Brusdar Graterol

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Los Angeles Dodgers #3 prospect in 2020
  TRACK RECORD: After a year off to recover from Tommy John surgery in 2016, Graterol started making waves at the end of 2017 and continued to progress throughout 2018 at a pair of Class A stops. Shoulder soreness shortened his season at Double-A Pensacola in 2019, but he recovered to make his big league debut as a reliever on Sept. 1. He was impressive enough that the Twins kept him on their roster in their Division Series loss to the Yankees. Graterol was initially slated to go to the Red Sox via the Twins in the three-team Mookie Betts trade that also involved the Dodgers, but the deal was reworked after Boston reportedly balked at Graterol's medicals. Graterol was later traded directly to the Dodgers in a deal for Kenta Maeda.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Graterol's selling point continues to be his electric fastball. The pitch averaged 99 mph in his limited time in the big leagues and showed hard, heavy movement when he located it in the bottom of the strike zone. It doesn't have the typical characteristics one likes to see in a fastball used up in the zone, but pure velocity should allow him to blow it by hitters regardless. He pairs the fastball with a hard slider at 87-90 mph that scouts project as plus if it achieves more consistency. His slider breaks somewhat like a cutter rather than a deep, downer version that can be used to back-foot hitters. He has feel for a low-90s changeup, but he's primarily a two-pitch guy at this point in his development. He's already a big-bodied pitcher who must watch his conditioning as he develops.
  
  THE FUTURE: Graterol has the upside of a top-end starter and the floor of a power reliever. The development of his changeup and his conditioning will go a long way toward determining which path he takes.
• 
  Ranked Minnesota Twins #3 prospect in 2019
  Track Record: Graterol has gained 60 pounds since he signed, and he used his rehab period from Tommy John surgery to get stronger. After a 40-inning taste of the new Graterol in 2017, he built on those gains at two levels in 2018, helping pitch Class A Fort Myers to a Florida State League title.
  
  Scouting Report: Before his surgery, Graterol sat 87-88 mph with his fastball but showed a clean delivery. Since his return, he pitches at 96-100 mph and touches 101 while throwing exclusively two-seamers. With his renewed commitment to conditioning, especially to his strong legs and hindquarters, Graterol can maintain that 80-grade fastball into the later innings. His tight, late-breaking slider shows plus-plus potential at 87-90 mph, and at times it is almost unhittable. His average curveball tends to get loopy at 82-84 mph, and his power changeup can be too firm despite heavy sink. Graterol studies video of All-Star righty Jose Berrios and patterns his approach after him, on and off the mound. he Future: Graterol, who has an endearing sense of humor and has worked hard to improve his English, could return to Fort Myers to open 2019. He projects as a potential rotation-topping ace.
• 
  Ranked Minnesota Twins #5 prospect in 2018
  Signed out of Venezuela for $150,000, three days after his 16th birthday, Graterol was part of the Twins' 2014-15 international signing class headlined by fellow righthander Huascar Ynoa out of the Dominican Republic. While the Twins shipped Ynoa to the Atlanta Braves last July in Part 1 of the Jaime Garcia flip process, Graterol returned from Tommy John surgery to rocket up the prospect charts while dominating at two levels. In his final outing of a season capped at 40 innings and 75 pitches in any individual outing, he struck out five in the first three innings of an elimination-game win that sent Rookie-level Elizabethton on its way to a four-game winning streak and the Appalachian League title. After sitting at 87-88 mph with his fastball pre-surgery, Graterol used the rehabilitation process to completely remake his body and his repertoire. Now 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds after packing on nearly 60 pounds of good weight, most noticeably in his legs and hindquarters, he has boosted his fastball to 95-98 mph with flashes up to 101 mph. That enabled him to blow past Double-A righty Fernando Romero for ownership of the best fastball in the system. Graterol also has a late-breaking plus slider at 85-89 mph and a hard curve at 80-83 mph that has a chance to be above-average. His 86-89 mph changeup projects as at least average with good action and feel for his age. Graterol figures to open 2018 at low Class A Cedar Rapids, where he will continue to build up his innings and mound experience. With outstanding work ethic and aptitude that point toward continued improvement, he has the highest ceiling of any Twins prospect, projecting rotation-topping potential.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked Southern League #9 prospect in 2019
  Graterol burned brightly in the Southern League early on, but his momentum was stalled after nine starts by a shoulder impingement. He missed three months, and when he returned he shifted to the bullpen. As a reliever, he rose to Triple-A in August and to Minnesota in September. Graterol made a big impression on managers when healthy. They voted him as the best pitching prospect in the league when polled at midseason and also credited him with having the best fastball and best breaking pitch. Graterol peaks at 102 mph and pitches in the upper 90s with premium arm speed. Graterol’s mid-80s slider is a double-plus pitch that he can land for strikes when behind in the count or backdoor to lefthanded batters. He also uses it to expand the zone against righthanded batters. His fringe-average changeup is less seen but effective in spots.
• 
  Ranked Florida State League #13 prospect in 2018
  Graterol burst on the scene last year, when he showed off his tantalizing pitch package in the Rookie-level Appalachian League during Elizabethton's run to its first of back-to-back championships. He was hampered early this year with back issues, but finished his season with another ring when Fort Myers took home the FSL crown. Graterol starts his arsenal with a top-shelf fastball that sits in the upper 90s and regularly hits triple-digits. He backs it up with a hard slider in the 87-90 mph range and a hammer of a 12-to-6 curveball. He's developing a changeup to go with his breaking balls. The arsenal on its own is enough to place him high on this list, but he does need to refine his effectively wild command. He gets away with misses and sequences that might get exploited at the upper levels, and his arm action has drawn concern from some scouts. There's work to be done, but the basic ingredients are there for Graterol to be a front of the rotation starter with a fallback option as a power reliever.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #60 prospect in 2020
• Ranked Baseball America's #55 prospect in 2019

