The sixth best relief pitcher in the 2019 Valley League season is Strasburg’s Bryce O’Brien.

O’Brien, in need of innings because he redshirted in 2019, appeared in 11 games and finished 28 innings for the Express:

ERA W L G SV IP H R ER BB K BAVG WIP BB/9 K/9
2019 1.60 4 1 11 1 28.0 23 5 5 17 39 0.228 1.429 5.5 12.5

Of pitchers on this list, he finished fifth in ERA, fourth in innings pitched, and seventh in K/9. He was an All-Star, and was named first team All-Valley at the end of the season. He was also named the Pitcher of the Day on June 27, when he threw three shutout innings against Charlottesville while earning the win.

He’s bounced around quite a bit in his college career so far.

ERA W L G SV IP H R ER BB K WIP BB/9 K/9
2017 15.75 0 0 3 0 3.7 5 4 4 4 0 2.432 9.7 0.0
2018 5.08 2 3 19 1 39.0 36 29 22 19 53 1.410 4.4 12.2

In 2017, O’Brien pitched briefly for Arizona Western. He transferred to Dyersburg Community College in 2018 and pitched a bit more, and then moved to Young Harris in 2019, where he redshirted. I can see a much larger role for the young man for the Division-II Mountain Lions in the spring of 2020.

 

Courtesy of Michael Terndrup