Brewers Spotlight: LHP Brandon Knarr (Part 1)

Brandon Knarr had a strong breakout season in 2022, split between the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and the Biloxi Shuckers. He’s got a terrific mix of pitches. In fact, he actually learned how to grip one pitch from a Hall of Famer. 

Growing up in York, Pennsylvania, just about two hours from Philadelphia, a young Brandon Knarr attended Phillies Phestival with his family. The Phillies won a World Series championship during his formative years. It had to be a fun team for a pre-teen baseball fan to follow.

At the event, fans had the opportunity to go through lines and take pictures with players. Knarr was walking through the line to get a photo with Roy Halladay. 

“My dad ushered me along. During the photo ops, you’re not supposed to take a baseball or anything in. They don’t want you to sign anything. So, I’m going up for my photo, and my dad hands me a baseball and says, ‘Hey, ask him how he throws his sinker.’ So I got through the line, and I asked him - I was so nervous - I’ll never forget. He placed my fingers on the ball, exactly how he throws it. The really funny part was that he showed me on my right hand. I was too nervous to tell him I am a lefty.” 

At Eastern York High School in eastern Pennsylvania, Brandon Knarr played his high school ball in a ballpark with an incredible mountain view and the Susquehanna River in the backdrop. It was a smaller school, but especially Knarr’s sophomore and junior seasons, they were talented enough to compete with the large schools with much bigger talent pools. 

Knarr was a solid high school hitter, but he is also self-aware enough to know that pitching was where his future was in baseball. “I was a cage all-star.” 

The southpaw played in several Perfect Game tournaments, Prep Baseball Report events, and other regional and national events. “I was playing all over, up and down the East Coast.” 

Out of high school, he attended Notre Dame for one season. He then transferred to the College of Central Florida, one of the best junior college baseball programs in the country, under the tutelage of legendary coach Marty Smith. His assistants included his son Ryan Smith (now the Triple-A hitting coach with the Twins) and Zach Bove (now the assistant minor-league pitching coordinator with the Twins). When Bove left midseason to join the Twins, Brett Merritt became the pitching coach. Following the season, he joined the Red Sox organization. 

“That team and staff and everything there was like the perfect storm to walk into. I feel very fortunate that I was able to go there when I did.”  

The staff was just starting to use Rapsodo, and digging into training and development methods. All of that was intriguing to Knarr, and he knew that it would be a good place for him to get better. 

“From whenever we woke up to whenever we went to bed, there were guys at the field doing something. On any random day, you’d find guys in the cage at eight or nine o’clock at night. It was just a really incredible environment.”

The team lost their first game of the season and then went on a school-record winning streak that moved them from unranked to #1 in the country.  

Listen to Part 1 of our Brewers Spotlight with lefty Brandon Knarr. Later in the week, we’ll discuss his 2020 season at a D2 powerhouse, the shortened draft, and deciding to sign with the Brewers in Part 2. And in Part 3, you can hear him discuss his pitches, his preparation for a game, what he does between starts, how he uses available technology and analytics, his offseason goals, and much more.