The Los Angeles Angels featured Tyler Bremner as he shut down Chicago and pitched a strong inning to get the win.
The Los Angeles Angels’ farm system is getting plenty of buzz these days, especially when it comes to pitching prospects. Prospective starter Tyler Bremner is at the top of the list when it comes to anticipation, and yesterday he finally got in a game as he made his Cactus-League debut against the Chicago White Sox.
Bremner only threw an inning, but he made a strong first impression, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. He walked the first two hitters he faced in the sixth inning, then recovered nicely to pitch a scoreless frame as he got the win in the Angels’ 8-4 victory.
What made the biggest impression, though, was his stuff, which Bollinger described as “electric.” Bremner hit 98 mph with his fastball to go with his formidable changeup, and he also threw his slider and cutter, which are both considered developmental pitches.
“My stuff felt really good, my body felt really good, my mentality was definitely there and obviously I was visualizing all day just attacking the zone and not walking the first two guys,” Bremner said after the game. “If I were to give it a reason, it just felt a little fast when I first got out there when that pitch clock started going.”
Bremner also struck out veteran Andrew Benentendi with his changeup, then nearly got Chase Meidroth to hit into a double play before retiring Colson Montgomery on another ground ball. Bremner knew he was facing veteran hitters, but the level of confidence he had in his stuff simplified his approach.
“I felt like my stuff was way too good to be trying to be fine with it,” Bremner said. “I feel like I could just throw my stuff in the zone and get out. So definitely a little frustrated with that, but happy that I was able to get out of it.”
The top prospect has spent the spring facing live hitters mostly on back fields, but he knows his slider needs to be refined, so he wanted to throw it for first-pitch strikes in this outing. Bremner also has some work to do adjusting to the pitch clock, which nearly sped him up.
“I didn't really get the chance to talk to my catcher about that,” he explained. “Also, the clock's fast, man. You can’t really shake. So I was really just trusting what the catcher wanted and throwing those pitches with conviction.”
There’s been talk that Bremner might make the rotation sooner rather than later, but the Angels aren’t making that mistake this time around. He won’t appear in another spring training game, as he’s already been sent back to minor league camp, but Bremner will appear against prospects from the Cleveland Guardians in the third annual Spring Breakout event, with his appearance scheduled for March 19 at Tempe Diablo Stadium.