Padres prospect who threw 1 inning before signing is rising up Top 30 rankings
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Bryan Balzer is no stranger to big moves. At 5 years old, he moved from Japan to New Jersey, staying there for three years before circling back to the other side of the globe. After signing with the Padres, he moved from Yokosuka, Japan, to Arizona. His first two pro seasons have taken him from Lake Elsinore, California, to Fort Wayne, Indiana, a whopping 6,420 miles from his hometown.
His most recent move spans rankings, not continents. The 21-year-old pitcher launched from No. 28 to No. 7 on San Diego’s Top 30 Prospects list, highlighting his growth in the organization.
Balzer showed just how he rose up the rankings on Saturday, tossing five shutout innings for High-A Fort Wayne. He allowed just one hit in the TinCaps’ 14-4 win over the Lake County Captains at Parkview Field.
While many names on top prospect lists took fairly traditional approaches to earn their pitching pedigrees, Balzer’s story is quite different. In fact, you can chalk up his Minor League career to a matter of chance. After spending the entirety of his time at Joso Gakuin High School as a position player, one scrimmage changed the trajectory of his future in baseball.
“It was a practice game and we didn’t have any pitchers,” Balzer said. “I was just a hitter all the time, but I always had a good arm. It’s a practice game, why not? I’ll go pitch.”
He threw one inning during which he hit 96 mph on the radar gun. That was enough for the Padres, who signed him for just $10,000 as a pitcher. Balzer was recovering from Tommy John surgery at the time, so he would need to wait a while longer before adding to his lifetime inning count.
The recovery time might have been a blessing in disguise as it allowed Balzer to develop as a pitcher beyond his natural talent.
“I spent two years in Arizona rehabbing, and that was the time where I was actually learning how to throw a breaking ball and how to throw a strike,” he said of his early days after signing.
He saw his first game action in 2024 in the Arizona Complex League. Last season, he made the move to full-season ball, appearing in 16 games for Single-A Lake Elsinore. Still new to the position, he experienced some ups and downs (7.92 ERA), but ultimately racked up 49 strikeouts in 50 innings.
“It was my first year of being a pitcher, so every inning was a new thing for me,” Balzer said of his first full season.
On top of learning a new position, Balzer was adjusting to a completely new lifestyle, one that was lacking the structure he was accustomed to. In Japan, he attended a boarding school where practice bookended most days, with even more practice wedged in between.
“Wake up at six, go to the field, practice until eight, then go to school. Finish school at three and practice from 3:30 to 8:30 or nine. Eat dinner at the dorm and then practice until 11:00 p.m.,” he said of his daily routine.
With more innings under his belt and more time to adjust, Balzer is hitting his stride in 2026. After starting the season back at Single-A, he was promoted to High-A on June 23. After his latest shutout performance, he has a 3.54 ERA in the Midwest League and is holding opposing batters to a .197 average.
“This year, I’m really calm on the mound,” Balzer said. “I kind of know what I’m doing.”