Sample Entry from the 2015 Houston Farm System Handbook

As I hope my readers have discovered by now, I recently published the "2015 Houston Farm System Handbook," containing profiles of 257 players in the Astros minor league system. The book is available from Amazon as an e-book that can be read on virtually any device (desktop, laptop, tablet or phone) even if you don't own a kindle. Simply download the Kindle App, buy the book and enjoy!

Not every profile is as detailed as this one, but the following write-up on Tyler Brunnemann will give you an idea of the kind of information contained in the book.

I hope that you will consider purchasing this book which I have come to think of as an Astros minor league media guide on steroids. Your continued support is very much appreciated.

RHP Tyler Brunnemann

• B/T: R/R
• H/W: 6’2” 200#
• Born: 8/9/91 in Garden Ridge, Texas
• Age on 4/1/15: 23
• Acquisition: Drafted in the 40th Round in 2013 out of Hardin-Simmons University (Abilene, Texas)
• 2014: 2nd Season; Quad Cities (A-) with an early August promotion to Lancaster (A+)

Brunnemann’s Baseball-Reference Page for complete stats

Noteworthy:

• Held hitters to a .183/.237/.289 batting line for the season (61.2IP)
• Held lefties to a .173/.244/.333 line

Awards/Honors/Rankings:

• 2014 Quad Cities Midseason All-Star
• 2014 Championship Series MVP (California League)

2014 Fall/Winter League Stats:

Australian Baseball League: 3.12 ERA and a 1.077 WHIP in 22 games (26.0IP)

Narrative:

From 40th Round draft pick (out of 40 rounds) in 2013 to MVP of the California League Championship series in 2014 is quite the journey. When Brunnemann was at Quad Cities prior to his promotion in August, both Manager Omar Lopez and Pitching Coach Dave Borkowski sang praises to Brunnemann’s work ethic. Lopez called him a “model citizen,” someone who was “on time for everything, on top of everything and applies the information.” Borkowski said of Brunnemann, “He’s going to get every ounce out of himself that he can. He competes. He prepares. He’s ready to go.” Nothing illustrates his work ethic better than knowing he dropped 40 pounds between the end of the 2013 season and the start of Spring Training in 2014.

Those intangibles have given Brunnemann early success. He won’t blow you away with his 88 to 91 mph fastball, but he will challenge you with it and spot it well. He also gets decent movement on his changeup and the curveball that he was working on in the 2014 season. But it is his delivery that sets him apart. He somehow manages to achieve good command despite a violent finish to his delivery in which he falls off the mound to the first base side, sometimes actually having to put down his glove hand to keep from falling over. The delivery provides deception and distraction to the hitter.

Excellent walk rate, excellent strikeout rate, low home run rate, good with runners on, great lefty/righty splits ... there is a lot to like with someone like Brunnemann. On paper, the odds are certainly against a 40th round draft pick without elite “stuff,” but don’t tell Brunnemann that. His intangibles will likely take him further than many pitchers who have more natural ability, but whose drive, desire and work habits don’t match his.

Postseason Stats:

• 2013 Tri-City (New York-Penn League): 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.750 WHIP in 1.1 innings
• 2014 Lancaster (California League): 1-1 with a 1.35 ERA and a 0.750 WHIP in 6.2 innings

2014 Fall/Winter Stats:

Australian Baseball League: 2-2 with a 3.12 ERA and a 1.077 WHIP in 22 games (26.0IP)

Extras:

• Twitter handle: @TBruno35
• A June 2014 interview with Brunnemann (includes the story of a benign brain tumor that he had removed when he was 11 years old)
• Threw 68.6% of his pitches for strikes in the 5 games for which that information is available
• More photos of Brunnemann