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Braves prospect Phil Pfeifer dominating Australian Baseball Leauge

By Jake Mastroianni

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 23: A general view of play during the MLB match between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Sydney Cricket Ground on March 23, 2014 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 23: A general view of play during the MLB match between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Sydney Cricket Ground on March 23, 2014 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images) /
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There haven’t been too many Atlanta Braves prospects having good Winter League performances, but pitcher Phil Pfeifer is the exception.

The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Phil Pfeifer in the third round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of Vanderbilt University and later traded him to the Atlanta Braves during the 2016 season.

In parts of five Minor League seasons he has a career ERA of 3.58 with 350 strikeouts in 297 innings, a WHIP of 1.34, a BB/9 of 4.7, and a K/9 of 10.6.

The 27-year-old lefty has gone back-and-forth from being a starter and a reliever in his five Minor League season.

In 2019 he started in High-A Florida where he had a 3.23 ERA in 92 innings making 14 starts and 2 relief appearances. He had a 2.38 ERA in 34 Double-A innings (4 starts, 7 appearances), and the he finished the year in Triple-A where he had a 2.45 ERA in 7.1 relief innings.

This offseason he’s made 6 starts in the Australian Baseball League and has been perhaps the most dominant pitcher in the league.

He has a 1.57 ERA in 34.1 innings with 41 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.19.

That ERA ranks second in the league, while he’s fourth in innings pitched, and third in strikeouts.

What’s been great is that he’s only walked 9 batters for a BB/9 of 2.4.

Walks have been the issue with Pfeifer throughout this Minor League career, but he started to show signs of improvement in 2019.

At High-A he had a BB/9 of just 2.3 in 2019, the best of his career. However, it did go up to 4.2 at Double-A and 3.7 at Triple-A.

An article from Sports Talk ATL notes that Pfeifer features a low-90s fastball that can get up to 95. And his best secondary pitch is a power curveball.

The Braves added the lefty to the 40-man roster this offseason. And depending on what they do with him to start 2020, he could make his debut next season.

If I had to guess, the Braves will start him in Triple-A in 2020 as a starting pitcher. There is just too much talent there not to let him at least get another shot at being a starter.

But I think he’s proved at the very least that he can be a great lefty option out of the bullpen — if he can continue to command his pitches as he has for most of 2019.

Next. Who wins 2020 Cy Young. dark

We’ll continue to keep an eye on Pfeifer this offseason and in Spring Training as he could be a name to watch in 2020.

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