JUCO pitcher bringing the heat for Tigers
Junior college transfer Ben Braymer has excelled during preseason practice and should be a key part of Auburn’s pitching staff.
AUBURN | Newcomers are expected to make up the majority of Auburn’s pitching staff this season including junior college transfer Ben Braymer.
The 6-foot-2, 222-pound hard-throwing left-hander from LSU-Eunice should fill a key role on the staff.
“He's 88-92 as a starter and we think he's a bull,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. “Braymer is a perfect name for him. He's strong, powerful, left-handed, everything you'd want in an SEC pitcher.”
The question Thompson must answer over the next nine days before the season opener is how to use Braymer.
“Is he at his best as one of our starters or could he come in for one or two innings and instead of being 88-92, could he be 93, 94 and go get three to six outs,” Thompson said. “One of the things I mentioned to the ball club today is championship teams usually shorten ballgames.
“Two of our five best pitchers may be in our bullpen because if you can shorten a college game to six or seven innings if you've got the lead and you've got real stuff to shorten it down, sometimes you can sprint and show more than starting.”
Braymer was used as a starter at LSU-Eunice last season compiling a 9-1 record with 138 strikeouts in 94.2 innings but he’s open to a move to the bullpen.
“My main goal is to help the team win anyway that I can,” Braymer said. “If that's going to be as a weekend starter, that's great. I feel confident that I will have success in that role. If my role ends up being somewhere out of the pen and that's the best role that I can help the team win, them so be it. I'll embrace it. The most important thing is that we win.”
Braymer is still in the process of building his relationship with Thompson, who served as a pitching coach at Mississippi State before being hired by Auburn Oct. 22.
“Just picking his brain and hearing what he has to say after my outings has been very helpful and insightful,” Braymer said. “I just can't wait to continue to work under him throughout the course of this season. I feel like he's going to help me out tremendously and he's going to help the other pitchers on our team out as well.”
Braymer’s repertoire includes a two-seam and four-seam fastball, change-up, curve ball and slider. It didn’t take him long to make a positive impression on his teammates.
“I think he's awesome,” senior Justin Camp said. “He throws four pitches, if not five, and he throws them for strikes. He works off his fastball. He competes. Day in and day out, he just wants to win. That's all he cares about and however he has to do it, he's going to out there everyday and give you his best.”
Auburn hosts Sacramento State for a three-game series at Plainsman Park beginning Feb. 19.
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