Zach Braddock

[Michael Trzinski]

William Zachary Braddock was born in Mount Holly, New Jersey in 1987. After undergoing Tommy John surgery on his left elbow after his junior year at Gloucester Catholic High School, Braddock was tabbed by the Brewers in the 18th round of the 2005 MLB Amateur Draft. He did not sign until the summer of the following year.

Braddock spent the first four years working his way up in the system before making his big-league debut on May 23, 2010. He spent the rest of the season with the Brewers, working mostly as a set-up man in the seventh or eighth innings. Braddock appeared in 46 contests and had one win in three decisions and also had 15 ‘holds,’ finishing second on the team. He held opponents to a .228 batting average, along with a 27.2% K rate and a 2.90 FIP.

The following season, the southpaw was placed on the 15-day disabled list in early May with a ‘sleep disorder.’ After a few rehab appearances in the minors, Braddock returned to the Brewers in early June. However, he would only last about six weeks until he was optioned to Triple-A Nashville due to inconsistency. Braddock appeared in 25 games for Milwaukee and posted a FIP of 4.70 while losing his only decision. It was reported that he was being treated for ‘personal issues’ in the latter half of the season.

In 2012, Braddock was optioned to the minors but didn’t play and was released by Milwaukee in May. Over the next three years, Braddock was signed as a free agent by Baltimore and San Diego but was released. He also attempted to play with three different teams in the independent Atlantic League but gave it up in 2015.

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[Sugarrayray]

I remember really feeling for this guy. It seemed like he must have struggled with his mental health a lot especially that second year.

Between getting STUNG!?! Having sleep issues and “personal issues”, he couldn’t catch a break. I could never really find out anything behind the scenes either. 
 

But man he could throw some heat from the left side especially at a time when it wasn’t all that common.