Maddux Bruns

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Los Angeles Dodgers #10 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 50/High
  
  Track Record: Bruns touched 97 mph at the Perfect Game national showcase to establish himself as one of the top prep pitchers in the 2021 draft class, though control problems surfaced throughout his senior year. The Dodgers drafted him 29th overall and signed him for $2,197,500. Bruns showed loud stuff but walked more than a batter per inning in his first full season at Low-A Rancho Cucamonga and repeated the level to start 2023. He improved his control and composure to earn a quick promotion to High-A Great Lakes and finished the year second in the Dodgers system with 126 strikeouts.
  
  Scouting Report: Bruns has a strong, powerful 6-foot-2 frame and buzzworthy stuff. His plus fastball sits 94-96 mph and touches 98 with heavy armside life from the left side. His plus 74-78 mph curveball is a hammer with late snap and depth, and his 82-86 mph slider with angle and late bite is a third plus offering. He also has a fading, mid-80s changeup that flashes average potential, though he rarely throws it. Bruns shortened his arm stroke and became more consistent with his delivery in 2023 to improve his control, but he’s still a well below-average strike-thrower. He relies on overpowering hitters and must improve the control of his secondaries to get the most from his arsenal. Bruns has matured after frequently melting down on the mound in his first full season, but he still occasionally displays his frustration when his defense makes errors behind him. The Dodgers have worked with him on bouncing back better from adversity.
  
  The Future: Bruns is moving in the right direction with his control and composure. He has a chance to be a hard-throwing, back-end starter or power reliever if he can continue those upward trends.
  
  Scouting Grades Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 60 | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 30
• 
  Ranked Los Angeles Dodgers #19 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Bruns showed some of the best stuff of any high school pitcher in the 2021 draft class but also the shakiest control. The Dodgers bet on his raw talent and drafted him 29th overall, signing him for $2,197,500 to forgo an Alabama commitment. Bruns made his full-season debut at Low-A Rancho Cucamonga in 2022 and showed moderate control improvements early, but after missing a month with a lat strain, he struggled to rediscover his release point and unraveled. He finished the year with 45 walks, nine wild pitches and eight hit batters in only 44.1 innings and averaged barely two innings per start.
  
  Scouting Report: Bruns looks the part with a strong, projectable frame, an athletic delivery and a gifted left arm. His fastball sits 94-96 mph and touches 98 with armside life and late jump through the strike zone. His 74-77 mph curveball is a plus pitch with hard snap and big depth and his 82-85 mph slider with tough angle and late bite is another plus offering. He also has a fading changeup with average potential, but rarely throws it. Bruns flashes a fluid delivery and arm action, but he struggles to maintain his mechanics or release point and needs to improve his mental approach. He often focuses on chasing big velocity numbers or spin metrics rather than executing pitches to get hitters out. He's poor at holding runners and often displays his frustration publicly, throwing his arms up or kicking the dirt when his defense makes an error or umpires miss a call.
  
  The Future: Bruns has rotation upside but has to mature to reach it. He projects to be a slow mover and will take time.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Curveball: 60. Slider: 60. Changeup: 50. Control: 30
• 
  Ranked Los Angeles Dodgers #11 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: Bruns touched 97 mph at Perfect Game National to establish himself as one of the top pitchers in the 2021 draft class, but his control disappeared the rest of the summer and was hit-or-miss throughout his senior spring. The Dodgers still believed in his arm strength and drafted him in the first round, No. 29 overall, and signed him for $2,197,500.
  
  Scouting Report: Bruns has a strong, 6-foot-2 frame and attacks hitters with a potent four-pitch mix. His fastball sits 93-95 mph, touches 97 and is a plus pitch with the deception he generates out of his crossfire delivery. His 82-84 mph slider is another plus pitch with tough angle and late bite, and his high-arching, 74-76 mph curveball also shows plus at its best. He also has advanced touch and feel for a fading changeup that projects to be average. While Bruns’ stuff is unquestioned, he has well below-average control and struggles to stay around the strike zone. The Dodgers believe his control can become average with adjustments to his timing, delivery and mindset, but he’s not a natural strike-thrower.
  
