This year we’ll be releasing our top 25 list in conjunction with the people over at Bernie’s Crew, which means the list is going to posted somewhat out of order to match up with what Jim has for his Top 25. An up-to-date list of the Between the Green Pillars Top 25 can be found at the bottom of the page.

Zach Braddock / LHP / 6’4” 240 LBS / 8/23/87

So much can go wrong with the development of a pitching prospect that it sometimes seems like a miracle that any of them ever make it to the majors, let alone the Hall of Fame. Braddock is currently giving Brewer fans a grand tour of the pitfalls that an extremely talented young arm is subject to, without actually falling into any of them. Braddock had a breakthrough 2007 in West Virginia, posting outstanding numbers pretty much across the board. The biggest concern heading into 2008 was if he could overcome some arm issues that had limited him to a mere 47 innings. He was, after all, moving to the very pitcher friendly Florida State League. What could go wrong?

After a couple totally dominant starts in West Virginia to start the year, Braddock was promoted to Brevard and the trouble started. Compared to 2007, the numbers declined pretty much across the board. He walked batters at a significantly higher rate, while striking them out a bit less often. He allowed hits more often, and more of those hits ended up on the wrong side of the outfield wall. Naturally his WHIP and ERA jumped through the roof. As if that weren’t insulting enough, he continued to struggle with injury issues, missing almost a month in the summer with more arm problems.

So where does Braddock go after a lost 2008 campaign? Fortunately, he’s young and talented enough to rebound. He’s going to strike batters out and hold them to a low average, which makes the flyball and homerun tendencies tolerable if he can just cut the walks back down to the level they were at in 2007. Left-handed pitchers with his ability to overpower hitters are something of a rare commodity, so he’ll have plenty of chances. Should the injuries continue to be a problem, the Brewers could consider a move to the bullpen at some point. If he can just stay healthy and figure out the walk issues, Braddock could find himself towards the front of the Brewers rotation within a few years or at the back of the pen a few more years down the road.

Between the Green Pillars Top 25 Prospects:

# 25: Evan Frederickson

# 24: Cody Adams

#23: Alex Periard

#22: Brent Brewer

#21: Brad Nelson

#20: RJ Seidel

#19: Tim Dillard

# 18: Seth Lintz

# 17: Efrain Nieves

#16: Erik Komatsu

#14: Omar Aguilar

#13: Cutter Dykstra