(Images courtesy of Fisher’s Instagram)
League City Texas is a great piece of America that has always been known as a hotbed of Major League talent and entertainment options that have no limits. Sandwiched between Houston and Galveston Beach it sits next to miles of coastline, everything that a Major City would offer, and some of the best High School baseball in all of America. It has produced 15 Major League baseball players and is home to hopeful Big Leaguer #16, Braydon Fisher, one of the most talented pitchers in the Dodgers organization.
Clear Falls Standout
Fisher was a standout at Clear Falls High School and went 11-2 on the mound as a Senior, had an ERA of 1.43, struck out 100 batters in 73.1 innings, and also hit .393 at the plate. He earned TSWA 6A All-Star honors and was named the Galveston County Player of the Year. He had the great fortune of playing in a great program, for great coaches, and had great success, and here’s what he had to say about being a Knight.
Oh man, it was awesome, I had a lot of fun. Eddie’s a great guy, coach Youngblood I should say, and he knows the game very well and teaches it the right way. He taught me a lot through my High School career and he teaches kids how to be good players on the field and how to be good men off of it and he teaches you how to respect the game and I love that, so he helped me a lot.
Getting Drafted
Fisher had great success in an area of the Country where High School baseball is elite, so he had options after High School and committed to playing baseball at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. But, before he made it to campus, the 6-4 League City native was also invited to play in the World Wood Bat Championships in Jupiter, Florida which turned out to be an experience that helped put him on the path to Professional baseball. Fisher pitched well during that event, turned heads, and made such an impression on professional scouts that he was eventually drafted later that Summer of 2018 by the Dodgers in the 4th Round. Although he was committed to Lamar, which is a great school that plays great baseball, the decision to turn pro was an easy one.
For me it was a “no brainer”. I love baseball and I’m not a big school guy so I figured that any opportunity I could get to dedicate my life to baseball and baseball only was a good opportunity so that’s why I chose to sign with the Dodgers. I think it was one of the best decisions I’ve made.
When asked what draft day was like, with a big Braydon Fisher grin, he added:
On draft day it was just me and my parents and we were sitting there watching it on TV and my agent had called and told me some things about when I might go, so in those moments we locked in and sure enough the Dodgers picked me and watching my name roll across the screen was pretty cool, and my parents started crying and stuff so it was very cool.
Fisher went on to talk about when it actually hit him that he was a Dodger.
Honestly, I didn’t feel like I was a Dodger until I put the Uniform on in the AZL for the first time because it’s the Dodger uniform in the AZL so that was when I felt it and was like, wow, this is really cool when I put the uniform on.
Days as a Dodger
Fisher spent the remainder of 2018 in the AZL, now known as the ACL, and posted a 0.79 ERA in his his last month of the season. He carried a lot of momentum in 2019, momentum, however, that was stopped almost before it got started. In Spring training of 2019, the 6’4 League City native hyper extended his elbow, eventually had surgery and was forced to miss the entire 2019 season, Then, the next season, 2020 got canceled due to Covid, so he was forced to sit out 2 years in a row, which was a frustrating situation, but one that he took advantage of to better himself.
Yeah, that situation was frustrating, but looking back on it, it was probably the best thing that could have happened to me because I was an 18 year old kid just out of High School and didn’t really know much about baseball. I was just going out there and being athletic and I think having that opportunity to dedicate that time to getting my body to where it needed to be was big. There were a lot of older guys in rehab that helped me out, one being Zac McAllister, and he helped me out a lot. So, it actually was a blessing because I got stronger and mentally stronger and developed a fire to come back and play again. Then 2020 came around and Covid canceled everything so I basically rehabbed for 2 years so my arm is feeling great and, knock on wood, my elbow doesn’t bother me, so although it was bad, it was also a good thing.
It’s important to understand that, although he was drafted in 2018, 2021 was his first full year as a professional, and the first full year is physically exhausting. Fisher spent all of 2021 in Low A Rancho Cucamonga and started there this year in 2022 before being moved up to High A Great Lakes after just 3 outings in April for Rancho. Being his 2nd full year, the 2018 Draft Pick says that his body feels a lot better this year.
Playing your first full season is hard, and I had never done it before and everyone had told me that you get tired and it’s hard and that it’s a grind and that the Dog Days are the Dog Days, and that’s for sure, so last year I think was good for my first full year getting to experience it all and knowing what to expect for the upcoming year. So this year has actually been a lot easier because I was so tired by the end of last year and I feel pretty good right now this year and we’re winning games left and right and the guys on the team are great and so are the coaches. So I’m just happy that I get to go to the field everyday so it’s going good.
Feature Cut
Fisher features the big 4 seam fastball, and two new recently developed pitches with his curveball and cutter to pair with his slider. His 4 seam sits 93-95 and can hit 97 with some adrenaline, and has a very good spin rate so it has good ride at the top of the zone and good carry at the bottom.
Fishers curveball is a really, really good pitch with 12-6 break that falls off the table. It’s a pitch that, combined with his height at 6-4″ gives him a larger margin for error than most other pitchers. Interesting note on his curveball, this past off season he was trying to get more horizontal movement on his slider and Ian Walsh, a pitching development coach in the Dodgers system, told him to throw it like a curveball. So, he did, and after about a week, he had a curveball. Take a look at it for yourself in the video below.
Fishers slider is a ++ pitch with great depth and horizontal movement and coming out of a 6-4 frame, it gives him the ability to use it against both left handers and right handers. It is a “go-to” pitch in crisis moments, moments that he has shown to be clutch. Earlier this year he decided he wanted to try and develop a cutter so he played around with grips and found one that worked and quickly added that pitch to his portfolio to round out his 4 pitch mix.
Finishing Up
Although Fisher has been in the system since 2018, this year is only his 2nd full year in professional baseball, so he is just starting to get familiar and comfortable with everything that goes into having success over the grind of a full professional season. He certainly has all the tools and measurables with a 6’4 frame, and 4 very good pitches in his arsenal, and he fits the Dodgers culture with his humble but confident approach.
I’d like to finish by saying it was a pleasure getting to speak with this young man and getting to know him a little better and it has been an honor to tell at least a part of his story. He has a big future ahead and I can’t wait to follow and watch it.
