Pittsburgh Pirates: Three More Potential Second-Round Picks

Maddux Bruns

Maddux Bruns is a left-handed pitcher out of UMS-Wright High School in Alabama. Maddux may be one of the most impressive left-handed pitchers in the entire draft this year. The 18-year-old, who will turn 19 on June 20th, currently stands at 6’2″, 205 pounds, and has all the tools you’d want from a young pitcher.

MLB Pipeline grades out four pitches. Two of which have a 60-grade. His four-seam fastball was topping out in the upper-90s, reaching into the 97-98 MPH range. He usually sits in the mid-90 MPH range and has shown some late-life with the offering. Bruns has shown the ability to work both sides of the plate with it, while also flashing “heavy life down in the zone” as described by his Perfect Game report.

His other 60-grade offering is his slider. This pitch sits in the 83-85 MPH range and has some tilt with it. The third pitch Brusn throws is another pitch with the potential to be another above-average offering. His curveball comes in with a 55-grade. This is a 12-6 curve that comes in around the mid-70s, making the difference between his four-seam fastball and curveball about a whopping 20 MPH difference. He’ll also throw a changeup into the mix and while it’s his least used offering, it has a 50-grade, giving him a four-pitch mix that all are projected to be average or better offerings.

Bruns does have some control issues at times. He only has a 40 control grade on Pipeline which could arise some concern. However, his mechanics which include a three-quarters arm slot, compact arm, short stride out front, and being able to stay balanced (per Perfect Game) are promising.

Overall, while his control is spotty at best, he’s still very young. Plus it would be extremely hard to pass up on a lefty pitcher who throws in the mid-to-upper 90s, has a four-pitch mix, and a four-pitch mix where all offerings are considered average or better.