One pitcher’s last, best chance
How Pirates minor-leaguer Brad Case changed himself in the offseason and — he hopes — the fate of a stagnant career
BRADENTON, Fla. — Brad Case was as close as he’d ever been to the majors, but it looked like the right-hander had reached the end last July.
Case was in his fifth season in the Pirates’ farm system, again struggling to get outs in Triple-A, when farm director John Baker pulled him aside. Such impromptu meetings are usually reserved for undesirable reasons: either a disciplinary infraction or, worse, a release.
But rather than part ways with the career minor leaguer, Baker asked Case to forget about what had gotten him there and how he’d thrown a baseball the first 20 years of his life.
Instead of throwing from his traditional three-quarters delivery, Baker wanted Case to become a sidearmer. Hesitant at first, Case soon agreed in the hopes of invigorating a stagnant career.
“It was, ‘ What choice do I really have?’” Case said. “I was throwing low 90s anyway, and the way they presented it to me was you have to either throw 100 or do something different. And this was definitely something different, so I was like, ‘Yeah, this is worth a shot.’”
Case went all the way back down to the Florida Complex League (FCL), the lowest rung on the North American minor-league ladder, in August. His fastball sat in the low-to-mid 80s from the new angle, where his arm is parallel to theground upon release.
Case got lit up in both the FCL and Low-A, once failing to record an out while walking three. He knew he needed help.
So when Case stumbled across a viral video of Mark Fischer, a performance coach for Tread Athletics in Charlotte, N.C., throwing 95 mph from a sidearm delivery, he reached out immediately.
“He was like, ‘ The Pirates are telling me I need to drop down,’” Fischer said. “‘I really don’t have a ton of direction with this. I’d love to work with you.’”
Through an offseason of training with Fischer, Case has again started throwing his four-seam fastball in the low 90s. He has added a cutter, and Fischer tweaked Case’s slider so it comes out of the hand faster — all from the unorthodox slot.
“His stuff’s there,” Fischer said. “His stuff’s gross.”
His pitches need to be. Entering the final season of a seven-year minor league contract, Case, 27, must either make the bigs or put his professional pitching career to rest— for good.
“I’m seeing this as a big boom-or-bust-year,” Case said. “I’m totally cool with whatever happens. I’m going to put everything I can into it, and hopefully you see me in Pittsburgh by the end of the year.”
‘I’ve been there for a while’
After starring in his final two of three seasons with Division II Rollins College, the Pirates selected Case in the 17th round of the 2018 draft. The 6-foot-6 righty quickly settled into minor league life, compiling 3.29 and 3.41 ERAs, respectively, at various levels inhis first two campaigns.
Like all minor leaguers, Case didn’t pitch in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, he had to wait until 2021 for his first of many cracks against Double-A competition.
Case is now in rare company among Pirates minor leaguers, having spent most of the last three seasons with Altoona. He’s appeared in 72 games for the Curve, nearly twice as many as at the collegiate level.
“I’ve been there for a while,” Case said while chuckling.
Even with a pitcherfriendly home in Peoples Natural Gas Field, Case has pitched to a 4.68 ERA across those three seasons. The results in Triple-A have been worse, where it is 11.37 in 12 2/ 3innings.
The extended Altoona tenure has made Case question whether he has the chops to make it as an MLB reliever.
“Alot of just showing up every day for three years trying to keep on pushing, pushing, pushing,” Case said. “I would go to Triple-A for a couple weeks at a time, but nothing ever permanent. Part of that, too, was the stuff was only so good, because I never threw that hard.”
While some aspiring big leaguers would allow their subpar performances to affect them outwardly, Case has been the inverse. There’s a reason the quaint Pennsylvania town has become a second residence for the Pelham, N.Y., native.
Longtime Curve season ticket holder Eileen Snyder has gotten to know Case quite well during his time in Altoona. She can recall many instances where Case has gathered teammates to volunteer at a Miracle League game for special needs children on a Saturdaymorning, or attend a Make-A-Wish event at a local bowlingalley.
“He was the ringleader,” Snyder said. “He always was the one rounding them together and saying ‘Hey, let’s dothis.’”
Case is not only a favorite among community members, but also within the organization. Despite his progress stonewalling in Double-A, the
Pirates have been patient with Casein part because of how he carries himself.
“He’s a phenomenal teammate. He’s connecting with everybody all the time,” Baker said. “He’s one of those rare people that he doesn’t see people by titles or by this level or that level.
“He’s a good guy and a good baseball guy that goes out of his way to extend that kind of teammate consideration to the surrounding community.”
Case admits he’s lucky to still be pitching, having found ways to persist with the Pirates as he searches for consistent success on the mound. Such an approach has guided Case thus far, but he is aware that toiling with the Curve won’t last forever.
It’s why he met the Pirates’ proposal to become a sidearmer with enthusiasm. And with the Pirates backing him, the lanky hurler pursued outside help to develop into the kind of sidearmer he wanted tobe.