  The Future: Bruns has to prove he can throw enough strikes to reach his mid-rotation potential. He’ll try to show he can at Low-A Rancho Cucamonga in 2022.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #48 prospect in 2021 draft
  There’s likely not a pitcher in the 2021 class who has as much pure arm talent as Bruns. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound lefthander wowed scouts last summer at Perfect Game’s National Showcase, running his fastball up to 97 mph and flashing two breaking balls that were both plus pitches. At later events it was clear that Bruns’ control and command were well behind his pure stuff, and he struggled not only to hit his spots but to get the ball around the zone. That made him something of an enigma entering the spring, as no one in the industry doubted his pure stuff and upside, but seemingly everyone was scared about his strike-throwing ability and the reliever risk that came with it. Scouts in the South did see better control from Bruns this spring against poor competition, but they still commented he was much more of a control-over-command arm. Bruns is strong and physical, and attacks hitters with a vertical arm slot that creates plane and a crossfire delivery that adds to his deception. While he can run his fastball up to 97-98, he pitches more effectively in the lower 90s. Bruns throws a 12-to-6 curveball in the mid-70s with tremendous depth and also has a hard slider in the low 80s with power and late biting action. On top of that, some scouts have even graded his low-80s changeup as a plus offering, but he’s not used it much to this point. Bruns is committed to Alabama, but a team could easily take a shot on his massive upside somewhere in the top-two rounds.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Bruns showed some of the best stuff of any high school pitcher in the 2021 draft class but also the shakiest control. The Dodgers bet on his raw talent and drafted him 29th overall, signing him for $2,197,500 to forgo an Alabama commitment. Bruns made his full-season debut at Low-A Rancho Cucamonga in 2022 and showed moderate control improvements early, but after missing a month with a lat strain, he struggled to rediscover his release point and unraveled. He finished the year with 45 walks, nine wild pitches and eight hit batters in only 44.1 innings and averaged barely two innings per start.
  
  Scouting Report: Bruns looks the part with a strong, projectable frame, an athletic delivery and a gifted left arm. His fastball sits 94-96 mph and touches 98 with armside life and late jump through the strike zone. His 74-77 mph curveball is a plus pitch with hard snap and big depth and his 82-85 mph slider with tough angle and late bite is another plus offering. He also has a fading changeup with average potential, but rarely throws it. Bruns flashes a fluid delivery and arm action, but he struggles to maintain his mechanics or release point and needs to improve his mental approach. He often focuses on chasing big velocity numbers or spin metrics rather than executing pitches to get hitters out. He's poor at holding runners and often displays his frustration publicly, throwing his arms up or kicking the dirt when his defense makes an error or umpires miss a call.
  
  The Future: Bruns has rotation upside but has to mature to reach it. He projects to be a slow mover and will take time.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Curveball: 60. Slider: 60. Changeup: 50. Control: 30
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Bruns showed some of the best stuff of any high school pitcher in the 2021 draft class but also the shakiest control. The Dodgers bet on his raw talent and drafted him 29th overall, signing him for $2,197,500 to forgo an Alabama commitment. Bruns made his full-season debut at Low-A Rancho Cucamonga in 2022 and showed moderate control improvements early, but after missing a month with a lat strain, he struggled to rediscover his release point and unraveled. He finished the year with 45 walks, nine wild pitches and eight hit batters in only 44.1 innings and averaged barely two innings per start.
  
  Scouting Report: Bruns looks the part with a strong, projectable frame, an athletic delivery and a gifted left arm. His fastball sits 94-96 mph and touches 98 with armside life and late jump through the strike zone. His 74-77 mph curveball is a plus pitch with hard snap and big depth and his 82-85 mph slider with tough angle and late bite is another plus offering. He also has a fading changeup with average potential, but rarely throws it. Bruns flashes a fluid delivery and arm action, but he struggles to maintain his mechanics or release point and needs to improve his mental approach. He often focuses on chasing big velocity numbers or spin metrics rather than executing pitches to get hitters out. He's poor at holding runners and often displays his frustration publicly, throwing his arms up or kicking the dirt when his defense makes an error or umpires miss a call.
  
