Brandon Birdsell Stats & Scouting Report

IP	74.1
ERA	3.63
WHIP	1.16
BB/9	1.57
SO/9	7.87

Full name Brandon Lee Birdsell
Born 03/23/2000 in Conroe, TX
Profile Ht.: 6'2" / Wt.: 240 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Texas Tech
Drafted in the 5th round (143rd overall) by the Chicago Cubs in 2022 (signed for $385,000).

View Draft Report

Birdsell has come a long way in his four years of college ball (one year at Texas A&M, one year at San Jacinto (Texas) JC and two years at Texas Tech). A mid-April rotator cuff injury derailed Birdsell’s 2021 season. He was still drafted by the Twins in the 11th round, but he opted to return to Texas Tech to improve his draft standing. He should do better this year after going 9-3, 2.75 with 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings. He’s completely reworked his delivery and filled out from 210 pounds as a freshman to 245 pounds now. Birdsell once was a flamethrower with no idea of where the ball was going. Birdsell’s delivery now is both simple and unorthodox. He simply breaks his hands and goes home as if he’s playing a game of catch, but with a slight stutter as he hangs over his plant leg, which messes with hitters’ timing. It’s paid off in improved control. Birdsell’s plus four-seam fastball sits at 95-96 mph and has touched 99. He carries that velocity through his starts. His above-average mid-80s slider has more depth than tilt, which allows it to be effective against lefties as well as righties. He throws a fringe-average 86-87 mph changeup almost exclusively to lefties. Birdsell has at least a solid path as a two-pitch reliever, but his control improvements give him a shot of going out in pro ball as a starter. His age (22) will likely hurt him on many teams’ boards.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

BA Grade/Risk: 45/High.

Track Record: Birdsell is the rare player to be drafted three times. He was taken by the Astros out of high school in the 39th round in 2018 and then twice out of Texas Tech, the first time by the Twins in the 11th round in 2021 and then by the Cubs in the fifth round in 2022. Birdsell signed for $385,000 and made his pro debut the following season, performing well across High-A and Double-A with a 2.78 ERA and 97 strikeouts to 32 walks in 107 innings. In 2024, Birdsell took another step forward, dominating in the Double-A Southern League for 14 starts before making the jump to Triple-A, where he posted a 19.4% strikeout-minus-walk rate.

Scouting Report: Birdsell stands 6-foot-2 with a stocky, filled-out body. He uses a short arm action with a slight pause before delivering the ball from a high three-quarters slot. Birdsell mixes five pitches but primarily relies on his fastball and slider combination. His heater sits 94-95 mph and touches 98 at peak with below-average ride and cut. Birdsell’s fastball plays below that velocity because of a lack of extension in his delivery. His slider sits 83-85 mph with a heavy gyro shape and late drop. Birdsell’s cutter was used less than his slider, but it generated good results at 88-90 mph with more horizontal movement than a typical cutter. Birdsell also mixes a curveball and changeup, though both pitches are used intermittently. Ultimately, the thing that pulls Birdsell’s arsenal together is his plus command. He has shown excellent walk rates across every level of the minors and has the ability to land all of his pitches in the strike zone.

The Future: Birdsell is a ready-made No. 5 starter for a club as soon as 2025. While he doesn’t have bat-missing stuff, he boasts a deep arsenal with above-average velocity and throws lots of strikes.

Scouting Grades Fastball: 50 | Curveball: 40 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 40 | Cutter: 55 | Control: 60
BA Grade: 45/High

Track Record: An unsigned 39th-round pick of the Astros in high school, Birdsell began his college career at Texas A&M before transferring to San Jacinto (Texas) JC and eventually Texas Tech. The Twins drafted him in the 11th round as a draft-eligible sophomore, but he returned to school and won Big 12 Conference pitcher of the year. The Cubs drafted him in the fifth round and signed him for $385,000. Birdsell made his pro debut in 2023 and was one of the biggest breakouts in the Cubs system. He led the organization with a 2.77 ERA over 24 starts and rose to Double-A Tennessee.

