Jacksonville: Austin Brice, RHP

[Ralph]

discuss

AUSTIN BRICE, rhp, SR, Northwood HS. An Appalachian State recruit, Brice might be the most projectable prospect in the state this year. His fastball sat easily in the 86-90 mph range and he showed good feel for an 11-to-5 curveball in the mid-70s. What sticks out about Brice is how loose and easy his delivery is, and it is easy to imagine him throwing in the low- to mid-90s down the road. While his upside is excellent, his challenge will be harnessing his raw stuff.

http://macksmets.blogspot.com/2010/0...-zack-cox.html

[LocoMarlinFan]

Love this pick. Good athlete, pretty good FB, projectable, YOUNG, but very raw. Type of player that needs to be developed slowly. Good 9th rd pick.

[DropkickAlex]

I know I'm probably alone in this thought. But I love drafting HS pitchers. You get to develop them from day 1 the way you want to develop them. If it takes 4-5 years they are still only 21-22 years old.

I like this pick a lot.

[emkayseven]

was committed to App State
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[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT4lrxbViGU[/ame]

[tjfla]

I know I'm probably alone in this thought. But I love drafting HS pitchers. You get to develop them from day 1 the way you want to develop them. If it takes 4-5 years they are still only 21-22 years old.

I like this pick a lot.

I think same way as u however teams like us get scared sometimes about asking price and track record. If we had cash like Boston,Benifest would love to take the BPA but he has to consider price before anything.

HS pitchers want $$$ college guys want to play

[LocoMarlinFan]

I think same way as u however teams like us get scared sometimes about asking price and track record. If we had cash like Boston,Benifest would love to take the BPA but he has to consider price before anything.

HS pitchers want $$$ college guys want to play

Tampa Bay can't have that much more cash than us and over the last couple of yrs have had amazing drafts. Nice blend of HS and College prospects. They are doing the same this yr.

[Fishfan79]

Tampa Bay can't have that much more cash than us and over the last couple of yrs have had amazing drafts. Nice blend of HS and College prospects. They are doing the same this yr.

having and choosing to spend are different things.

[emkayseven]

Righthander Brice was the big mover in North Carolina's prep ranks this spring, and area scouts and crosscheckers converged on his small high school to see him face Matt Roberts and Graham High. As the spring went on, Brice had thrown some 93-94 mph fastballs, attracting attention after he sat in the upper 80s earlier. Roberts took Brice deep in that matchup, and Brice's velocity wasn't at its best. His secondary stuff is raw, with his curve ranking ahead of his nascent changeup. Brice has a good pro body at 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, with a quick, loose arm contributing to projections that he'll show his good velocity more regularly in the future. He's a solid athlete who could be a good college hitter (as a third baseman) and is at least an average runner, if not a tick above. He's an Appalachian State recruit, but scouts said they wouldn't be surprised if he ended up Pitt CC, the state's best junior-college program.

from BA

[emkayseven]

BOONE, N.C. — Right-handed pitcher Austin Brice, who signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Appalachian State University and play baseball for the Mountaineers beginning next spring, was selected in the ninth round of the 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft (287th overall) by the Florida Marlins on Tuesday.

Brice, a 6-3, 190-pounder from Northwood H.S. in Pittsboro, N.C., was rated as North Carolina’s top high-school pitcher by Baseball America coming into the 2010 MLB Draft. He was named the Carolinas 9 1-A Conference Player of the Year this spring after leading Northwood to a conference championship as a pitcher and infielder.

Brice signed a National Letter of Intent with Appalachian during last fall’s early signing period. He is scheduled to begin classes at ASU in the fall and embark on his collegiate playing career as a freshman next spring.

Per MLB rules, Brice has until August 15 to decide if he will sign a professional contract with the Marlins or pursue a collegiate career at Appalachian. If he enrolls at ASU, he would not be eligible to re-enter the draft until 2013, following his junior season.

http://www.goasu.com/ViewArticle.dbm...CLID=204957606

[Bucklin12]

Who knows how credible but this is, but it appears Brice has signed.

http://twitter.com/rockycoyle

Rocky Coyle supposedly runs a baseball camp called 4Life, which Austin has been a part of for some time. I guess he would know? Anyways, pretty good news if valid.

