Below Deck: Brault 'getting closer' after learning to loosen up

ATLANTA -- Baseball was not nearly as fun for Steven Brault as it once was. He stressed over allowing a hit, and the self-proclaimed "weirdo" of the Indianapolis Indians' clubhouse became a bundle of nerves on the mound.

Cold and serious while pitching made him erratic once he got recalled to the Pirates last June. Thinking about his brother, and a conversation with his new manager, has the left-handed starting pitcher having more fun than ever and on the fast track to returning to the major leagues sooner rather than later.



"I can feel myself getting closer, closer and closer every time," Brault told DKPittsburghSports.com in Columbus last Monday. "It’s a cool feeling and it’s really fun. I’m having fun playing now. More fun than I was having last year."

Since being acquired from the Orioles in 2015, Brault has become one of the Pirates' top pitching prospects. The athletic left-hander spent his first season in the organization with Altoona and Bradenton before getting promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis for 2016.

There, the 25-year-old made 15 starts with a 3.91 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. His call to the major leagues came on July 5, a spot start against the Cardinals in St. Louis.

Brault allowed one run in four innings, but was sent back down one day later. The desire to return — and stay — in Pittsburgh led him astray. Instead of having fun on the mound, Brault tried to be a "bulldog" of a pitcher, he said.

"I didn’t want to screw up," Brault said. "I know now it’s a similar mentality. You can’t go about it that way. Some people being angry and being intense on the mound is good. ... I’m not going to try to be something I’m not just to be good."

Brault made six more starts with the Pirates last season, finishing with a 4.86 ERA and 29 strikeouts to 17 walks. It was enough to earn him another opportunity to win a spot in the Pirates' rotation in spring training this year, and Brault nearly accomplished that goal.

He was strong in his two starts, but the two open spots went to Chad Kuhl and Tyler Glasnow, with Trevor Williams getting a spot on the roster as a long reliever.  Upon his return to Indianapolis, Brault decided it was in his best interest to keep being a bundle of nerves on the mound. That finally caught up to him.

Brault was shaky in his first five starts of the season, walking 13 batters during that span. Indianapolis manager Andy Barkett finally pulled Brault aside to send a message.

"I just was watching him pitch and he seems like a high-energy guy," Barkett said. "He seemed like he was trying to pitch very cerebral like Tom Glavine, and to me he didn’t seem like the type of guy. At his best he’s pitching with his hair on fire. Maybe when he gets older and he’s pitched in the big leagues for a few years he can develop that type of Tom Glavine control, but in the meantime he doesn’t have it."

The message didn't catch Brault by surprise. He realized he was thinking far too much on the mound. A reality check also came during the offseason when he visited his older brother, Jack, in Seattle.

Jack is an officer of the watch in the Navy, spending six months out of the year on a nuclear submarine at an unknown location somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. The younger Brault began to wonder why he was taking life so seriously, when his brother's job was far more serious.

"Talk about something much more serious than what we do," Brault said with a laugh. "I think getting a little bit of perspective helped a little bit. My brother is literally putting his life on the line in a submarine for six months out of the year and I’m playing baseball. I’m here for six months out of the year and I’m complaining about it. What am I thinking?"

Such introspective thinking, and no longer worrying about his delivery, has led to somewhat of a breakthrough for Brault.

He allowed just one run on five hits in 13 innings during two starts last week, striking out 10 and walking four to earn the distinction of International League Pitcher of the Week.

As the Indians sit in first place in the leagues' West Division and had an eight-game winning streak snapped Monday, the left-hander is 2-3 with a 2.54 ERA and 45 strikeouts to 20 walks in 49 2/3 innings. Opponents are batting just .207 against him.

Brault knows he still has much to improve to return to the major leagues, but he feels the difficult part is out of the way.

"For me, once I came to a realization that this really is just baseball and I love baseball, I can love baseball and still be good at it," Brault said. "It seems to be translating to the mound."

MORE FROM INDIANAPOLIS
May 15: at Columbus, 5-4 loss
May 16: at Columbus, 5-1 win
May 16: at Columbus, 9-0 win
May 17: at Columbus, 8-4 win
May 18: at Columbus, 4-2 win
May 19: vs. Toledo, 6-1 win
May 19: vs. Toledo, 7-1 win
May 20: vs. Toledo, 8-7 win
May 21: vs. Toledo, 3-2 win

Few pitchers in Triple-A have been as dominant this season as Edgar Santana. The 25-year-old right-handed reliever's scoreless innings streak reached 21 2/3 innings with his two scoreless innings in Sunday's win over Toledo. Through Sunday, Santana had allowed just two runs (one earned) and only 17 baserunners (12 hits, five walks) in 25 1/3 innings this season for a 0.36 ERA.

