Twins Top 15 Prospects: #6

Who: David Bromberg

Position: RHP

How Acquired: 2005 draft, 32nd round.

Highest Level Reached in 2009: A+

Bromberg was a draft and follow by the Twins under the old draft system. Fun fact: as a high schooler, a lot of scouts preferred him as a slugging first baseman rather than as a pitcher. The Twins didn’t, and hey they were right!

In 2008 Bromberg, despite an ERA over 4, led the minor leagues in strikeouts with 177. In 2009 he had a 2.70 ERA at Fort Meyers, although that was largely due to his .295 BABIP. In reality, his FIP was the highest of his minor league career last year.

Although Bromberg struggled in 2008 with his secondary stuff, a couple drills such as the towel drill helped him to see he was short arming the ball. The result was a strong second part of the season that included a 13 K effort against Burlington.

In 2009 Bromberg was named the Twins minor league pitcher of the year. For the 3rd straight season he led his league in strikeouts. He only has around a 90 mph fastball, and his generally low groundball rate could spell many more extra base hits in the future. However, he is 6’5″ and has room to grow into his prototypical pitchers frame, suggesting some more miles per hour could be added to his fastball.

The fact that a 32nd round pick appears on the verge of making the bigs is in itself unlikely, but the fact that he is the 6th ranked prospect in a system with top end talent such as the Twins’s is downright amazing.