  The Future: Bruns has rotation upside but has to mature to reach it. He projects to be a slow mover and will take time.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Curveball: 60. Slider: 60. Changeup: 50. Control: 30
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 50/Very High
  
  Track Record: Bruns touched 97 mph at Perfect Game National to establish himself as one of the top pitchers in the 2021 draft class, but his control disappeared the rest of the summer and was hit-or-miss throughout his senior spring. The Dodgers still believed in his arm strength and drafted him in the first round, No. 29 overall, and signed him for $2,197,500.
  
  Scouting Report: Bruns has a strong, 6-foot-2 frame and attacks hitters with a potent four-pitch mix. His fastball sits 93-95 mph, touches 97 and is a plus pitch with the deception he generates out of his crossfire delivery. His 82-84 mph slider is another plus pitch with tough angle and late bite, and his high-arching, 74-76 mph curveball also shows plus at its best. He also has advanced touch and feel for a fading changeup that projects to be average. While Bruns&#39 stuff is unquestioned, he has well below-average control and struggles to stay around the strike zone. The Dodgers believe his control can become average with adjustments to his timing, delivery and mindset, but he&#39s not a natural strike-thrower.
  
  The Future: Bruns has to prove he can throw enough strikes to reach his mid-rotation potential. He&#39ll try to show he can at Low-A Rancho Cucamonga in 2022.
• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Bruns touched 97 mph at Perfect Game National to establish himself as one of the top pitchers in the 2021 draft class, but his control disappeared the rest of the summer and was hit-or-miss throughout his senior spring. The Dodgers still believed in his arm strength and drafted him in the first round, No. 29 overall, and signed him for $2,197,500.
  
  Scouting Report: Bruns has a strong, 6-foot-2 frame and attacks hitters with a potent four-pitch mix. His fastball sits 93-95 mph, touches 97 and is a plus pitch with the deception he generates out of his crossfire delivery. His 82-84 mph slider is another plus pitch with tough angle and late bite, and his high-arching, 74-76 mph curveball also shows plus at its best. He also has advanced touch and feel for a fading changeup that projects to be average. While Bruns’ stuff is unquestioned, he has well below-average control and struggles to stay around the strike zone. The Dodgers believe his control can become average with adjustments to his timing, delivery and mindset, but he’s not a natural strike-thrower.
  
  The Future: Bruns has to prove he can throw enough strikes to reach his mid-rotation potential. He’ll try to show he can at Low-A Rancho Cucamonga in 2022.
• July, 2021 Scouting Report
  There's likely not a pitcher in the 2021 class who has as much pure arm talent as Bruns. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound lefthander wowed scouts last summer at Perfect Game's National Showcase, running his fastball up to 97 mph and flashing two breaking balls that were both plus pitches. At later events it was clear that Bruns' control and command were well behind his pure stuff, and he struggled not only to hit his spots but to get the ball around the zone. That made him something of an enigma entering the spring, as no one in the industry doubted his pure stuff and upside, but seemingly everyone was scared about his strike-throwing ability and the reliever risk that came with it. Scouts in the South did see better control from Bruns this spring against poor competition, but they still commented he was much more of a control-over-command arm. Bruns is strong and physical, and attacks hitters with a vertical arm slot that creates plane and a crossfire delivery that adds to his deception. While he can run his fastball up to 97-98, he pitches more effectively in the lower 90s. Bruns throws a 12-to-6 curveball in the mid-70s with tremendous depth and also has a hard slider in the low 80s with power and late biting action. On top of that, some scouts have even graded his low-80s changeup as a plus offering, but he's not used it much to this point. Bruns is committed to Alabama, but a team could easily take a shot on his massive upside somewhere in the top-two rounds.