In case you missed it, Neal Huntington told reporters Sunday afternoon that Santana could find himself with the Pirates sooner rather than later.

“He’s an interesting one in that he’s putting up dominant numbers,” Huntington said. “If you go watch the stuff, the stuff is really good as well. He’s a mature young man. He doesn’t have a ton of innings under his belt. So we’re looking for him to be able to pitch the game and learn how to make adjustments on the fly and to learn how to recognize swings and continue with his development. He’s certainly doing everything that we would want him and need him to do. We think he’s going to help us at some point here and maybe sooner than later.”

• Utility-man Chris Bostick cooled off late last week, but he's still among the top hitters in the International League.

Bostick, who was acquired in a trade with the Nationals during the offseason, was second in the IL with a .345 batting average through Sunday. He had five more multi-hit games last week and has a .384 on-base percentage.

• Shortstop Max Moroff is also on a hot streak since being returned to Indianapolis. He hit three home runs and had 11 RBI last week, and now ranks third in the league with 30 RBI this season.

Moroff's average has risen to .254 and the switch-hitter now has 12 home runs in 36 games. The 24-year-old hit just eight home runs in 133 games with the Indians a year ago.

• Austin Meadows' slow but steady improvement continued during Indianapolis' outstanding week. He hit a three-run homer in a win over Columbus on Thursday, and his batting average has risen to .236.

He now has 20 RBI, but his .295 on-base percentage is still well-below what the Pirates are expecting out of their top prospect.

• The Pirates were on the wrong end of a one-sided trade in December 2015 that sent outfielder Keon Broxton to the Brewers, but the player they received in the deal is finally giving them a reason to be optimistic.

First baseman Jason Rogers was named the International League Hitter of the Week after he batted .400 with two doubles, two home runs, 11 RBI and one stolen base in eight games for the Indians.

The 29-year-old had five multi-hit games and is now batting .283. Despite the improvement, Rogers is far from helping the Pirates. The organization is now thin in the outfield and well-stocked with infielders.

• Starting pitcher Nick Kingham made his first start of the season at Triple-A last week, throwing 5 2/3 innings while allowing six hits and two earned runs while striking out four.

ALTOONA ALERT
May 16: at Binghamton, 10-2 loss
May 17: at Binghamton, 8-6 win
May 18: at Binghamton, 8-5 loss
May 19: vs. Erie, 11-10 win
May 20: vs. Erie, 4-1 win
May 21: vs. Erie, 2-0 loss

Former second-round pick Kevin Kramer, a second baseman, went 3 for 4 with a solo home run against Binghamton last Saturday and is batting .338 this season. He has struck out 36 times in 36 games, but has 14 doubles, three triples and four home runs for first-place Altoona.

Shortstop Kevin Newman, a first-round pick in 2015, was 3 for his last 22 entering Monday and is now batting .241 this season. Newman delivered a home run Monday, but is not showing the type of power many expected entering the season.

Curve outfielder Connor Joe was named to the MLB Pipeline Team of the Week after batting .450 with four doubles and two triples last week. He's hitting .319 with a .413 on-base percentage and 18 RBI in his first season in Double-A.

BRADENTON UPDATE
May 15: at Daytona, 7-3 win
May 16: at Daytona, 6-3 loss
May 17: at Daytona, 9-8 loss
May 18: at Daytona, 5-3 win
May 19: at Fort Myers, 7-1 loss
May 20: at Fort Myers, 9-8 loss
May 21: at Fort Myers, 6-5 win

Twenty-year-old shortstop Cole Tucker is on a tear in Class A, carrying a nine-game hitting streak into this week. He had six multi-hit games last week and was batting .391 over his last 10 games entering Monday.

Tucker, a first-round pick in 2014, also has 26 stolen bases in 40 games. That's only two away from Bradenton's single-season record and leads the minor leagues.

• Starting pitcher Mitch Keller was pulled after only one inning of his last start because of back tightness last Tuesday, and only pitched 4 2/3 innings in his start before that.

Through his first 39 innings with Bradenton, Keller has posted a 2.54 ERA and 38 strikeouts to seven walks.

• Third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes went 10 for 23 last week and was batting .389 over his last 10 games entering Monday. He has stolen 14 bases and has scored 23 times for Bradenton, which is in first place in the Florida State League South division.