Braxton Garrett

Braxton Lee Garrett (born August 5, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Marlins selected him with the seventh overall selection of the 2016 MLB draft, and he made his MLB debut in 2020.

Amateur career

Garrett attended Foley High School in Foley, Alabama his freshman and sophomore years. Prior to his junior year he transferred to Florence High School in Florence, Alabama. As a sophomore at Foley in 2014, he was 8–2 with a 1.23 earned run average (ERA) with 108 strikeouts in 57 innings. In July of that year he committed to Vanderbilt University to play college baseball. As a junior at Florence in 2015, Garrett was 7–1 with a 0.75 ERA with 141 strikeouts in innings. In August after that season, he played in the Perfect Game All-American Classic at Petco Park. Later that year, he played for the 18U National Team that won the World Cup.

Professional career

Garrett was considered one of the top prospects for the 2016 Major League Baseball draft. He was selected seventh overall in the draft by the Miami Marlins. He agreed to sign with the Marlins for a $4,145,900 signing bonus. He made his professional debut in 2017 with the Greensboro Grasshoppers of the Single-A South Atlantic League, where he posted a 1–0 record with a 2.93 ERA in four starts before he underwent Tommy John surgery in June, ending his season.

MLB.com ranked Garrett as Miami's fifth best prospect going into the 2018 season. However, he also missed all of that season, as he was recovering from the surgery he had undergone the previous year. Garrett returned in 2019, beginning the year with the Jupiter Hammerheads of the High-A Florida State League, and also pitched in one game for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp of the Double-A Southern League. Over 21 starts between the two clubs, he went 6–7 with a 3.54 ERA.

On September 13, 2020, the Marlins selected Garrett's contract and he made his major league debut that day in the second game of a doubleheader. In two starts in his rookie campaign, he surrendered six runs (five earned) on eight hits and five walks with eight strikeouts in innings.

For the 2021 season, Garrett spent the majority of the season with Triple-A Jacksonville, making 17 starts and logging a 5-4 record and 3.89 ERA with 86 strikeouts in innings. In eight contests (seven starts) for the Marlins, he recorded a 5.03 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched. In 2022, Garrett spent time up and down between Miami and Triple-A Jacksonville. In 17 turns out of Miami's rotation, Garrett registered a 3-7 record and 3.58 ERA with 90 strikeouts in 88 innings pitched.

Garrett began the 2023 season as a long reliever but joined the Marlins starting rotation in April after Johnny Cueto injured his right biceps. Garrett started 30 games for the Marlins, pitching to a 3.66 ERA in innings while striking out 156. He started Game 2 of the 2023 National League Wild Card Series, which the Marlins lost.

On May 24, 2024, Garrett threw a complete–game shutout against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He completed the shutout in 95 pitches, a feat known as a Maddux. He was placed on the injured list with a left forearm flexor strain on June 23, and was transferred to the 60–day injured list on July 30. Garrett did not return in 2024, and finished the year with a 2-2 record and 5.35 ERA with 34 strikeouts over 7 starts.

On January 8, 2025, it was announced that Garrett would miss the entirety of the 2025 season after undergoing a revision surgery on his left ulnar collateral ligament.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garrett, Braxton
1997 births
Living people
Baseball players from Alabama
Florida Complex League Marlins players
Greensboro Grasshoppers players
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp players
Jupiter Hammerheads players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Miami Marlins players
Sportspeople from Foley, Alabama