Japan’s Bryan Balzer Is an Intriguing Padres Pitching Prospect

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports Bryan Balzer is arguably the most intriguing prospect in the San Diego Padres system. Currently ranked eighth with a 40 FV, the 21-year-old right-hander had virtually no pitching experience when he entered pro ball in 2023. Moreover, he blew out his elbow and had Tommy John surgery following his lone turn on the mound. That was at Joso Gakuin High School, roughly an hour northeast of Tokyo. His current season has been somewhat of a mixed bag. Between Low-A Lake Elsinore (60 1/3 innings) and High-A Fort Wayne (32), he has a record of 6-2 to go with a 4.58 ERA, a 5.17 FIP, and a 23.4% strikeout rate. But while at times he’s been all too hittable, he has also shown flashes of high-ceiling potential. When I saw him toe the rubber for Fort Wayne in mid-July, Balzer fanned eight batters — including Tigers top prospect Bryce Rainer with two out and the bases juiced — while holding West Michigan to one run over five frames. A day prior, I asked him about his decision to sign with the Padres rather than joining another MLB organization or staying home to pitch in NPB. “My goal was to be a professional baseball player; I didn’t care if was Japan or America,” replied the Yokosuka native. “But I grew up watching Yu Darvish and wanted to be on his team.” Balzer, who was mostly raised in Nippon but spent a few years stateside while in grade school, went on to say that his decision was also influenced by his Tommy John surgery; the Padres expressed less concerned than other MLB teams about his having gone under the knife. As for the NPB teams he might have landed with — this via the league’s draft process — the Hanshin Tigers were the first to have a scout approach him after his lone pitching appearance. In terms of overall interest, he recalls the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants having been “the main ones.” The extent to which he now follows NPB — or even MLB — is limited. Asked how closely he keeps tabs on Japan’s top league, Balzer suggested that there is more to life than his chosen livelihood. As he put it, “After I’m done with my baseball work, I don’t want to go home and watch baseball. Really, I’m just playing. If I’m watching every day, that’s too much baseball.” And again, the baseball he played while growing up in Japan wasn’t from atop a clump of dirt 60 feet, 6 inches away from home plate. His move from the infield to the mound came by chance. You Aren't a FanGraphs Member It looks like you aren't yet a FanGraphs Member (or aren't logged in). We aren't mad, just disappointed. We get it. You want to read this article. But before we let you get back to it, we'd like to point out a few of the good reasons why you should become a Member. 1. Ad Free viewing! We won't bug you with this ad, or any other. 2. Unlimited articles! Non-Members only get to read 10 free articles a month. Members never get cut off. 3. Dark mode and Classic mode! 4. 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And we realize this has been an awfully long sales pitch, so we've also removed all the other ads in this article. We didn't want to overdo it. “We had a practice game and didn’t have any more pitchers,” explained Balzer, who was at the time stationed at first base. “I said, ‘I’ll go out there and pitch.’ Why not? It was only a practice game. That was my first time pitching in my entire life, and I was throwing 94-96 [mph] that inning. I don’t know why, but I did it. And I got hurt. I was throwing too fast and my UCL couldn’t take it. It just got destroyed.” Thanks in part to Frank Jobe and Tommy John — you’ve probably heard of them — Balzer isn’t simply back on the mound: He’s throwing even harder. The righty explained that he has reached triple digits in each of the past two seasons. Per Eric Longenhagen, who recently provided me with an updated scouting profile, Balzer has been sitting 93-97 and touching 99. Our lead prospect analyst did add a concerning caveat, saying that Balzer’s heater “plays down from a bat-missing standpoint.” Even so, Longenhagen likes “the athlete and arm strength.” In an earlier report, he stated that those qualities “suggest he’s a big leaguer in some form.” The fastest of Balzer’s bullets come from different grips. He is now throwing both two- and four-seam fastballs, the latter of which he feels is the better of the two, as it “moves more and is just as fast.” The other pitches in his arsenal are a a cutter, a splitter, and a sweeper. The last of those was learned from Darvish, with whom he has had an appreciative opportunity to talk shop — “and sometimes just about life” — during recent spring trainings. What does Balzer consider to be his best pitch? “Maybe my sweeper,” the confident youngster said. “But everything is my best pitch.” David Laurila grew up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and now writes about baseball from his home in Cambridge, Mass. He authored the Prospectus Q&A series at Baseball Prospectus from December 2006-May 2011 before being claimed off waivers by FanGraphs. He can be followed on Twitter @DavidLaurilaQA.