Rex Brothers Player Preview: the good, the bad, and the unknown

The Good #2 – his slider against right-handed hitters

As we know by now, Brothers is no LOOGY, as his out pitch is just as tough on right-handed pitchers. As such, he will be a rare left-handed closer if ever he is finally handed that job.

In that same game that he K’ed Adams in the previous slide to end the game, he struck out two fantastic right-handed hitters using that same slider.

Exhibit D – strike three on Matt Holliday

Brothers had Holliday lunging in the fashion reserved for a guy who starts swinging and then realizes: “Oh crap, I’m going to miss this by a lot…”

Exhibit E – strike three on Carlos Beltran

Granted, batting right against left-handed pitchers is Beltran’s weaker side, but the example is still noteworthy.

Brothers misses bats and strikes out a lot of hitters. His plus fastball is part of that success, but his slider is truly the wipe-out pitch against hitters from both sides of the plate.