Show Me
03/07/2056
Many years from now, Jonathan Bryant will tell his grandchildren about how once, long ago, he was ranked two spots ahead of David Molina in the BBA Top 100 prospect rankings. The grandchildren will not believe him. Surely no sane person would do such a thing. Who could imagine that their grandfather was in any way a superior prospect to national treasure and household name David Molina? 'That grandpa, what a fibber,' they will say, or at least, words to that effect.
Valencia drafted a sixteen year-old Bryant in the fourth round of the 2049 draft with the 127th overall pick, which earned him a tidy $1.2M signing bonus. The Jefferson City, Missouri native stands 6' 6” and throws left-handed. At the time he was selected in the draft Bryant had a future value of 40, with potential pitcher ratings of 7/5/5.
This is what his official scouting report has to say:
If only. It doesn't look like Bryant will contribute to a big league club outside of an emergency call-up. Bryant's command is nothing more than average and likely will never be more than that. I'm concerned about a pitcher who throws in the triple digits but doesn't have a four-seamer in their repertoire. It's strange.He pairs a nasty curveball with an excellent cutter. His stuff should play well above average once he's finished developing. And he has [such] great command of his pitches that he'll rarely give up a long-ball. Bryant has enough traits to develop into a back-end rotation option.
Bryant's progress through the Valencia minor league system has been undistinguished. At no point has he had a FIP- below 100, or a WAR above 1.1. He's been grinding and making it look difficult, which of course it is. Just getting to the point of being qualified to play professional ball is no small feat. His progress was stalled particularly in 2053, when he suffered a ruptured disc in his back that kept him sidelined for eight months.
Bryant is the #2 overall, and #2 pitching prospect in the Valencia minor league system. He is ranked as the #92 prospect in the BBA by code in need of revision. He has current and potential pitcher ratings of 9/6/5 as a starter as he enters his age 23 season, with a mix of three good pitches, but nothing we've seen from him yet suggests that he's ready for the show.
Bryant is smart. This is what we know about his personality, though I'm not sure that intellectual capacity qualifies as personality.
In his second spring start, this time taking on the Atlantic City Gamblers, David Molina pitched 3 1/3 innings and left the game with forearm soreness. This, thankfully, doesn't look to be a big thing and he's only expected to miss a few days. In the game, he faced sixteen batters, striking out just two, walking three, and allowing two hits and one earned run, improving his spring ERA to 3.86 and FIP- to 83. He's looking pretty good.
