Brandon Bielak, Astros RH Pitcher for the Round Rock Express

A native of New Jersey, right-handed pitcher Brandon Bielak was chosen by the Houston Astros in the 11th round of the 2017 MLB First Year Player Draft out of Notre Dame, and is rapidly ascending the ranks as a prized Houston asset. Bielak attended St. Joseph, the same private, all-boys Roman Catholic high school in Metuchen, NJ where Jon Bon Jovi also ttended for two years some three dozen years before Bielak (pronounced BEE-lack). A nearby Sayreville native, Bielak committed to Notre Dame following his sophomore year after being offered a full scholarship, but not before earning four varsity letters in baseball for the Falcons. Bielak posted a 0.82 ERA as a senior, striking out 87 on his way to an 8-1 record as St. Joseph went 21-9 and won the Greater Middlesex County Championship. Having paid his 2017 dues in Houston’s lower minor leagues (rookie league, short season A), Bielak bypassed full season Class A Quad Cities to begin 2018 at Advanced-A Buies Creek, where he started half of his 14 games. He earned Carolina League mid-season All-Star recognition (with a 2.10 ERA in 55.2 IP, striking out 74 to 17 walks), which led to a spot on Houston’s Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks affiliate. Bielak was the starter ten times in his eleven appearances for the Hooks, and his 2.35 ERA in 61.1 IP impressed Houston brass, as did his 57 Ks vs 22 walks. Sammy and Brandon discuss: Brandon's baseball background How the Astro's develop their pitchers What kind of pitcher he is His use (or not) of Rapsodo His pitching routines How Brandon thinks about the mental game of baseball How he controls the pace of the game as a pitcher You can follow Brandon on Instagram or Twitter.