TEMPE, Ariz. — When Chase Shores and Nate Snead pitched in a Cactus League game Wednesday, Tyler Bremner watched from the dugout with a little bit of envy.
Those were the pitchers the Angels took with their three of their first four picks in last year’s draft. While Shores (second round) and Snead (third) got their opportunity, Bremner is still waiting.
“Those are my brothers,” said Bremner, the No. 2 overall pick in the first round. “I want to see them succeed, and they went out there and did great. It’s cool to see them make their MLB debuts and fit in just fine. I’m pretty confident I can do the same behind them.”
Bremner, who is the Angels’ consensus No. 1 prospect, said he believes his turn is coming.
“I’m planning on getting out there in the next week,” the right-hander said. “It’s kind of a day-to-day thing. They don’t tell you the exact day you’re going to throw, but I’m thinking pretty soon here I’ll get out there.”
Manager Kurt Suzuki said the Angels are holding Bremner back to give him a little more time to tweak his pitch mix. Bremner said his fastball and changeup are where he wants them to be, but he’s working on refining his slider and adding a cutter.
“I just wanted something that’s maybe a little more horizontal, so I can run that into lefties and get some easy outs,” Bremner said of the cutter. “I’m definitely not getting rid of the slider at all.”
Bremner’s debut has been eagerly anticipated. He is the Angels’ highest pick since they took Darin Erstad No. 1 overall in 1995. They had picked in the top 10 only two other times in the 21st century.
Experts didn’t expect the Angels to take Bremner with more touted players still on the board.
Bremner, 21, said he was aware of how the pick was received, but that’s not a source of motivation for him.
“It’s obviously easy to get caught up in stuff like that and I’m not blind,” Bremner said. “I see stuff like that. At the end of the day, it’s not my problem where I got picked. I pitched how I wanted to in college and that’s how the cards fell, you know? It would be stupid of me to go out there and try and be like, ‘I need to prove this to people and I need everyone to see how good I am and I need to show them I’m better than (Kade) Anderson, who went right after me.’
“No, just stay within yourself. I know what what I can do, and I know I can have success in the game. Just don’t try to think too big picture of it. Try to stay present and take it day by day.”
Bremner had a 3.49 ERA at UC Santa Barbara last spring, with 111 strikeouts and 19 walks in 77⅓ innings. While those numbers may not have been as good as some expected, the Angels loved Bremner’s potential. They also took into account that he did what he did while his mother was in the final stage of her battle with breast cancer.
Now, it’s easy to find him on the Angels practice fields because he’s the one wearing pink shoes in her memory. Jen Bremner died June 11, a month before her son was drafted.
“You show up to big-league camp as a rookie with some bright pink shoes, you might get a couple chirps from the older guys,” Bremner said, “but for the most part, it’s been so positive with the feedback on those. I feel like most people kind of realize that connection. If not, they ask about it and I’m able to kind of share that message with them. It’s definitely something I plan on continuing in my career and hopefully maybe implementing it into the glove or um something like that and just kind of showing people that matters to me. Trying to spread some awareness around breast cancer in general.”
Bremner said he’s been well received by the veterans, particularly Alek Manoah.
“He’s done a good job at just kind of welcoming the younger guys,” Bremner said. “If he’s not giving advice on pitches, he’s still being supportive and kind of talking us through and saying that he believes in us as players and that we’re going to have long careers in the game. It’s just nice to hear that from someone who’s already been doing it.”
First baseman Nolan Schanuel got a chance to hit against Bremner earlier this month, and he was impressed.
“He’s got good stuff,” Schanuel said. “He’s got some good life on the fastball … I hope we get to see him throw this week or next week.”
Suzuki is also eager to get a look at him in a game.
“He knows what he’s doing,” Suzuki said. “He knows what he’s trying to do. He came from a great program that pumps out pitchers constantly. This guy is definitely on the right track.”
MORE VELO FOR FARRIS
Left-hander Mitch Farris said he gained 10 to 15 pounds this winter, the result of an effort to add strength.
So far this spring, it’s shown up in his fastball velocity, which has averaged 93 mph in his two outings, up from 90 mph last season. He hit 95 mph in a two-inning outing Thursday.
“(Velocity) is not everything,” Farris said. “There’s still ‘pitchability.’ It’s just good to see the work I put in this offseason is coming to fruition.”
Farris, 25, made his major-league debut last season, posting a 6.66 ERA in five starts. He earned the opportunity by striking out 142 hitters in 116 innings at Double-A, a number more eye-opening than his 4.27 ERA.
The changeup is Farris’ best pitch. The idea is that pitch could be even better if he can add to the fastball. So far this spring, his changeup has shown the same increase as his fastball, though, so the differential between the pitches is still about 13 mph.
The proof that it’s not just about the radar gun is what happened to Farris in his first outing of the spring. He faced six batters and gave up five runs. On Thursday, he faced seven batters and retired six of them, with a walk.
“The first game was a little sped up,” Farris said. “That’s pretty normal for a first outing. And I was a little sore from live ABs prior to that too. Got back in the training room. Got healthier. Feeling better. Slowed the game down and just worked on locating the fastball and throwing inside a little more, establishing the inner half of the plate to complement my changeup better.”
Suzuki said Farris is also working on pitching to both sides of the plate more effectively.
“Yesterday’s outing was very positive,” Suzuki said. “Everything was looking really good, even more than what had been.”
Farris is a longshot to make the Opening Day roster, but he’d be on the short list of pitchers who could get the call – for the rotation or bullpen – when the Angels need an arm.
NOTES
Suzuki said Mike Trout reported no issues with playing left field for the first time in 13 years. Trout lost a ball in the sun, but otherwise handled the other plays. Suzuki said at the start of spring that Trout would play all three positions in the outfield, but when asked Friday if Trout is going to play right, he said: “Right now the focus was more left field and then center field.” Trout’s preference is to return to center field. …
Through their first seven games, the Angels had been successful on 8 of their 15 ABS challenges (53%), which is the major-league average. …
Rehabbing right-handers Ben Joyce, Robert Stephenson and Nick Sandlin continue to throw bullpen sessions, but none has yet faced hitters. Each still has time to be ready for Opening Day, although Joyce is probably slightly behind the other two.
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