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Emerson Ricciardone