Matt Brash

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Seattle Mariners #4 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: A native of Kingston, Ontario, Brash pitched three years in Niagara’s rotation and won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s pitcher of the year honors after he set the conference and school records for strikeouts in a single season in 2019. The Padres drafted him in the fourth round and signed him for $512,400, then traded him to the Mariners as the player to be named later for reliever Taylor Williams following the 2020 season. Brash broke out beyond all expectations in 2021. He finished ninth in the minors with 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings and rocketed from High-A to the majors, where he received a callup in the season’s final week but didn’t pitch.
  
  Scouting Report: Brash was limited by shoulder tenderness when the Mariners acquired him, but his stuff jumped exponentially with full health. His high-spin, 93-97 mph fastball collects swings and misses in bunches and his dastardly, mid-80s slider with power sweep and sharp dive is a plus-plus pitch that some observers grade an 80. He throws both pitches in any count and can finish batters with either of them. Brash complements his power offerings with an average knuckle curveball he lands for strikes and a changeup that flashes plus, although it is inconsistent. Brash has some effort to his delivery and his control can be scattered, leading to differing opinions whether he projects best as a starter or reliever. He holds his stuff deep into outings and improved his control as last season progressed.
  
  The Future: Brash’s stuff gives him a chance to be a frontline starter if he keeps improving his control. Otherwise, his fastball and slider give him closer potential in relief.
  

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #288 prospect in 2019 draft
  Brash is a 6-foot-1, 170-pound starter who has dominated the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference this season. After an injury limited him to just 28 innings in 2018 as a sophomore, Brash fell off the prospect radar a bit, but has bounced back in a big way by posting a 2.43 ERA in 85 innings and 14 starts this spring. He's struck out 121 batters (12.7 per nine) and walked 29 (3.06), while pitching three complete games and being named the MAAC Pitcher of the Year. Stuff-wise, Brash has thrown a fastball in the 90-95 mph range and touched 96 while flashing a plus slider, though the pitch needs to become more consistent to fully earn that grade.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked Texas League #6 prospect in 2021
  He may not even be the best pitching prospect on his own Arkansas team—George Kirby didn’t throw enough innings to qualify for this list—but at his best, Brash was the most overwhelming pitcher in the league. He threw the first six innings of a combined no-hitter on Sept. 2, which was part of a three-start stretch when he struck out 32 of the 58 batters he faced while allowing four hits and six walks in 18 innings. Brash throws a 94-98 mph riding fastball and a knuckle curveball. He’ll mix in a changeup as well, but it’s his plus-plus slider that hitters step into the box fearing. And it’s often that same slider that leaves them swinging feebly at strike three. Brash’s mid-80s slider has as much sweeping movement as any slider in the majors—20 inches or more—leaving hitters with little recourse if he’s locating it.
• 
  Ranked Northwest League #3 prospect in 2021
  Brash was acquired by the Mariners in the deal that sent reliever Taylor Williams to San Diego in the Padres’ flurry of moves at the 2020 trade deadline. Williams has already been designated for assignment twice since the trade, while Brash was one of the biggest revelations in the minors in 2021. Scouts were struck by Brash’s vicious slider, which featured hard, sharp dive out of the strike zone and got hitters to chase all summer. The pitch was such a weapon that it allowed him to throw his fastball less than 50% of the time. His fastball sits between 93-97 mph with high spin for swings and misses. His changeup is less consistent, but could be a future plus. Brash’s signature moment came after a promotion to Double-A, when he struck out 11 in the first six innings of Arkansas’ no-hitter against Wichita. The effort was also one of five outings in which he recorded double-digit strikeouts. Brash still needs to iron out his command, and some scouts are wary of both his injury history and arm action, but his dominant season put him squarely on the map.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #45 prospect in 2022

• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 50/Medium
  
  Track Record: A native of Kingston, Ontario, Brash pitched three years in Niagara&#39s rotation and won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference&#39s pitcher of the year honors after he set the conference and school records for strikeouts in a single season in 2019. The Padres drafted him in the fourth round and signed him for $512,400, then traded him to the Mariners as the player to be named later for reliever Taylor Williams following the 2020 season. Brash broke out beyond all expectations in 2021. He finished ninth in the minors with 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings and rocketed from High-A to the majors, where he received a callup in the season&#39s final week but didn&#39t pitch.
  
  Scouting Report: Brash was limited by shoulder tenderness when the Mariners acquired him, but his stuff jumped exponentially with full health. His high-spin, 93-97 mph fastball collects swings and misses in bunches and his dastardly, mid-80s slider with power sweep and sharp dive is a plus-plus pitch that some observers grade an 80. He throws both pitches in any count and can finish batters with either of them. Brash complements his power offerings with an average knuckle curveball he lands for strikes and a changeup that flashes plus, although it is inconsistent. Brash has some effort to his delivery and his control can be scattered, leading to differing opinions whether he projects best as a starter or reliever. He holds his stuff deep into outings and improved his control as last season progressed.
  
