Steven Brault’s cell phone must be lighting up with text messages like fireworks on Independence Day.
The La Mesa native will get to see his childhood dream come true Tuesday when the Pittsburgh Pirates play in Saint Louis. Brault is slated to make his first major league appearance as the Pirates starting pitcher against the Cardinals.
The 24-year-old tweeted out his excitement about getting called up to the bigs on July 4th.
A product of Grossmont high school, Brault is expected to at least temporarily take the place of Pirates starting pitcher Jameson Taillon, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder fatigue on Monday.
The left-hander throws three main pitches for strikes and his pitching style is similar to Tom Glavine in how he tries to use deception and accuracy to keep hitters off balance.
Brault primarily throws a fastball that can reach up to 93 mph while mixing in a curveball and slider with pinpoint control. He prefers to pound the zone with strikes, and pepper in different pitch combinations to keep batters guessing every plate appearance.
Brault was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 11th round of the 2013 draft after attending Regis University in Colorado.
Local
The Orioles traded him to Pittsburgh in the spring of 2015 when they acquired outfielder Travis Snider.
Brault went 2-3 with a 2.57 ERA in eight starts for Triple-A Indianapolis, striking out 44 batters in 35 innings. He also went 13-4 last season with a 2.43 ERA in 28 starts with single-A Bradenton and double-A Altoona.
The southpaw was invited to big-league spring training camp for the first time this past February.
He also bats surprisingly well for a pitcher. Brault went 7-for-16 at the plate during his brief stint with Altoona last year.
