Brzykcy's fairy tale path to majors upended by nightmare debut

As he stood before a locker with his nameplate, a Nationals jersey with his name on it, inside a big league clubhouse for the first time, Zach Brzykcy was asked what he would’ve thought if someone predicted this outcome for him four years ago when he was a junior at Virginia Tech.

“I would’ve laughed at them,” he said. “Like, no way is this going to happen.”

That Brzykcy did find himself at Nationals Park on Sunday was a remarkable story. Undrafted out of college. Owner of a 5.20 ERA in his first professional season. Sidelined for his entire third pro season following Tommy John surgery. And now a big league reliever, officially promoted from Triple-A Rochester as one of the Nats’ two September call-ups.

“Speechless,” the 25-year-old right-hander said of his reaction to learning the news Saturday from Rochester manager Matt LeCroy. “I’m kind of a quiet guy, so I didn’t even know what to think. I internalized it, and I was just mind blown. I’ve been working for this since I was 4 to be here, and I’m here. It’s just surreal. There’s no words to describe the feeling.”

Brzykcy (pronounced “BRICK-see”) might seem an unlikely addition to the Nationals bullpen, but he earned his way here. He was a casualty of the COVID pandemic, both because his junior season at Virginia Tech ended in mid-March with only nine appearances and because Major League Baseball reduced the 2020 Draft to a mere five rounds.

The Nats had scouted Brzykcy, though, and liked his potential, especially the rising fastball he threw that seemed to befuddle hitters. So they signed him after the draft for the scant total of $10,000 and went to work developing him in the minors.

It took a couple years, but Brzykcy took off in 2022, finishing with a 1.76 ERA, 14 saves and nearly 14 strikeouts per nine innings while climbing all the way up the organizational ladder to Triple-A. He then got an invitation to big league camp the following spring and looked like someone who could wind up in D.C. sometime during the 2023 season.

Then he hurt his elbow in spring training, required Tommy John surgery and missed the entire year, throwing a wrench into those plans.

As difficult as the lost year was, Brzykcy believes it ultimately made him stronger and made this weekend’s promotion to the majors more meaningful.

“Way more meaningful,” he said. “It kind of made me appreciate being healthy, appreciate baseball to a whole other level that I didn’t know was possible. Just the grind it’s been this year and last year, it’s very rewarding to be here.”

Brzykcy’s delayed 2024 season began in late-May in the Florida Complex League. He then spent June at Single-A Wilmington, July and the first half of August at Double-A Harrisburg and then two weeks ago was moved back up to Triple-A, where in seven appearances he allowed only one run on three hits.

That made him a logical candidate to join the Nationals’ bullpen once rosters expanded Sunday.

“Being undrafted, with everything he’s been through, it’s a testament to who he is,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He’s worked really hard. And not just because of the Tommy John, but before that. He took nothing for granted. This guy worked really hard to become better.”

Brzykcy got to complete his journey with his first big league appearance Sunday. And that’s when the fairy tale ended. Handed the ball for the top of the ninth with the Nats already trailing the Cubs, 7-1, he was charged with a clock violation before ever throwing his first pitch, gave up two hits and got himself in a jam.

He rebounded to strike out Cody Bellinger looking at a 96 mph fastball, then walked Isaac Paredes to load the bases. Even so, he was one strike away from escaping the inning unscathed but couldn’t throw it to Michael Busch before walking in a run. And when Nico Hoerner followed with a two-run single, Martinez made the walk to the mound to take the ball from the rookie, who ultimately was charged with five earned runs in only two-thirds of an inning.

“As we all know, it’s your first game out there,” Martinez said. “He just got a little nervous. But I’m glad he got that out of the way. And come Tuesday, we should see a different guy.”