Bret Prinz

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Arizona Diamondbacks #9 prospect in 2001
  Prinz is a local kid made good so far. He attended Centennial High in Peoria, Ariz., and was drafted out of Phoenix Junior College. He made the transition from starter to sidearm reliever prior to the 2000 season, saving him from being relegated to a mere organizational pitcher. With the help of former minor league pitching coordinator Gil Patterson and sidearm specialist Brad Clontz, Prinz made a significant improvement to vault into prospect status as a closer. He throws a 94 mph fastball that's murder on righthanders. He quickly developed the mentality to want the ball in a save situation, and his arm proved resilient enough to close. He needs to polish his slider as a second pitch. While he throws plenty of strikes, he needs to improve his location because he was hittable last year. That was especially true against lefthanders, who batted .344 off him in Double-A. Prinz still has plenty of room for improvement, which is encouraging considering how far he's come along as a closer in his first year. He probably will be the closer at Triple-A Tucson and could reach the majors in late 2001. He would add some youth to a mostly veteran Arizona bullpen.