BRADENTON, Fla. – Steven Brault is one of the few players with any significant amount of major league experience taking part in the Pirates’ minicamp.
The left-hander has been working out daily this week at Pirate City. He threw a bullpen Wednesday, a day before the four-day camp ends.
Under terms of Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement, players’ participation in such events is strictly voluntary. Brault, unlike many of his teammates, decided to volunteer and flew across the country from his home in San Diego on Sunday.
Nobody seems to be enjoying himself more than 26-year-old. Of course, the ebullient Brault always seems to be smiling.
“I think it’s really good to come down here for a few days, just to be able to see the guys and get back in the swing of things, doing a spring training routine, even though it’s a very abbreviated schedule,” Brault told DKPittsburghSports.com. “Seeing people, seeing the coaches, checking in with everybody. It’s worth the trip. It’s a bummer because I wish more guys were here, but it’s a lot of fun. It’s a good time.”
Brault had some good and bad times last year, including a nearly three-week detour to Triple-A Indianapolis in early August to get more consistent work. He was 6-3 with a 4.61 ERA in 45 games, including five early-season starts.
Brault has reached the point in his career where he fully understands it is time to develop more consistency if he is going to have a long major league career. He is also not a lock to make the opening day roster because he has one minor league option remaining and veteran left-hander Tyler Lyons, signed as a minor league free agent last week, could challenge Brault in spring training.
To prepare, Brault has altered his throwing routine this offseason. While most pitchers take a break from throwing for at least a month after the season ends, Brault continued to play catch as soon as he got back to San Diego for the winter.
“I wasn’t throwing a lot right after the season, not intense kind of throwing, but a little bit to keep my arm moving,” he said. “It has allowed me to work on stuff to get ready for next season, get more of a head start on it than I have in the past. It’s helped improve my delivery and everything that comes with having consistent mechanics.
“We’ll see how things progress going forward but I feel really good right now.”
Brault has also changed his musical routine this winter.
Brault was a voice major at Regis University, a Division II school in Denver, before being drafted by the Orioles in the 11th round in 2013. He has spent his offseasons singing in a classic rock band in San Diego.
However, Brault has started to learn to play the guitar in recent months.
“I’m still trying to figure it out as I go along, but it’s fun,” Brault said with a grin. “It was time to do something but sing. I’ve wanted to learn guitar for a long time and I fully made the time and effort to do it.”
Not that Brault is sending his singing career to the bullpen, though. In fact, one of the most memorable moments of his 2018 season came when he sang the national anthem at PNC Park on June 19 before a game against the Brewers.
Having time to reflect during the offseason has allowed Brault to realize how special it was.
“To me, at the time, it didn’t seem like it was that big of a deal,” Brault said. “But then I go back and think about it and I’m in uniform on a major league field singing the national anthem. The experience was so wild when I think back on it now. I was so nervous, more nervous than I’ve ever been pitching. It was really cool.”