In a move that in an alternate universe was made two years ago, the Braves have called up to the majors a key player from the very first draft of the rebuild.
The Player
Patrick Weigel, RHP
Age: 25
OFR Prospect Rank: 13
2019 Level: AAA Gwinnett
The Results
2.98 ERA | 5.38 FIP | 18 G, 17 GS | 40.2 IP | 4.92 BB/9 | 7.76 K/9
Minor League Career: 3.22 ERA | 3.99 FIP | 73 G, 70 GS | 344.0 IP | 3.72 BB/9 | 8.56 K/9
The History
Weigel went to high school in Ventura, CA and spent a year each at Pacific and Oxnard. After that season the Milwaukee Brewers selected him with their 2014 22nd round pick, but he chose instead to continue his career at the baseball powerhouse University of Houston. Working primarily out of the bullpen, Weigel limited opposing hitters to a .198 BA while approaching 100 mph with a raw but promising breaking ball, attracting the attention of Braves scouts. Atlanta selected Weigel with the 7th-round pick in the 2015 draft and gave him a $197,500 signing bonus to convince him to forgo his remaining year of college eligibility.
Despite his use in the bullpen for Houston, the Braves saw a starting pitcher in the 6′-6″, 230 pounder. The Braves immediately went to work with Weigel on the mechanical issues that were holding him back, specifically a bad release point that sabotaged his efforts to control his breaking pitches. Weigel proved to be coachable and a hard worker, and when 2016 assignments were announced he was included as the only collegiate pitcher in a rotation that included teenagers Mike Soroka, Touki Toussaint, Ricardo Sanchez, and later in the year Kolby Allard as well as the 22-year-old Max Fried at class A Rome.
Weigel was the most consistent of the starters during that 2016 season, pitching to a 2.51 ERA for the team in 129 innings before getting a late-season double promotion up to AA Mississippi. Other members of that storied rotation praised Weigel for his leadership, and when Rome ended up winning the 2016 South Atlantic League Championship, Weigel drove himself back to Rome to meet the team bus as it arrived back to Georgia so he could celebrate with his former teammates.
The 2017 season started promisingly, with Weigel returning to AA Mississippi, accompanied by fellow Rome rotation-mates Fried, Soroka, and Allard. After 7 starts and a 2.89 ERA, it was clear Weigel was ready for a new challenge and was promoted to AAA Gwinnett to join the likes of Sean Newcomb and Lucas Sims. After a couple of tough starts, Weigel pitched to 1.59 ERA in his next four, and it looked like he could be the next pitcher to make his Braves debut after Sean Newcomb. But Weigel started feeling a new pain in his elbow in a start at Toledo. It worsened in his next start and he had to be pulled in the fourth inning. An MRI confirmed that he had torn his ulner collateral ligament and would require Tommy John surgery. In fact, it was just his newest tear, the examination revealed he had suffered a smaller tear on the other end of the bone, likely back in 2014 in college.
Weigel next surfaced on a rehab assignment with the rookie GCL Braves late in the 2018 season. He reported that he was throwing pain-free and took the opportunity to further refine his mechanics. The Braves were encouraged enough to add Weigel to their 40-man roster to avoid the possibility of another team taking Weigel in the Rule 5 draft.
Weigel performed well in spring training, but was quickly re-assigned to minor league camp to get him into a regular throwing regimen. Even so, the Braves carefully monitored his innings, slowly building up his pitches per start in his first 7 games back with Mississippi, going with a 30-pitch limit and bringing it up to 50 before he was promoted to AAA Gwinnett after a 1.72 ERA in 15.2 innings pitched.
With the AAA level now using the major league baseball, which is harder and with lower seams, it’s essential now that a pitcher have the opportunity to adjust to the ball. Weigel continued his gradual pitch increase, capping out at a 90-pitch limit against Durham on July 6.
The Report
Weigel has four pitches, with his best being a heavy four-seam fastball that regularly sits between 94-96, but he can reach back for 99 when he likes. His best breaking ball is a curve that has improved leaps and bounds since being drafted; it’s a hard break curve that dives at the feet of left-handers; in fact, he’s tougher against lefties than righties. His slider has somewhat taken a backseat to the curve, but he uses it to cause right-handers to reach. Finally he has a change-up which is a real weapon — when he can command it.
Control is usually the last thing that comes back after TJS, and that has proven to be true for Weigel. After steady improvement with control in his initial climb up the organizational ladder, Weigel has struggled this season. In the minors he has mostly been able to wiggle out of trouble. This is thanks to his ability to avoid hard contact so far and keep the ball in the park; he has only allowed 7 home runs in 60.1 innings.
What’s Next
Tonight was Weigel’s planned start for Gwinneet, and it seems unlikely that the Braves would want to substantially alter his throwing regimen. Look for him to get into one of the next two games, but then sent back to Gwinnett in favor of Kevin Gausman on Sunday.
That said, this shows that the organization is now comfortable enough to make “Wags” a passenger on the Gwinnett Shuttle. He should continue to get looks through the rest of the season, and he should be a full rotation candidate starting in 2020, though his stuff is certainly good enough to play in the bullpen if the Braves eventually decide to make that move.
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