By the time athletes reach the professional level, every player they compete against and with has elite talent. Only the best and most talented make it to professional baseball, and it’s easy to get caught up in the mix. So players, almost every time, need a separator. They need something that separates them from all of the other players that are the most talented the world has to offer.

Ryan Brown, a 6’2 RHP relief pitcher in the Dodgers organization, has a separator, his Vulcan Change.

Brown’s Vulcan change is unique, and between it and his very good fastball, hitters swing and miss at his offerings at an eye popping clip.

In fact, his change up had a 70% miss rate last spring, and, during a 2 game span, he went on a streak where he struck 17 of 20 batters he faced. 

Brown explains his Vulcan change, how it came about and why it leads to so much swing and miss from hitters.

First of all, it was just kind of made up on the fly. I had never heard of it before and I decided to try it. Basically I split my middle and ring finger and I lay over the “horse shoe”, and I split that, then split my middle finger a little more than my ring finger. 

Michigan to Ball State

Brown grew up in Michigan as a standout catcher and didn’t really pitch much at all in High School. He garnered recruiting attention from many different schools, but almost all of them wanted him as a catcher.

After all, behind the dish had been his home to that point, almost exclusively.

But, one school in particular, Ball State, has had an eye for big time arm talent recently, and they saw potential in the 6’2 Brown as a pitcher.

Ball State has produced 5 pitchers that have been drafted recently, including Bryan Bullington who was the Pirates #1 pick in 2022. Brown noticed the great work that program was doing with their pitching development, so when they offered he chose to be a Cardinal.

At Ball State, the 6’2 right hander took off immediately, pun intended, posting a 2.14 in his first year of action as a Cardinal. Combined, between 2022 and 2023, he posted 121 strikeouts in 74.2 innings, so trying to hit him proved to be one of the most difficult things to do in College Baseball.

Ball State was one of the few schools that wanted me as a pitcher. I was a catcher my whole life and Ball State came to see me and they liked my frame and the way my arm moved, so they wanted to see me on the mound. 

Brown continued about how he became a pitcher for the Cardinals. 

So I caught the whole game until I came in to close and I think I hit 86 or 87, so nothing too crazy. 

But, they wanted me as a pitcher, I knew they were one of the best schools in terms of developing pitchers, so they were my best offer and I went with them. 

Brown had a very memorable career at Ball State and closed out the first game of the MAC Championship game last Spring. But, all the while he was fighting a burning pain in his arm, something of which eventually led to Tommy John Surgery.

He was forced to limit his action to outs at a time, but was bound and determined to do what he could to help his team in any way he could. That’s exactly what he did as he came in for 10 to 15 pitch outings and helped his team win the MAC Championship. 

In fact, he closed out the first win in the tournament and it is one of his most memorable moments in sports.

My #1 personal moment was this past year closing the first game of the MAC tournament against Central Michigan. Winning our Conference Tournament last year, then getting to go to the Kentucky Regional was my favorite team memory. 

Tommy John

After those memorable moments, Brown eventually had his arm checked out, had 2 MRIs, and found out that he was going to need Tommy John Surgery. He went under the knife last June, and is in the process of rehabbing and plans to be back some time mid summer this next year.

Brown explained how it all happened.

I injured my knee last year and was out a couple of weeks. I kind of rushed things and I don’t think I was totally ready. I ended up having elbow pain at the end of one of our games. My arm just felt like it was burning, so I knew something was up.

So I got it checked out and the MRI was a little blurred and they told me I had a partial tear. So I got a PRP shot to see if I could play the tail end of the year, but then I got another MRI. and it turned out it was fully torn. 

But, I still wanted to pitch, so I told my coach that I could pitch a max of 10 to 15 pitches, so that’s what I did.

Prospect Feature

Brown is still rehabbing and plans to be back some time in the middle of next Summer. When asked what has made his stuff have so much “swing and miss” to it, here’s what he had to say.

I think my fastball and change work well off of each other because my fastball has some “ride” to it. The “ride” on my fastball helps get more “swing and miss” from my change up.

Brown continued

My change up moves more down, so that works well off of the “ride” of my fastball. I’m still working on a third pitch, but those two pitches are the ones that have gotten me to this point.

Brown talked about how adding a 3rd pitch would help him.

They’ve talked about adding a “cutter”, but I think it’s gonna be mostly about learning where my pitches work best. But, adding a 3rd pitch will add another element of unpredictability, which will help me keep hitters off balance.

When asked what type of role he sees in his future, he indicated that relief is the most likely scenario.

.@RyanBrownBaseb1 CLOSES IT OUT‼️🤯

Ryan Brown comes in at the bottom of the 9th to drop the Chippewas!#ChirpChirp x #WeFly pic.twitter.com/X36e9MHAry

— Ball State Baseball (@BallStateBB) May 25, 2023

It’s hard for me to say what role I will be placed in, because I’ve never really had a long conversation about it because I’m still rehabbing. But, I’ve always loved relieving, and in College I really liked closing games. 

Closing is always something I have loved to do. 

I’ve started a couple of games, and I enjoyed that too, but if I had a preference, it would probably be relieving, closing, that sort of role, but I haven’t talked to anyone about that yet.

Looking Forward to Seeing Brown As a Dodger

Brown was drafted in the 9th Round of last summers draft and is working very hard to get through his rehab and start his professional career on the mound. He’s in Arizona at the complex so he has all the equipment and resources available at that facility, so he has everything he needs to keep progressing. 

Brown is a very level headed and is an extremely intelligent young man, and has a great plan for how he is going to maximize his opportunities when they come, so we should all be looking forward to that. 

Big thanks to Ryan for agreeing to an interview so Dodgers fans can get to know him a little better. He was super gracious with his time, and for that, Dodgers Daily is super thankful, and will be rooting for him all along the way.

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