Andrew Warren Brackman (born December 4, 1985) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB)

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

who played for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

in 2011.

High school career

Brackman attended

Moeller High School Archbishop Moeller High School ( ), known as Moeller, is a private, all-male, college-preparatory high school in the suburbs of Cincinnati, in Hamilton County, Ohio. It is currently one of five all-male Catholic high schools in the Cincinnati a ...

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

College career

Brackman attended

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

where he played two seasons as a dual-sport athlete, in basketball and baseball. During his freshman basketball season (2004–2005), he played center and forward averaging 7.4 points and 3.5 rebounds. In his freshman baseball season, he was 4–0 with a 2.09 ERA in 10 appearances as both a reliever starting pitcher. He was starting pitcher of the first game of the 2005 ACC baseball tournament, striking out five batters in seven innings to earn the victory against the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

. He was named a second-team preseason All-America player by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

'' for 2006. After the Wolfpack was defeated in the 2006 NCAA tournament second round by Texas, Brackman chose not to return to the basketball team the next season, and instead focused on developing his pitching with hopes of doing well in professional baseball. Brackman suffered a stress fracture to his hip in his sophomore year of baseball, limiting him to only seven games and a disappointing 1–4 record with a 6.09 ERA. In the summer of 2006, he pitched for the

Orleans Cardinals The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play ...

in the

Cape Cod League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

earning a 1–0 record with a 1.09 ERA. This effort led to ''Baseball America'' ranking him the league's number two prospect. Brackman's junior year at NC State saw a return to his freshman-year numbers: in 13 games he struck out 74 batters in 78 innings with a 3.81 ERA and a record of 6–4. Due to elbow injuries, he did not pitch in either the ACC nor the NCAA tournament.

Professional career

New York Yankees

Brackman's injury record hurt his draft value, and he was not selected until the 30th pick of the

2007 Major League Baseball Draft The 2007 Major League Baseball draft, was an annual choosing of high school and college baseball players, held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the first 25 rounds and was scheduled to be broadcast "l ...

. Following the draft, the Yankees signed Brackman to a guaranteed $4.5 million deal for four years including a $3.55 million signing bonus spread out over six years. Brackman was represented by sports agent

Scott Boras Scott Dean Boras (born November 2, 1952) is an American sports agent, specializing in baseball. He is the founder, owner and president of the Boras Corporation, a sports agency based in Newport Beach, California, that represents roughly 175 pro ...

. The club also held options over Brackman for the 2011, 2012, and 2013 seasons which would have boosted the total value of his contract over $13 million if he met his bonus requirements. As specified by his contract, the Yankees placed Brackman on the 40 man roster. The Yankees recommended that he see Dr. James Andrews in Alabama to address his lingering elbow concerns. Later in August 2007, he underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

. Brackman began the 2008 season on the 60-day disabled list, a procedural move to keep him on the 40-man roster. Despite this setback, the Yankees still considered him a "blue-chip prospect". On February 1, 2008, Keith Law of

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

ranked Brackman in the top 100 baseball prospects of 2008, and both ''

'' and

Baseball Prospectus Baseball Prospectus (BP) is an organization that publishes a website, BaseballProspectus.com, devoted to the sabermetric analysis of baseball. BP has a staff of regular columnists and provides advanced statistics as well as player and team perf ...

list him as in the Yankees' top ten prospects for 2009. Brackman spent pitching for the Class A

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Char ...

, where he struggled. ''Baseball America'' named him the Yankees' tenth best prospect for 2010. Brackman had a strong 2010 season with the Class A Advanced

Tampa Yankees Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the county seat of Hillsborough C ...

and Class AA

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the D ...

. The Yankees optioned Brackman to AAA at the beginning of the 2011 season. Going into 2011, Brackman was rated the third-best prospect in the Yankees organization by ''Baseball America''. He struggled to throw strikes to begin the season, and considered quitting baseball entirely. Instead, Brackman altered his mechanics, which produced improved results. He was promoted to the Yankees in September and made his MLB debut on September 22. Brackman allowed no runs over an inning and a third in relief against the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

. Following the 2011 season, the Yankees declined his 2012 option, making him a free agent.

Cincinnati Reds

On January 4, 2012, Brackman signed a one-year minor league contract with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

. He was designated for assignment at the end of July and outrighted to the minors.

Chicago White Sox

On January 30, 2013, Brackman signed a minor league contract with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

. He was later released on August 6.

Pitching style

At the time he was drafted by the Yankees, Brackman threw a 92 to 97 mph

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

that had touched 99 mph. He also has had a

two-seam fastball A two-seam fastball is a pitch in baseball and softball. It is a variant of the straight fastball. The pitch has the speed of a fastball and can also include late-breaking action caused by varying the pressure of the index and middle fingers on t ...

knuckle curve In Major League history, the term knuckle curve or knuckle curveball has been used to describe three different pitches. All are unrelated to the similar sounding knuckleball. The first, more modern and commonly used pitch called the knuckle cur ...

, and a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball, but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced spee ...

in his repertoire. His height and overhand action were cited by scouts as giving his pitches a desirable "downward plane".

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brackman, Andrew 1985 births Living people New York Yankees players Major League Baseball pitchers NC State Wolfpack baseball players NC State Wolfpack men's basketball players Orleans Firebirds players Charleston RiverDogs players Tampa Yankees players Trenton Thunder players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Louisville Bats players Bakersfield Blaze players Baseball players from Cincinnati American men's basketball players Moeller High School alumni