Scouting Report: Birdsell is a confident, big-bodied righthander who fills up the strike zone. His fastball sits 92-95 mph and gets on batters faster than they expect with his short arm action and a slight pause in his delivery. His primary secondary is a fringy, 83-86 mph vertical slider with average depth that plays well against righthanded batters. He also has a fringy, 78-80 mph vertical curveball he throws to lefties and a below-average, 88-90 mph changeup he rarely uses. Birdsell throws strikes with above-average control and commands his fastball especially well. His command and aggressive mentality help his stuff play up.

The Future: Birdsell has a chance to be a back-end starter if he sharpens his secondaries. He’ll begin 2024 back at Double-A.

Scouting Grades Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 55

Draft Prospects

School: Texas Tech Committed/Drafted: Twins ’21 (11)
Age At Draft: 22.3
BA Grade: 40/High
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: - | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 45 | Cutter: | Control: 50
Birdsell has come a long way in his four years of college ball (one year at Texas A&M, one year at San Jacinto (Texas) JC and two years at Texas Tech). A mid-April rotator cuff injury derailed Birdsell’s 2021 season. He was still drafted by the Twins in the 11th round, but he opted to return to Texas Tech to improve his draft standing. He should do better this year after going 9-3, 2.75 with 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings. He’s completely reworked his delivery and filled out from 210 pounds as a freshman to 245 pounds now. Birdsell once was a flamethrower with no idea of where the ball was going. Birdsell’s delivery now is both simple and unorthodox. He simply breaks his hands and goes home as if he’s playing a game of catch, but with a slight stutter as he hangs over his plant leg, which messes with hitters’ timing. It’s paid off in improved control. Birdsell’s plus four-seam fastball sits at 95-96 mph and has touched 99. He carries that velocity through his starts. His above-average mid-80s slider has more depth than tilt, which allows it to be effective against lefties as well as righties. He throws a fringe-average 86-87 mph changeup almost exclusively to lefties. Birdsell has at least a solid path as a two-pitch reliever, but his control improvements give him a shot of going out in pro ball as a starter. His age (22) will likely hurt him on many teams’ boards.
After a year at Texas A&M and a year at San Jacinto (Texas) JC, Birdsell stepped into the Friday starter role at Texas Tech in 2021. He was on track to go pretty well in the 2021 draft, but in his eighth appearance of the season he had to leave the game with a shoulder injury that led to him being shut down for the remainder of the season. Birdsell was 4-1, 3.06 with 36 strikeouts in 35.1 innings with a .217 opponent batting average before the injury. He sat 93-95 mph and touched 99 mph in that role and he carried 95-97 mph deep into his starts. In addition to a plus fastball, Birdsell showed solid command of an above-average 84-88 mph slider with 1-to-7 movement. Few scouts saw Birdsell’s delivery as being a good fit to be a starter long term, but his fastball/slider combination seemed pretty tailor made to fit in a high-leverage relief role. Now his injury status makes it more likely that he’ll return to school to prove he’s healthy.
A 39th-round pick of the Astros out of high school, Birdsell pitched sparingly at Texas A&M as a freshman (nine appearances out of the bullpen) and opted to transfer to San Jacinto (Texas) JC for his sophomore season. After an impressive summer with the Matsu Miners in the Alaska Summer League, he got off to a slow start with the Gators. But his fastball got firmer and his control improved and he seemed to be hitting his stride when the shutdown happened. He had struck out 22 and walked 1 over his final 13 innings at San Jac. Birdsell had Tommy John surgery in 2016, but he’s been durable so far in college and his arm action is relatively clean. He sits 93-94 mph on his fastball and has touched 97-98 in short stints. His slider was a low-80s cement mixer not that long ago, but this spring he developed a much harder, 87-90 mph shorter slider. Birdsell is committed to Texas Tech if he doesn’t sign. He may benefit from another year of starting in college, but his upside could entice a team in the fifth round.