• July, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: After a year off to recover from Tommy John surgery in 2016, Graterol started making waves at the end of 2017 and continued to progress throughout 2018 at a pair of Class A stops. Shoulder soreness shortened his season at Double-A Pensacola in 2019, but he recovered to make his big league debut as a reliever on Sept. 1. He was impressive enough that the Twins kept him on their roster in their Division Series loss to the Yankees. Graterol was initially slated to go to the Red Sox via the Twins in the three-team Mookie Betts trade that also involved the Dodgers. But the deal was reworked after Boston reportedly balked at Graterol's medical. Graterol was later traded directly to the Dodgers in a deal that involved Kenta Maeda.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Graterol’s selling point continues to be his electric fastball. The pitch averaged 99 mph in his limited time in the big leagues and showed hard, heavy movement when he located it in the bottom of the strike zone. It doesn’t have the typical characteristics one likes to see in a fastball used up in the zone, but pure velocity should allow him to blow it by hitters regardless. He pairs the fastball with a hard slider at 87-90 mph that scouts project as plus if it achieves more consistency. His slider breaks somewhat like a cutter rather than a deep, downer version that can be used to back-foot hitters. He has feel for a low-90s changeup, but he’s primarily a two-pitch guy at this point in his development. He’s already a big-bodied pitcher who must watch his conditioning as he develops.
  
  THE FUTURE: Graterol has the upside of a top-end starter and the floor of a power reliever. The development of his changeup and his conditioning will go a long way toward determining which path he takes.
• February, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: After a year off to recover from Tommy John surgery in 2016, Graterol started making waves at the end of 2017 and continued to progress throughout 2018 at a pair of Class A stops. Shoulder soreness shortened his season at Double-A Pensacola in 2019, but he recovered to make his big league debut as a reliever on Sept. 1. He was impressive enough that the Twins kept him on their roster in their Division Series loss to the Yankees. Graterol was initially slated to go to the Red Sox via the Twins in the three-team Mookie Betts trade that also involved the Dodgers, but the deal was reworked after Boston reportedly balked at Graterol's medicals. Graterol was later traded directly to the Dodgers in a deal for Kenta Maeda.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Graterol's selling point continues to be his electric fastball. The pitch averaged 99 mph in his limited time in the big leagues and showed hard, heavy movement when he located it in the bottom of the strike zone. It doesn't have the typical characteristics one likes to see in a fastball used up in the zone, but pure velocity should allow him to blow it by hitters regardless. He pairs the fastball with a hard slider at 87-90 mph that scouts project as plus if it achieves more consistency. His slider breaks somewhat like a cutter rather than a deep, downer version that can be used to back-foot hitters. He has feel for a low-90s changeup, but he's primarily a two-pitch guy at this point in his development. He's already a big-bodied pitcher who must watch his conditioning as he develops.
  
  THE FUTURE: Graterol has the upside of a top-end starter and the floor of a power reliever. The development of his changeup and his conditioning will go a long way toward determining which path he takes.
• December, 2018 Scouting Report
  Graterol burned brightly in the Southern League early on, but his momentum was stalled after nine starts by a shoulder impingement. He missed three months, and when he returned he shifted to the bullpen. As a reliever, he rose to Triple-A in August and to Minnesota in September. Graterol made a big impression on managers when healthy. They voted him as the best pitching prospect in the league when polled at midseason and also credited him with having the best fastball and best breaking pitch. Graterol peaks at 102 mph and pitches in the upper 90s with premium arm speed. Graterol’s mid-80s slider is a double-plus pitch that he can land for strikes when behind in the count or backdoor to lefthanded batters. He also uses it to expand the zone against righthanded batters. His fringe-average changeup is less seen but effective in spots.
• July, 2018 Scouting Report
  Graterol is the highest-ceiling starting pitching prospect the Twins have had in years. He sits 96-98 mph and has touched 100-101. His slider is a second potentially plus pitch as when he stays through it and snaps off 87-90 mph spinners with bite hitters are often overmatched against. Graterol has at least average control, which is rare for a teenager with triple-digit stuff. Graterol’s slider gets slower and loopier at times and his curveball and changeup both still need work, but he has worlds of potential.
• December, 2017 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Signed out of Venezuela for $150,000, Graterol was part of the Twins' 2014 international signing class. He returned from Tommy John surgery in 2017 to rocket up the prospect charts while dominating at two levels. In his final outing of a season capped at 40 innings, he struck out five in the first three innings of an elimination-game win that sent Rookie-level Elizabethton on its way to the Appalachian League title. Scouting Report: After sitting at 87-88 mph before surgery, Graterol used the rehabilitation process to completely remake his body and his repertoire. Now 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds after packing on nearly 60 pounds of good weight, most noticeably in his legs and hindquarters, he has boosted his fastball to 95-98 mph with flashes of 101 mph. Graterol also has a late-breaking plus slider at 85-89 mph and a hard curve at 80-83 mph that has a chance to be above-average. His 86-89 mph changeup projects as at least average. The Future: Graterol figures to open 2018 at low Class A Cedar Rapids, where he will continue to build up his innings. With outstanding work ethic and aptitude, he has the highest ceiling of any Twins pitching prospect, with rotation-topping potential.