“At the end of the day, this is Brad Case’s career, not mine,” Baker said. “It’s really hard to hold people accountable for something that you tell them to do, but it’s easy to hold people accountable to something that they say that they want to do.
“He knew that a change was necessary.”
Going low
Case first journeyed to Tread’s facility to meet with Fischer last September, shortly after the 2023 campaign concluded. Fischer realized there were multiple mechanical tweaks he needed to make.
First, he observed that Case’s pelvis wasn’t moving as needed after his front leg landed. This prevented energy from efficiently transferring up Case’s torso.
“When he hit the ground, his front knee would just continue to push forward,” Fischer said. “So he was losing a lot of energy and it wasn’t shooting back up through the hip.”
Fischer had Case work backward, having him learn to more efficiently throw over the top before dropping back down. Plenty of plyometric drills followed, which Fischer said helped Case become both rotational and linear-based on the mound. Case inherently prefers to be rotational.
Essentially, Case needed to keep his body moving downhill in a fluid motion, while also twisting it beforehand to generate the necessary torque.
“Some guys are going to be very linear-based, some guys are going to be very rotational based,” Fischer said. “To throw hard, you need to have both.”
Finally, it all clicked, and Case got up to the high 80s with his four-seamer. He went home for the holidays, got stronger and worked his way up to the low 90s — upon which Case had to let Fischer know.
“He hit 90 or 91 at home, sent me a video of him freaking out. He was so pumped up,” Fischer said. “And then when he came back in-house for the remainder of time before spring training, that’s really where we started to dive in toward the pitch arsenal.”
Fischer was able to introduce Case to his new cutter, which will theoretically make him a tougher at-bat for lefthanded hitters. The sinker Case throws is a difficult pitch for right-handed hitters to attack, as it tails in on their hands. The cutter, meanwhile, should do the same for lefties if it moves as intended.
Baker has observed Case throwing to live hitters a few times this spring, and the feedback from them has been quite colorful.
“It seems like it’s a real pain in the ass for right-handed hitters to deal with,” Baker said. “He’s got some great sink on the baseball from that unique angle.”
The pitcher Case is seeking to emulate with his delivery and repertoire is Arizona Diamondbacks right-handed reliever Ryan Thompson, similarly-sized at 6-foot-5 with a true sidearm motion.
He also studied other big leaguers like Tyler Rogers and Adam Cimber, both of whom throw submarine style without scraping their knuckles on the dirt. Case landed on
Thompson, and Fischer provided him with plenty of data — as well as, without intending to, an informal meeting.
“I actually ran into him at Tread, which was really nice,” Case said of Thompson. “I watched him throw and I was like, ‘Wow, his stuff’s really sharp, his stuff’s really unbelievable.’ But I’m getting pretty close to what his stuff is.”
‘I’ve let go’
Case never took too much of an interest in throwing sidearm as a kid. Infrequent emulation during childhood wiffleball games was pretty much the extent of it, accordingto his father, Tim.
“I liked where I was,” Case said. “I liked how I threw.”
Now, Case has to figure out how to get hitters out with an entirely different approach. He has appeared in just one spring training game for the Pirates, instead spending most of his time at Pirate City with other minor leaguers. Baker noted Case’s progress is a bit ahead of what the Pirates anticipated.
Much work remains for Case to fulfill his MLB dreams. But his commitment to the process has already bettered his odds in the eyes of those that have closely trained with him.
“I think he has a shot of getting called up this year,” Fischer said. “I truly believe that.”
The harsh reality is Case likely needs to make good on Fischer’s hopes if he wants to stay in the game. Rather than viewing the last year of his current contract as a pressure-filled one, Case sees it as anything but.
“I’m either gonna be a big leaguer, or I’m gonna start my life,” Case said. “Both of those options sound really great. I have a really great family, I havea really great life at home and I’m excited for that to take off, too, if I gotta go to that.”
His father, meanwhile, wonders if his son’s comments ring entirely true.
“He loves it,” Tim said. “He would be lost without it. He loves baseball.”
Case isn’t immune to pondering what his post-playing days may look like. He knows that, like everybody else, he eventually will lace his cleats for the final time, toe the rubber for a last pitch.
But in embracing a sidearm motion, Case has given his pro career a second chance. Another arduous voyage through the minors awaits, perhaps starting in Altoona to make more appearances at Miracle League games and pitch out of the Curve bullpen for a fourth season.
Case is up for the challenges. Should all go according to plan, he could even debut for the Pirates this season and provide the club with a coveted commodity.
“He’s now throwing the ball from an angle and with a profile that we don’t have in the organization,” Baker said. “We’re excited to see it.”
It’s a long shot, no doubt. But if Case and his sidearm delivery come up short, it won’t be for failing to adjust.
“I’ve let go and I’m gonna put all of my effort into the process,” Case said, “into getting better, developing myself more, being able to understand how to get hitters out with this new arsenal. I’m gonna let the rest fall wherever it goes.”