After Friday night’s 10-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, Lucas Sims was Designated for Assignment (DFA). Zach Brzykcy has received the call in Rochester that he is being promoted to the Nationals. Brzykcy was called up in September last year and appeared in six games in relief. He pitched 5.2 innings and gave up nine earned runs while not walking any and striking out four. Brzykcy struggled, but that’s not unusual for your first time in the majors.

The 6-foot-2 right-hander, before his 2023 Tommy John surgery, was throwing a 4-seam fastball at 97-98 mph. In Rochester, this year, Brzykcy’s fastball ranged between 93-95. His 4-seamer has explosive life when it’s up in the zone. Zach’s secondary pitches are a changeup in the upper 80s and a vertical curveball around 82 mph.

Zach Brzykcy has been pitching in the Nationals’ organization since 2021. His career minor league record is 16-6 with an excellent ERA of 3.13. I like to gauge the success of a relief pitcher on the opponent’s batting average, which is .186. Also, I like the strikeout-to-walk ratio and WHIP statistics when evaluating relief pitchers. He has walked 71 batters to 238 strikeouts, which is more than a 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio and a 1.08 WHIP, which grades as excellent!

Brzykcy has proven that he is an excellent relief pitcher in the Minor Leagues. He has pitched at all levels of minor league baseball. It is time for Zach Brzykcy to answer the call and go to Washington and become an important part of the Washington Nationals’ bullpen!