WASHINGTON – Former Auburn pitcher Ben Braymer has been called up to the defending world champion Washington Nationals from the team's alternate training site, the organization announced Monday.
With his debut, Braymer will become the 53rd Auburn baseball alum to play in the big leagues, including head coach Butch Thompson's 16th former pitcher and the 10th since 2014 to make his MLB debut.
Braymer's call-up comes a week after Casey Mize was called up to the Detroit Tigers. It marks the first time since 2008 multiple Auburn players will make their MLB debuts in the same season (Justin Christian, Tug Hulett, Steven Register, Clete Thomas).
Braymer was selected by the Nationals in the 18th round of the 2016 MLB Draft and has turned in an 18-17 record with a 3.65 ERA while serving as both a starter and reliever in parts of four minor league seasons.
The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native broke onto the scene in 2018, leading Washington's minor league system with a 2.28 ERA while going 9-3 with two saves in 28 games and 11 starts at the Single-A level. He went on to be named the Nationals Minor League Pitcher of the Year and received an invite to the prestigious Arizona Fall League, where he earned a roster spot in the league's Fall Star Game.
Braymer made his Double-A and Triple-A debuts a season ago before being added to the team's 40-man roster last fall and earning an invite to spring training earlier this year. He is rated by MLB Pipeline and Baseball America as the club's No. 24 prospect.
In his lone season on the Plains, Braymer went 4-4 with a 3.56 ERA. He made 21 appearances, including four starts, and struck out 47 batters in 48.0 innings pitched. The southpaw tossed 5.0 scoreless inning of relief with 11 strikeouts at Missouri and turned in a season-high 6.0 innings while allowing one run in a win at Alabama.
He spent his first two collegiate seasons at LSU-Eunice and went 13-2 with a 2.81 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 125.0 innings pitched.