Andrew Brackman

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For other persons of the same name, see Brackman.

Andrew Brackman (born December 4, 1985) is a 6' 10" right-handed Minor League Baseball pitcher with the New York Yankees organization.^[1] He signed a four year $4.55 million dollar deal with $3.35 million signing bonus as the 30th overall pick of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft.^[2] Brackman is represented by sports agent Scott Boras.^[3]

1 High school career
2 College career
3 Professional career
4 Pitching Style
5 References
6 External links

[edit] High school career

Brackman attended Moeller High School in Cincinnati, OH. There he was one of the top high school pitchers in the country, and a two-sport standout. He had a career ERA of 1.04, the seventh best in the history of Ohio high school baseball,^[4] and helped lead Moeller to a 28-3 record and the Ohio state championship as a senior. He was ranked as the No. 18 senior in America by Team One Baseball, and listed as the No. 4 prospect in Ohio for the 2004 draft by Baseball America.

He was runner-up for Mr. Basketball in Ohio by the Associated Press, shared Ohio's Division I Player of the Year honors, and was named first-team all-state, as he averaged 20.2 points and 6.5 rebounds as a senior. He led his conference in scoring and field-goal percentage (.654), and was second in free-throw percentage (.882). He was rated the No. 42 prospect nationally by Insiders.com, and No. 43 by PrepStars following his senior season.^[5]

[edit] College career

He then attended and played at North Carolina State University. Brackman played two seasons as a dual-sport athlete at NC State, playing both basketball and baseball. During his freshman year basketball season (2004-2005), he played center and forward averaging 7.4 points and 3.5 rebounds.^[6]

In his freshman baseball season, he was 4-0 with a 2.09 ERA in 10 appearances as both a reliever and later, a 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. He was named a second-team preseason All-America player by Baseball America for 2006. ^[5] After the Wolfpack was knocked out of the 2006 NCAA tournament, in the second round by Texas, Brackman chose not to return to the basketball team the next season and instead to develop his pitching with hopes of doing well in professional baseball.

Brackman suffered a stress fracture to his hip in his sophomore year basketball season limiting him to only 7 games and a disappointing 1-4 record with a 6.09 ERA.^[7]^[8] In the summer of that year, he pitched for the Orleans Cardinals in the Cape Cod League earning a 1-0 record with a 1.09 ERA.^[7] This effort led to Baseball America ranking him the number 2 prospect in that league.

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. He did not pitch in the ACC nor the NCAA tournaments due to elbow injuries.^[9]

Despite anxiety about the effect of his past injuries on his draft stock, Brackman did well in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft, drafted by the Yankees with the 30th pick of the first round^[10].

[edit] Professional career

Following the 2007 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.^[11] The club also holds options over Brackman for the 2011, 2012, and 2013 seasons which could boost the total value of his contract over $13 million (if he meets his bonus requirements).^[11]

As specified by his contract on August 15, 2007, the Yankees placed Brackman on the 40 man roster (designating infielder Chris Basak for assignment to make room for him).^[2] Brackman currently wears uniform number 64.

Brackman was optioned to the Class-A Tampa Yankees in the Gulf Coast League. The Yankees recommended that Brackman see Dr. James Andrews in Alabama to address his lingering elbow concerns. Later in August 2007, he underwent Tommy John surgery.^[9]

Brackman began the 2008 season on the 60 day disabled list, a procedural move to keep him on the 40-man roster. He's not expected to pitch until the very end of the year, when he'll begin preparing for a spring 2009 start. Despite this setback, the Yankees still consider Brackman a "blue-chip prospect".^[12] On February 1, 2008, Keith Law of ESPN ranked Brackman in the top 100 baseball prospects of 2008,^[13]^[14] and both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus list him as in the Yankees' top ten prospects.^[15]^[16] On February 25, 2008, Hank Steinbrenner said:

"I'm very confident in the next 10 years that Chamberlain, Hughes, Kennedy, (Andrew) Brackman, (Alan) Horne - all those guys - we're going to be a powerhouse for the next 10 years and longer."^[17]

[edit] Pitching Style

Brackman consistently throws his fastball between 92-97 miles per hour, and he compliments it with a two-seam fastball, knuckle curve, and a changeup. His height and overhand action give his pitches a very desirable "downward plane". ^[18]