Brad Dydalewicz Stats & Scouting Report

IP	264
ERA	6.545
WHIP	1.693
BB/9	5.284
SO/9	5.727

Full name Brad Allen Dydalewicz
Born 03/24/1990 in Spicewood, TX
Profile Ht.: 6'1" / Wt.: 180 / Bats: L / Throws: L
School Lake Travis
Drafted in the 8th round (242nd overall) by the Houston Astros in 2008 (signed for $425,000).

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Lefthander Brad Dydalewicz missed the 2007 season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee while playing football, but he has returned to top out at 93 mph this spring. He's just 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds, so he generates his impressive velocity with a slinging, maximum-effort delivery that makes it tough for hitters to pick the ball up. His second pitch is a slurvy breaking ball and he needs a lot of polish. Though he has committed to Arizona, scouts expect him to sign.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

When the Astros couldn't sign their 2008 third-round pick, Chase Davidson, it freed up the money to bring in eighth-rounder Dydalewicz for an above-slot $425,000 bonus just before the signing deadline. He flew under the radar after he missed the 2007 season following knee surgery to repair a football injury. Dydalewicz threw 90-94 mph as a high school senior but pitched more at 88-92 mph in his full-season debut last year. His curveball also lost sharpness and bite, and his changeup passed his curve as his most reliable secondary pitch. Dydalewicz had a lot of moving parts in his delivery, so the Astros spent instructional league trying to streamline his mechanics, which knocked his velocity down a little more. Houston expects that his stuff will bounce back now that he has gotten acclimated to the grind of the long pro season. Dydalewicz could benefit from heading back to low Class A for the first half of 2010.
Houston signed Dydalewicz just before the Aug. 15 deadline last year for an above-slot, $425,000 bonus, after failing to sign Georgia high school first baseman and fourth-round pick Chase Davidson. Dydalewicz instantly became their most exciting lefthanded starter prospect, even though he sneaked in just 10 late-season innings after signing and will play the 2009 season at 19 years old. He throws a live fastball and plus curveball, with enough arm strength to suggest his heater will consistently sit in the low 90s as he advances. He was 90-94 mph in the spring, an encouraging sign considering he tore his ACL in 2007 while playing football. The curveball has 1-7 shape, and it's difficult for hitters to pick up. Dydalewicz creates deception out of a delivery that has a lot of moving parts. At times, his front shoulder flies open, and his elbow gets underneath the ball, resulting in pitches left up in the zone. At least one scout sees Dydalewicz as a future Billy Wagner type, but the Astros want him to start, if only to get as many innings as possible in order to enhance all of his pitches, including a changeup that he rarely threw last year. They could push him to Lexington if he has a good spring, but it's more likely that Dydalewicz stays back in extended spring training before joining a short-season club.