  The Future: Brash&#39s stuff gives him a chance to be a frontline starter if he keeps improving his control. Otherwise, his fastball and slider give him closer potential in relief.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 70. Slider: 70. Curveball: 50. Changeup: 55. Control: 45.
• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: A native of Kingston, Ontario, Brash pitched three years in Niagara’s rotation and won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s pitcher of the year honors after he set the conference and school records for strikeouts in a single season in 2019. The Padres drafted him in the fourth round and signed him for $512,400, then traded him to the Mariners as the player to be named later for reliever Taylor Williams following the 2020 season. Brash broke out beyond all expectations in 2021. He finished ninth in the minors with 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings and rocketed from High-A to the majors, where he received a callup in the season’s final week but didn’t pitch.
  
  Scouting Report: Brash was limited by shoulder tenderness when the Mariners acquired him, but his stuff jumped exponentially with full health. His high-spin, 93-97 mph fastball collects swings and misses in bunches and his dastardly, mid-80s slider with power sweep and sharp dive is a plus-plus pitch that some observers grade an 80. He throws both pitches in any count and can finish batters with either of them. Brash complements his power offerings with an average knuckle curveball he lands for strikes and a changeup that flashes plus, although it is inconsistent. Brash has some effort to his delivery and his control can be scattered, leading to differing opinions whether he projects best as a starter or reliever. He holds his stuff deep into outings and improved his control as last season progressed.
  
  The Future: Brash’s stuff gives him a chance to be a frontline starter if he keeps improving his control. Otherwise, his fastball and slider give him closer potential in relief.
  
• October, 2021 Scouting Report
  Brash was acquired by the Mariners in the deal that sent reliever Taylor Williams to San Diego in the Padres’ flurry of moves at the 2020 trade deadline. Williams has already been designated for assignment twice since the trade, while Brash was one of the biggest revelations in the minors in 2021. Scouts were struck by Brash’s vicious slider, which featured hard, sharp dive out of the strike zone and got hitters to chase all summer. The pitch was such a weapon that it allowed him to throw his fastball less than 50% of the time. His fastball sits between 93-97 mph with high spin for swings and misses. His changeup is less consistent, but could be a future plus. Brash’s signature moment came after a promotion to Double-A, when he struck out 11 in the first six innings of Arkansas’ no-hitter against Wichita. The effort was also one of five outings in which he recorded double-digit strikeouts. Brash still needs to iron out his command, and some scouts are wary of both his injury history and arm action, but his dominant season put him squarely on the map.
• October, 2021 Scouting Report
  He may not even be the best pitching prospect on his own Arkansas team—George Kirby didn’t throw enough innings to qualify for this list—but at his best, Brash was the most overwhelming pitcher in the league. He threw the first six innings of a combined no-hitter on Sept. 2, which was part of a three-start stretch when he struck out 32 of the 58 batters he faced while allowing four hits and six walks in 18 innings. Brash throws a 94-98 mph riding fastball and a knuckle curveball. He’ll mix in a changeup as well, but it’s his plus-plus slider that hitters step into the box fearing. And it’s often that same slider that leaves them swinging feebly at strike three. Brash’s mid-80s slider has as much sweeping movement as any slider in the majors—20 inches or more—leaving hitters with little recourse if he’s locating it.
• July, 2021 Scouting Report
  Brash has stood out in a loaded Everett rotation and is frequently asked about by other teams in trade discussions. He was sidelined by shoulder tenderness when the Mariners acquired him from the Padres last year, but his stuff has been overwhelming since he returned. His fastball has been up to 99 mph with high spin rates, his hard, tilting slider earns plus grades and his changeup has flashed plus, although it needs further development. Brash's command and control have been scattered, but the quality of his stuff has observers buzzing.
• December, 2018 Scouting Report
  Brash is a 6-foot-1, 170-pound starter who has dominated the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference this season. After an injury limited him to just 28 innings in 2018 as a sophomore, Brash fell off the prospect radar a bit, but has bounced back in a big way by posting a 2.43 ERA in 85 innings and 14 starts this spring. He's struck out 121 batters (12.7 per nine) and walked 29 (3.06), while pitching three complete games and being named the MAAC Pitcher of the Year. Stuff-wise, Brash has thrown a fastball in the 90-95 mph range and touched 96 while flashing a plus slider, though the pitch needs to become more consistent to fully earn that grade.