Former Dash righty Brennan makes MLB debut

Brennan becomes 53rd player in Dash history to reach the big leagues

Brennan pitched for parts of three seasons in Winston from 2014-2016. (Jody Stewart/W-S Dash)

March 21, 2019

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (March 22, 2019) - Former Dash right-hander Brandon Brennan made his Major League debut on Thursday with the Seattle Mariners, marking the first Dash alumnus to make their big league debut in 2019. Brennan, who is the 53rd Dash alumnus and 361st Winston-Salem alumnus to reach the Majors, pitched

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (March 22, 2019) - Former Dash right-hander Brandon Brennan made his Major League debut on Thursday with the Seattle Mariners, marking the first Dash alumnus to make their big league debut in 2019. Brennan, who is the 53rd Dash alumnus and 361st Winston-Salem alumnus to reach the Majors, pitched for parts of three seasons in Winston-Salem from 2014-2016.
Brennan's debut coincided with 10-time All-Star Ichiro Suzuki's last ever MLB game, which took place in front of a jam-packed Tokyo Dome in Japan. As part of a 5-4 win in 12 innings over the Oakland Athletics, Brennan tossed a scoreless eighth inning for the Mariners, allowing one hit and one walk. After originally being signed in the offseason to a Minor League contract by the Colorado Rockies, the 27-year-old was selected by Seattle in the Major League Phase of the Rule 5 Draft.

A former fourth-round pick by the Chicago White Sox out of Orange Coast Community College in 2012, Brennan pitched for rookie-level Great Falls and Low-A Kannapolis before making his first appearance in Winston-Salem in 2014. In his first year in the Dash purple, Brennan posted a 2.93 ERA in six starts.
The following season, Brennan played a key role in helping the Dash clinch a second-half playoff spot. The California native registered a 3.55 ERA in 12 starts, as Winston-Salem finished a league-best 45-23 after the All-Star Break and earned a second-half Southern Division title. After starting the 2016 campaign with Double-A Birmingham, Brennan returned to Winston-Salem for a final time later that year. The right-hander went 1-4 with a 4.54 ERA and was promoted back to the Barons after tossing back-to-back, nine-inning complete games.
Brennan spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons splitting time between Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte. Last year, the former White Sox farmhand went 4-3 with a 3.10 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 69.2 innings with Birmingham before a late-August promotion to the Knights. Brennan finished the season going 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA and nine strikeouts in five innings for Charlotte.