Brandon
Backman

3/20/19: 6-foot-4 215 pound power pitcher's frame. Has notched double digit strikeout totals in 3 starts including 12 over 5 IP vs. defending NJCAA DII National Champions LSU-Eunice. Also punched out 11 vs. Harford CC and 13 vs. Florence Darlington. Appeared in the New York Collegiate League Scout Blog this past summer getting up to 92 MPH. Sat 87-90, touching 91 MPH vs. Sullivan CC. FB command wavered and received some help on chases up in the zone. Long arm swing with an uptempo pace; will mix some hesitation and double leg lift variations into his delivery. Breaking ball maintained 11-to-5 shape with depth. (Carrier)

6/10/2018: With a wide and imposing 6’4 frame, Backman is always going to draw attention as soon as he gets on the mound. He has a lean build at 205 pounds and with the slope of his shoulders it’s easy to imagine him being able to add 10-15 more pounds without compromising his flexibility and range of motion. At this point Backman relies more on raw strength and effort than natural athleticism. The arm works from a high slot but with fluctuating arm action. Backman pitches entirely out of the stretch and with no one on-base his actions were clean and simple. The FB sat between 90-92 mph with minimal movement but good downward angle and heavy life. He only flashed one CB in his inning of work but he got it over for a called strike. The CB had 11/5 shape and good depth to it despite only being 68 mph. Sses a full arm swing after he breaks his hands and maintains a slight elbow bend as he gets into his landing. Stays tall and uses minimal knee bend on his backside while he works down the slope with a short, direct stride towards his target. After giving up a leadoff single, Backman went BB, BB, HBP and then his outing was done. With runners on-base the FB velocity dipped to 87-88 mph and you could see the arm action become less fluid as Backman started sinking into his back leg too much and getting underneath the baseball. Also showed the tendency to get too heavy on his front side, which pulled him down the mound too quickly and left his arm lagging behind the rest of his body. The FB missed all over the zone for the last 3 batters and there was no attempt to mix in any secondary pitches. Backman seems to have bounced back though and since his first appearance he has put up a quality stat line over his last 2 outings: 3.1 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K. His progress will be fun to track over the rest of the Summer. (Dan Jurik)