The Most Overlooked Nationals Prospect

2020 was a... weird year to say the least, and that weirdness trickled its way onto the fanless, 60-game, divison-restricted, 5-round MLB Draft 2020 season. The draft might have been the biggest change, as the MLB historically had the longest drafts in major sports, with forty rounds up until 2019. Compared to the MLB draft, the NFL draft has seven rounds, the NHL has seven rounds, and the NBA only has two rounds.

With the MLB draft being shortened by thirty-five rounds, it led to more top high school prospects entering college, only sure-fire picks to get selected, and talented college players slipping through the cracks.

All in all, the Nationals had a pretty solid 2020 draft class, as the team selected Cade Cavalli in the first round, Cole Henry in the second round, Sammy Infante in the compensation second round, Holden Powell in the third round, Brady Lindsly in the fourth round, and Mitchell Parker in the fifth round. At least 2-3 of these players are set to make an impact on the Major League roster, and in Mitchell Parker's case, he has already done so.

With only six players added to the organization via the draft and Washington in desperate need of building depth in a weak minor league system at the time, the Nationals turned to signing undrafted free agents, including the one I will be talking about today, Zach Brzykcy.

Brzykcy, pronounced "Brick-see" was signed out of Virginia Tech after a rocky college career at Virginia Tech. Brzykcy always had a powerful arm, but struggled with injuries and consistency, pitching to a 9.00 ERA in seven appearances in 2020 before going undrafted. His flashes of brilliance enticed the Nationals to quickly sign him for $20,000, before making his debut in High-A Wilmington in 2021.

Brzykcy might not have had the best numbers in 62 1/3 innings to start his professional career, with a 5.20 ERA and 1.283 WHIP, but the strikeouts and walks were impressive for a live arm just finishing up college ball. He struck out 86 and walked 25, before carrying that success into the 2022 season, at three different levels. Brzykcy had 95 strikeouts and 29 walks in 61 1/3 innings, with a 1.76 ERA.

Now on the Nationals radar, Brzykcy was poised to have a huge 2023 and was potentially going to make the major league roster out of spring training, before a forearm strain and Tommy John surgery ended his 2023 season.

Returning to professional baseball this year, Brzykcy has rounded into the pitcher he was before the injury. A three-pitch pitcher, he flashes a fastball in the mid-90s, with an above-average curveball and a changeup. Although he occasionally struggles with command, Brzykcy has allowed only 14 hits in 33 innings across four levels this season, with 43 strikeouts and 13 walks in 33 innings. His whip is 0.82, ERA 2.18, and his underlying numbers are as solid as you can get for his level. He was also recently named the minor league relief pitcher of the week, with three straight perfect outings in AAA.

At 25 years old and a relief pitcher, it is hard to measure how truly valuable Brzykcy will be to the organization, but with his story, he is easy to root for. Currently number 22 on our MLB top 30 prospects, Brzykcy has some work to do with his control to become an impact late-inning reliever, but his fastball and curveball will play at the major league level, and it was good to see him earn a September call-up opportunity.

After a rough, and I mean very rough, first cup of coffee at the major league level, there are some question marks that have rightfully been raised about his control. He appeared in 6 games in Septemeber, finishing with 5 2/3 innings, 9 hits and 9 runs allowed, with 3 walks and 4 strikeoutes. He did have three straight scoreless appearances after his major league debut getting roughed up against the Cubs, but then allowed runs in two consecutive appearances, before being sent back down. Look for Zach to have a big spring and up getting high leverage spots next year.