Braidyn Fink – Sooner or Dodger?

Before I got sidetracked with the spring training heroics of Cody Thomas and Zach McKinstry, I had been providing a thumbnail sketch of the relief pitchers the Dodgers had signed in the 2019 First-Year Player Draft. Those profiles included Logan Boyer, Jacob Cantleberry, Jeff Belge, Nick Robertson, and Alec Gamboa as well as Ryan Pepiot whom I think will start the 2020 season in a starting role.

There are still a few to go so today the spotlight is on left-hander Braidyn Fink who will turn 22 on March 7th. He did not begin his professional career in 2019 so 2020 will mark new beginnings for the native of Moore, Oklahoma.

Fink was selected by the Dodgers in the 19th round of the most recent amateur draft out of the University of Oklahoma.

He chose to stay close to home after graduating from Westmoore High School in Oklahoma City. At Westmoore he pitched and played the outfield perhaps with more success at the plate. He was red-hot as a senior in the regional tournament in 2016 going 8 for 11 with 11 RBIs along with three home runs and two doubles.

His move to include pitching came before his junior year at Westmoore when a baseball camp instructor in Tulsa noticed the way Fink was zipping throws from deep right field to third base. His instructor recommended pitching convinced the big left-hander had the arm strength and tools that could make him a prospect.

Fink moved on to the University of Oklahoma in 2017 in a pitching role and found his first year to be anything but fun with a bloated ERA of 7.23 over 18.2 innings while walking 17 compared to 21 strikeouts.

He returned to the Sooners in 2018 and his pitching world righted itself. Although not in a closer role, one he was to take over in 2019, Fink posted a 1.71 ERA over 21 innings pitched with 28 strikeouts and nine walks.

The icing on his 2018 season came during the summer in his relief role with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League. In 13 appearances over 23 innings pitched Fink limited opposing hitters 16 hits while posting a 1.96 ERA and striking out 29. He walked 12.

Something happened on the way to the ballpark in 2018 for Braidyn Fink. That something was the development of another pitch, described in one source as a cut fastball and another as a hard biting slider. In any event, it turned him into the heir apparent for the closer role with the Sooners in 2019. Fink credits his mother and his coaches for his success that made him a Dodger draftee last June.

Skip Johnson was the coach at OU that he credits with turning his career around. When asked what Johnson has meant to his own career, Fink said, “Skip has meant everything to my baseball career.“

“Well, coming in I wasn’t a pitcher, I was a thrower,” Fink said. “And then really he’s developed me into the pitcher that I am and he’s allowed me to grow through the process and be patient with the downs and then the ups, and then the downs again.”

As for his mother,  Heather Fink once coached the Sooners. The Del City Sooners, that is, a little league team on which her son played.  She naturally wondered if it made him uncomfortable, a woman coaching his little league baseball team. She did what mothers do when a father lives somewhere else, playing catch with Braidyn and making sure he got to all his practices and games.

Heather Fink raised Braidyn and his two sisters guiding them through all of their athletic endeavors, making sure they kept their grades up and working herself into a management role and later on moved to a very successful career in real estate.

“She still helps me every day,” he said , even as he  worked to find his way as an Oklahoma Sooner.” She’s been the strongest person I know.”

As mentioned, Fink was to become the closer with the Sooners in 2019. However, that was not to be as he was shut down and went under the surgeon’s knife with the ever common TJ surgery wiping out his 2019 season.  Still, the Dodgers selected him in the 19th round. They obviously saw all they needed to see in 2018 and liked the mental and physical approach that turned him from a thrower to a pitcher.

That usually doesn’t happen overnight.

Baseball America had this to say about Fink prior to the draft.

“If any team tries to draft and sign Fink, they know they are acquiring a pitcher who will need to spend the next year or more recovering from Tommy John surgery. Fink didn’t throw a pitch for the Sooners this year because of his elbow injury, but scouts who saw him effectively use his 91-94 mph fastball and hard, biting slider last year may still be intrigued. Fink allowed only 15 hits and nine walks while striking out 28 batters in 21 innings last year. He posted a 1.71 ERA. His performance as a sophomore may be enough to draft him at some point after the 10th round.”

To the delight of the coaching staff with the Sooners, Fink decided not to sign with the Dodgers and return to OU as the closer in 2020.

He issued a statement on Twitter indicating he was returning to OU:  “I would like to say thank you to the Dodgers organization for believing in me and selecting me in the draft,” Fink said in a statement on Twitter. “After consulting with my parents and the great people around me, I have decided to return to school for my junior year to play baseball and get my degree from this great university! Boomer Sooner.”

Less than a month later, the Dodgers improved their offer and, on July 12th, MLB.com’s Jim Callis reported that Fink signed with the team for a $222,500 signing bonus, $100,000 above slot.  It marked the second-largest bonus of any 19th round selection in 2019, according to Baseball America.

“They called and said they had opened up more money and then they ended up offering me what I wanted,” Fink told The Daily. “At that point, I thought it was a good chance for me.”

“The Dodgers are known for rehabbing guys coming back from Tommy John (surgery) and they have a plan that has been proven to work,” Fink said.

The Sooner’s loss was the Dodgers gain.

“We thought the left-handed college pitching group on Day 3 was a really strong group and we ended up taking five of them,” Gasparino said. “That was the demographic we thought was the strongest, so it [Fink] was a huge score for us.”

It is expected that the Dodgers will take things slowly with Braidyn Fink and build up his innings. Perhaps they will keep him in Arizona until the short rookie league season opens. Perhaps a delayed trip to the Great Lakes Loons of the Class-A Midwest League might be in order. I do expect to see him with the Loons at some point in 2020.

In any event, upon signing his first professional contract, Fink put things in perspective: “I’m living the dream.”

Talking Points by Mark Timmons

Last night, Mike Wetzler responded to an older post by SBuffalo:

SBuffalo

There is a group of Dodgers prospects who live in Glendale in order to work out at Dodger Stadium. Some of the top prospects who have already reached the Majors (like May) also have stayed in the off season to work on improving. The LA Times had a story on what it takes to survive on a minor league salary, the sacrifices players make in pursuit of the major league dream. Dodger staff is involved in the workouts and I’m guessing that includes Rob Hill who lives in Whittier, a short distance from Dodger Stadium. If I recall correctly, a couple of Dodgers pitchers have mentioned working with Hill this off-season along with other pitching coaches.

Amazing just how good the Dodgers minor league system has become. Not only do they draft well, but they now seem to have turned the corner on the international level. The player development system is first class. Now all they need to do is increase pay for minor leagues, following the lead of Toronto.

Mike Wetzler

My son Ben Holmes is one those players in the Dodgers minor league system that has called Glendale home over the past off season. He is there to do just what you’re taking about, trying to get better by taking advantage of the facilities and personnel available. Thank you Dodgers for everything you do for my son!

Since we often miss, comments in past, I thought it might be interesting to discuss this and maybe Mike could elaborate… Thanks Mike!