[LocoMarlinFan]

07/14/2010 Assigned GCL Marlins Austin Brice Austin Brice assigned to GCL Marlins from Florida Marlins.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/m...=l_trn&lid=124

It's official

[LocoMarlinFan]

Got 205,000

http://www.baseballamerica.com/draft....php?team=1027

[Bucklin12]

Wow. Big Bonus. That's the largest bonus that's been reported after the 4th round.

[flor]

Austin

Hey guys I play at the same high school as Austin, and I just want to say you guys got a great pickup in the 9th round, his fastball has been clocked as high as 97 one time, and the dude is an excellent hitter. I see him a lot and he is a really good guy.

[emkayseven]

I recently sat down with Marlins prized pitching prospect Austin Brice and conducted a quick interview with him. To give you a bit of an idea of who Brice is, he most likely ranks among the top 15 prospects and is said to have some of the highest upside of anybody in the organization. He’s a righty with pretty good stuff and lots of arm strength. Expect to hear Brice’s name considerably more as he progresses through the Marlins organization. But until then, the pitcher talks about that very subject and his expectations leading up to his potential Major League promotion.

1) Can you talk a little bit about who you are as a pitcher? What you throw, your approach on the mound, etc.

One word: “DOMINATION.” I’m coming at you with everything I have no matter who you are. I throw a fastball, curveball, and change-up. Last year, I really learned how to use my change-up, and use it well. But I’m mostly learning how to be more consistent. But hey, who isn’t?

2) What some of your biggest and best experiences of pitching in the Marlins organization?

Well, with this year being my first full season the stories will be few. However, I would have to say the biggest day of my career was when Brian Chattin called me mid-September after the GCL Playoffs and said, “hey Austin, it is my pleasure to be able to tell you that you have won Minor League Pitcher of the month for August. I was just shocked and didn’t know what to do with myself. All those years of hard work and sweat was what paid off in the end. Also, I threw with Josh Johnson one day when he was on a rehab assignment. In my list of stories that would probably rank as one of the cooler things that I have done.

3) What are some of the biggest things you’re working on to improve yourself going forward and especially this coming season?


Last year I arrived at Spring Training way too big and muscular. This isn’t to sound macho or anything, but it’s the truth. I wasn’t flexible, couldn’t really finish my pitches and my stamina lacked because of it. Hence, my nickname this year was “Briceps.” To fix myself up, I worked very hard on my legs and stayed away from all upper body work. I also took many yoga classes to help with my flexibility. I would say my main goal for the remaining part of the off-season is to stay flexible. With this being only my second full season, I’m still trying to find that perfect recipe for success.

4) You were in the GCL last year. Who were some of your teammates that stood out as especially good prospects?

Wow. Well, I can’t say that anyone really stood out since there were so many of us. The GCL team was stacked with talent though. It was such a good feeling to be on that mound knowing that pretty much every play was going to get made. That basically sums it up and is the ultimate complement I can give. The nine guys on the field were all stars and so were the other nine that were left out of the lineup that day. Same goes to the pitching staff. I had no worries about having a bad day on the bump because I knew that the guy coming in after me was going to be lights out.

5) How can we describe Austin Brice five years from now?

Hopefully it will be a headline on ESPN. A good headline of course. But to sum it up in ten letters: DOMINATION!

6) What’s it like pitching in the Marlins organization?

When I got drafted by the Marlins I was somewhat confused. I had no idea they were really even looking at me. But I think God definitely was looking out for me — he put me in a place of ultimate success. I love this team and really could not imagine not donning Marlin uniform for the rest of my career. From the Front Office to the field, everybody knows you by name, number and what you did yesterday. So you best know they are there for you throughout your whole journey to the majors.

http://www.marlinsdaily.com/?p=478