For the first three years of his professional career, Andrew Brackman could be considered nothing short of a bust.
Shortly after the Yankees signed their first-round pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft that summer (and gave him a franchise draft pick record $3.35 million signing bonus), the 6-foot-10 right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery, bumping his professional debut all the way back to last spring with Low-A Charleston.
The N.C. State product then did nothing a full season with the RiverDogs, going 2-12 with a 5.91 ERA, and struggled mightily in his first two starts with High-A Tampa this year before hitting the disabled list with an injured finger on his pitching hand.
But since Brackman returned from the DL, he’s been very good for Tampa, and turned that success into a promotion to Double-A Trenton today, where he’ll make his debut against the New Hampshire River Cats and Toronto’s No. 1 prospect, right-hander Zach Stewart.
In his last 10 starts with Tampa, Brackman has gone 5-2 with a 3.81 ERA, striking out 51 and walking eight in 52 innings. He’s allowed three runs or less in seven of those 10 starts, and one or less in five of them.
Brackman, who entered the season as the Yankees’ 10th best prospect, according to Baseball America, is one of the most intriguing prospects in the entire Yankees system because of his size and athleticism (he played basketball at N.C. State for two years).
Now, after waiting three years for him to develop, he’s one step closer to fulfilling his lofty draft status and taking a place in the Yankees’ rotation alongside another former first-round draft pick, Phil Hughes.