Colorado Rockies selects Iowa pitcher Brody Brecht in 2024 MLB Draft

Iowa star right-handed pitcher Brody Brecht had a dream realized and heard his name called in the 2024 MLB Draft, getting selected by Colorado Rockies with the 38 overall pick in the draft.

Brecht, who featured for the Hawkeyes the last three years, could return for another season of college baseball if he opts not to sign. Otherwise, Brecht is likely a candidate to start off in the minor league system and begin his climb.

Brecht began his career coming out of the bullpen, making 17 appearances and one start during his freshman season, posting a 3.18 ERA in 22.2 innings pitched.

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Then, Brecht moved into a starting role for his sophomore and junior seasons at Iowa. He made 32 appearances, 31 of them starts, in the past two seasons, tossing 155.1 innings. He struck out 153 batters across his final two seasons and posted a win-loss record of 9-5 with a sub-4.00 ERA.

Brecht was also a two-sport athlete for the Hawkeyes, playing as a scholarship wide receiver for the Iowa football team under Kirk Ferentz. Brecht played one season with the football team in 2022 after redshirting in 2021, before focusing on baseball in 2023 and beyond. Brecht played in 11 games during the 2022 season, making five starts and catching nine passes for 87 yards. He also took a carry for four yards.

Brecht was a freshman All-American on the diamond during the 2022 season.

Brecht’s physical profile — as evidenced by his spot on the Iowa football team — is impressive. He stands at 6 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs in at 235 pounds, bringing plenty of heft to the bump as he has the goods to occasionally overpower hitters.

Coming out of high school, Brecht flirted with going straight to professional baseball as a possible first round pick but was set on playing football at Iowa. But he’s still a first round-type talent, according to the MLB.com scouting report on Brecht.

“When he’s on, Brecht’s fastball and slider are comparable to those of Paul Skenes, the No. 1 pick in last year’s Draft,” the scouting report said. “He can sit at 96-99 mph and touch 101 with his heater, which has explosive running action and superior shape to Skenes’ fastball, though Brecht doesn’t locate his nearly as well. All that said, his best pitch is a slider that parks at 87-89 mph and peaks at 91 with plenty of horizontal and vertical action.”

The issues for Brecht to clean up are not uncommon ones for power pitchers like himself: He needs to hone in his command and cut down on free passes to batters to fully realize the potential of his plus pitches.