A towering presence on the mound, listed at 6'9", 235, but he reportedly may be as tall as 7' now. Brackman dazzled scouts on the Cape this past summer, with reports of a fastball as high as 101 mph. He works comfortably in the 93-95 range, and there's no reason to believe he wouldn't be able to sustain that velocity at the next level. He also throws a very good slider and a promising changeup. Brackman also played for the Wolfpack basketball team prior to this year, but recently has stated that he will be giving up hoops to focus on his baseball career. That is probably a wise move, as Brackman is poised to be taken in the top 3 to 5 picks in next June's draft, although he is reportedly advised by Scott Boras, which always can affect where a player is selected. Despite his towering size and two-sport status, Brackman does display a very good, natural pitching sense, and with his intimidating presence he is not shy about pitching inside. The biggest issue with him is obviously his size, which helps and hurts him. It helps him in that he is at a natural advantage facing hitters and pitching on a downward plan that makes his already hard fastball appear that much nastier. It hurts him in that you don't see too many super-tall pitchers in the big-leagues, as he will have to keep his mechanics in check to make sure his extra-long limbs don't lead to wasted movement and possible arm problems down the road. Brackman was well known coming out of high school, where his two-sport star status made him an incredibly tough sign.
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