Brant Hurter

Physical Description: Can be accurately described as a hoss. Looks a bit like an offensive lineman at 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds, with a high waist, thick thighs, and a big backside. Has a bit of an unorthodox delivery in which his arm lags behind his body and then whips toward the zone from a low three-quarter arm slot. Reminiscent of Alex Faedo’s delivery, only from the left side.

Fastball: 45

Hurter mostly throws a two-seamer in the low 90s, but it can get as high as 94-95. Shows good sinking action, and the pitch seems to play up a bit thanks to a combination of movement and his unusual angle. Will attack right-handed hitters inside with the heater and let its natural swingback action steal strikes.

Slider: 55

His best pitch, it typically sits in the 83-85 MPH range with good sweep across the zone, and at times it looks like a legitimate plus pitch. He’s comfortable throwing it against lefties to freeze them or get swings-and-misses away, and he can bury it at the feet of righties.

Changeup: 50

Hurter’s third pitch in terms of usage, but it’s a quality offering in the same velocity band as his slider. He has a good feel for locating it low and away from right-handed hitters, and it shows the same sort of movement as his sinker.

Command: 50

Hurter’s odd mechanics belie average command. He was an above-average strike thrower at every level, but he ran into some issues in Double-A at the end of the year, when he didn’t have pinpoint command. Before that he showed impressive feel for staying on the corners.

Overall: Hurter had Tommy John surgery late in his sophomore year in 2019, and he didn’t get on the mound again until 2021. He was older for his draft class, but it was still impressive to see him advance to Double-A in his first professional season. He has the arsenal and command to potentially be a #5 starter, but he began working as more of a bulk reliever in Erie, and that could be his ultimate role in the big leagues.