PATRICK BRESNEHAN

4/23/85; '06 5th; Arizona State Univ.
R/R; 6-2, 205

Level
W-L-Sv
G
GS
IP
H
 HR
BB
K
BB/9
 K/9
WHIP
OAVG
ERA
2004 NCAA
3-2-5
23
1
41.1
41
 3
27
45
5.88
 9.80
1.65
.268
4.79
2005 NCAA
5-4-2
31
11
88.1
100
 8
32
79
3.26
 8.05
1.49
.282
5.60
2006 NCAA
3-3-0
16
9
59.2
62
 2
31
47
4.45
 7.04
1.55
.264
4.53
2006 A-
4-5-0
15
10
68.0
50
 3
17
59
2.25
 7.81
0.99
.201
2.25
2007 AA
1-0-0
3
0
6.0
5
 0
2
3
3.00
 4.50
1.17
.217
4.50
2007 A+
4-3-6
34
0
60.1
54
 3
32
63
4.77
 9.40
1.43
.232
4.18
2008 AA
0-1-6
38
0
50.1
44
1
50
40
8.94
7.15
1.87
.234
4.29

Bresnehan, like 4th round pick Jared Hughes, did not live up in college to his billing as a top prep prospect. He throws a fastball that reaches 93, but it supposedly lacks movement, and he struggled with the strike zone in college. The Pirates liked his slider and regarded him as a potential setup reliever. That means they devoted two of their first five picks to potential relievers, which isn't exactly a high-reward strategy. Bresnehan appeared to be one of several overdrafts early in the team's 2006 draft, but he had a strong debut at Williamsport. After struggling initially as a starter, he moved to the bullpen and eventually pitched much better, including a couple of very long relief outings. He then finished with two good starts. He allowed no earned runs in his last six outings, covering 30 IP. He also allowed only 14 hits while fanning 32 in that span.

Bresnehan jumped a level in 2007, opening the season in the Lynchburg bullpen. For most of the season the move seemed to work out very well. In his first 27 games he had an ERA of 2.66, but in his last seven outings he was scored upon every time and posted an ERA of 9.69. Overall he had a good K rate and some control problems. He had a huge reverse platoon split in both 2007 and 2008. Despite his sudden struggles, the Pirates promoted him to Altoona in late August. They made a number of curious moves at the major and minor league levels in the fading days of Dave Littlefield's tenure, seemingly in a panic over job security, and this was one of them. Bresnehan, though, had two good outings and one bad in AA. Back in AA in 2008, however, the wheels fell off. He pitched well the first two months, but fell apart over the remainder of the season, mostly due to control problems. In his last 34 innings he walked 41 batters. At one point he had two consecutive outings in which he walked five batters over one inning pitched. I saw him several times and he wasn't impressive. He has a high-effort delivery that produced a fastball ranging from 87-93, but mostly toward the lower end of that range. He showed little command of it. He consistently threw his slider in the dirt and rarely fooled hitters with it. At this stage, I'm very skeptical about him being any kind of a prospect. He'll probably return to Altoona in 2009.

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