ST. LOUIS — John Brebbia doesn't get enough respect.
Here's a guy who does his job to a tee and then some yet doesn't get National acclaim or even much high praise from the casual St. Louis Cardinals fan.
While fans gush over Jordan Hicks' dynamic fastball, they often miss out on Brebbia's ability to get swings and misses with lesser, yet still potent, stuff on the mound.
The reliever's beard gets more headlines and play than his right arm, which has struck out 127 Major Leagues batters in just 115 innings since his debut on May 28, 2017. Brebbia's 2.57 earned run average and 1.012 WHIP is pure filth, leaving hitters dizzy and wondering what they just saw on the mound. "Was that the fourth lead in that Game of Thrones scene, or an actual baseball player?"
Soon enough, the rest of the baseball world will know about this guy. When you take care of hitters at the rate Brebbia does, you don't stay invisible for long. What's impressive is that he has stayed under the radar for this long while pitching very effectively in his third season. After coming up nearly two years ago, Brebbia got out to a fast start, gunning down batters and loading up innings.
However, the polish didn't come until last season. For as good as he was in 2017, there was some roughness around the edges. Pitches finding too much of the plate, and Brebbia juggling too many types of pitches. He was throwing the changeup and sinker along with the four-seam fastball and nasty slider. He gradually dropped the extra baggage and stuck with two main weapons: the four seamer and slider.
Since then, Brebbia's strikeouts per nine innings have gone up and his home runs allowed per nine have decreased. He's already logged 15 innings this season in 12 games this season, striking out 18 and allowing a batting average of .100 to opposing hitters.
It helps that off the field, Brebbia's game doesn't lose a beat. When Kris Bryant took a shot at St. Louis in January, Brebbia used a Justin Timberlake lyric to describe his reaction to the Cubs slugger's comments. "Cry me a river," Brebbia said, noting the remark with a comic's slyness that seemed too natural for a ballplayer. While he proved that he's too cool for this school, Brebbia could have just pulled up the footage of him striking Bryant out last season. He backs it up on the mound.
The 28-year-old is doing all of this for the calm, cool price of $569,000. He is under team control until 2024, when the arbitration years run out and he can become a free agent. What took him so long? Brebbia attended the hard knocks school of baseball ascension before he took the mound. He was originally drafted in the 30th round of the 2011 draft by the New York Yankees. Two and a half years later, he was released by New York. Nearly two years passed before The Arizona Diamondbacks took a shot in Sept. 2015.
Arizona left him unprotected in the Rule 5 Draft, and Brebbia was taken by the Cardinals less than three months after he got to the desert. After more than a year in the minor league system in St. Louis, he got his shot at the age of 27. Let's just say he hasn't given it back.
I wouldn't call it easy. If a reliever or two hadn't gotten injured late in spring training this year, Brebbia may not have made the roster. Isn't that a wild thought? Someone pitching that well almost didn't get the spot, or at least hung around in doubt. Brebbia beat out Tyler Webb for the final spot and thank goodness for it. Let's see Webb get righthanders out or try to go more than an inning, something Brebbia has done often in his career.
There was a time when I campaigned for Brebbia to close games, but I like his current role better. He's the everyman of the bullpen. Put him in any spot, and he will get outs. Early in the game, late in the game, or in the tightest spot. While other relievers struggle under the bright lights of pressurized baseball, Brebbia ascends. In late and close situations, Brebbia has held batters to a .179 batting average.
It's true. He was a million to one shot. Dropped by two teams and spending six years toying around minor league parks before settling in here, Brebbia wasn't supposed to make it. But he's now a given. A guy who can get outs with two pitches. Nothing fancy, just strikes.
Sooner rather than later, Brebbia will get the respect he deserves. I mean, this month, hitters are whiffing on his four-seam fastball 44% of the time it is thrown to them. You can't keep that quiet for long.
Part comedian, part beardsmith, and 100 percent underrated pitcher, Brebbia is a lethal, and still secret, weapon for the St. Louis Cardinals. Just ask Kris Bryant, who is 0-4 versus Brebbia with a strikeout. Starlin Marte has four strikeouts in seven at-bats. Nolan Arenado is 0-3 with three strikeouts against Brebbia.
Just do me a favor tonight. When the game is close and climbing into the later innings, hope Brebbia shows up to get some outs. Start looking for him. He's worth your time. Someone who has earned his spot in the Majors. Someone who deserves your respect.
All hail, John Brebbia.
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