Could Mitch Bratt Be the Unseen Force Driving the 2026 Diamondbacks to Glory?

When the Arizona Diamondbacks sent Merrill Kelly off for a brief stint with Texas, the return wasn’t just about the trade itself — it was about the pieces they snagged in the process. We’ve already dissected Kohl Drake’s potential in this series, but there’s another name that deserves a spotlight: Mitch Bratt. Now, he might not be as close to a major league debut as Drake is, given he’s only just turned 22, but there’s no denying the buzz around this lefty arm. If you check out the scouts and the pros alike, Bratt’s name pops up consistently — Fangraphs slots him comfortably in their top 10 pitching prospects, and Prospects 1500 even pushes him up to fifth-best pitcher in the entire Arizona system. Not bad for a guy nearly neck-and-neck with the top pitchers on their lists.

Bratt’s control is his calling card — he’s not one to gift free passes to batters. Last season in Double-A, he allowed a mere 21 walks over 122 innings, boasting a strikeout-to-walk ratio that improved after his move to Texas. In fact, over 31 innings with Amarillo’s Sod Poodles, that ratio skyrocketed to 8.4, standing as the best among D-backs prospects in 2025. The flip side? This finesse comes with a trade-off — he’s prone to hard contact, coughing up nearly as many homers as free passes last year. His fastball sits in the low 90s, and his arsenal doesn’t exactly scream dominance yet. The key for Bratt? He’ll need to master the art of pitching, mixing strategies and spot-on placements to keep hitters guessing while leveraging that pinpoint control.

Though his youth and left-handed delivery elevate his promise, his addition to the 40-man roster last November had more to do with Rule 5 eligibility than an immediate bullpen spot. With five years now under his belt in the minors — drafted right out of high school by Texas in 2021 — he’s likely to open the season in Double-A given the packed rotation in Reno. Oh, and a little fun fact to wrap up: Bratt’s Canadian roots place him close to pioneering a new chapter for the D-backs’ north-of-the-border pitchers, with the franchise having only one Canadian pitcher before him — and well, let’s just say that stint wasn’t exactly unforgettable.

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We already discussed one part of the return for Merrill Kelly in this series, when we covered Kohl Drake. Bratt was also received from Texas for their short-term loan of Kelly. While he is three years younger than Drake, having turned 22 in July, and is less likely to reach the majors this year, Mitch is still seen as among our better pitching prospects. Fangraphs had him in their top 10 arms, while Prospects 1500 were even more bullish, ranking Bratt as Arizona’s fifth-best pitcher (and it was perilously close there: Bratt was #13 overall, with the pitchers ahead of him occupying spots #9-12).

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Mitch’s best talent is his control. He just doesn’t walk many batters: last year at Double-A, he issued only 21 free passes across 122.1 innings of work. His K:BB for the year was better than seven, and he actually improved on that after the trade. Small sample size warning, but in Amarillo, he had a K:BB ratio of 42:5 across 31.2 innings for the Sod Poodles. That 8.4 ratio was easily the best of any Arizona prospect in 2025 – nobody else, regardless of innings pitched, was able even to reach 7.0. Purely on walk rate alone, Bratt was tied for the lowest figure of anyone with 10+ IP in the D-backs’ system.

That’s the good news. The bad news is, his strike-throwing comes with a cost: a lot of hard contact. All told, Mitch allowed almost as many home-runs (18) as walks (21) last year. His fastball typically sits around 91 mph, and none of his pitches appear to be particularly outstanding at this point. Fangraphs rates them all 45-50, with the latter grade seen as the ceiling across the board. It seems that Bratt is going to need to learn how to pitch, in order to be successful, because he won’t be blowing the ball past batters based on stuff alone. That mean mixing up his offerings and locations, in order to keep hitters off balance, while continuing to show the good control he has done thus far.

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While the fact he is a left-handed pitcher certainly raises his profile, the addition to the 40-man roster in November was likely more to do with Mitch being Rule 5 eligible, rather than immediate plans for him in the big leagues. Despite his young age, Bratt has already completed five years in the minors, having been drafted out of high school. He was picked by Texas in the fifth round of the 2021 draft, out of Georgia Premier Academy. I think he may start the year in Double-A again, mostly because the Reno Aces rotation appears full: Cristian Mena, Kohl Drake, Dylan Ray, Spencer Giesting and Yu-Min Lin are probably ahead of Mitch on our current depth chart.

As mentioned in our World Baseball Classic articles, Bratt is Canadian, though his appearance in the 2023 WBC did not go well. If he reaches the majors here, he won’t quite be a pioneers, but it’s close. The D-backs have only had one pitcher born in Canada across their history. It was Adam Loewen, who made eight appearances in relief, as part of the 2016 squad. It didn’t go well – a 15.00 ERA. So Bratt definitely has a shot at becoming our most successful pitcher from North of the border. [Since you ask, there have been three such position players. Most recently, of course, was Josh Naylor: but before him, Arizona was home to Jamie Romak and Danny Klassen]