Connor Brogdon could play a key role in Phillies’ bullpen with sharper mindset and stronger fastball

The first pitch Connor Brogdon threw last summer as a major-leaguer was homered 373 feet. The next inning his pitch traveled 358 feet for another homer. A week later, Brogdon served up his third homer before recording nine big-league outs and the Phillies sent him 75 miles away to Allentown.

For a promising prospect, it was a rough introduction to the big leagues.

“When he came back down, he was not very confident,” triple-A pitching coach Aaron Fultz said.

Brogdon’s pitches were flat last August when he reached the majors as the right-hander’s velocity had dipped and he struggled to generate the swing and misses he did in the minors. Brogdon, after a disappointing first week with the Phillies, returned to the team’s alternate site in the Lehigh Valley.

“I revamped my mindset and strengthened it,” Brogdon said.

He returned three weeks later to the majors with a sharp mind and a juiced-up fastball. His velocity last September was more than two ticks higher than it was when hitters were teeing off on him in August. Brogdon was dominant. He retired 26 of the 29 batters he faced in September and allowed no runs in 82/3 innings with an average fastball of 96.39 mph.

“When he went back up he was lights out,” Fultz said. “The confidence level for him has been very good because now he’s aggressive and gets after guys.”

His improvement last September was enough for Brogdon to start this season as one of the eight relievers in the team’s rebuilt bullpen. Manager Joe Girardi said on Wednesday that Brogdon didn’t have a defined role and “could be used at anytime.”

And there was Brogdon in Thursday’s season opener pitching perhaps the most crucial spot of the game.

Girardi called on Brogdon to start the 10th inning with a runner on second base against Freddie Freeman, the reigning National League MVP and one of the game’s premier hitters. Freeman, a left-handed batter, hit .373 last season with a 1.228 OPS against right-handers.

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Last August, Brogdon would have had little chance against Freeman in such a key situation. But the pitcher he is now is completely different than the one who returned last summer to Allentown, Brogdon said. He threw just three pitches and Freeman weakly grounded out against his change-up.

“I worked on a lot of things in my time at the alternate site,” Brogdon said. “When I came back up, that’s more of the kind of the pitcher that you saw today and will continue to see throughout the season.”

There’s no question that Freeman is a great hitter, Brogdon said. But the 26-year-old refused to give in.

“I wanted to go to my best stuff,” Brogdon said. “And just attack. Get him out front and get weak contact.”

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The Phillies’ bullpen includes four new relievers - Archie Bradley, Jose Alvarado, Sam Coonrod, and Brandon Kintzler - but it is the development of young pitchers like Brogdon that will prove to be just as important to turning around the unit after last season’s historically poor performance.

Brogdon contributed to that 7.06 ERA with his three outings in August, but he separated himself in September from the bullpen that helped keep the Phillies from the postseason. The Phillies rebuilt their bullpen this winter with outside additions, but the right-hander who overcame his struggles last season as a rookie showed the signs on opening day of being a foundation of a unit the Phillies need this season.

“We saw his confidence take off last year,” Girardi said. “I know it’s a tough spot to put him in but I have a lot of belief in his ability and what he’s capable of doing. I believe he has the ability to strike people out and that’s why I brought him in there. That has to give him another boost of confidence.”