Ryan Bergert Finds the Road to the Show

SAN DIEGO — Ryan Bergert‘s parents flew into El Paso this week to watch his scheduled start for the Chihuahuas. Thursday evening, they learned that they’d have to make a detour.

Shortly after the club finished batting practice, manager Pete Zamora called an impromptu meeting in the clubhouse and shared the news that Bergert was being called up to the big leagues. It was a remarkable cap to a roller coaster of a year.

The righty entered the 2024 season as a favorite pick for a breakout season. Instead, by June, he was struggling so much with his release point and feel that he was pulled out of the San Antonio Missions rotation for a month.

When he returned to action, even though the results were still not great, he showed much better stuff. That inspired the Padres to add him to the 40-player roster this winter.

With the roster spot came additional opportunities for the big league staff and potential teammates to get to know him.

“I think that being at Camp 44 and in big league camp has really shown him how we do things here,” said pitching coach Ruben Niebla.

The 25-year-old arrived in San Diego Friday, where he’ll be asked to bolster the Padres bullpen while a series of off-days allow them to work with a four-man rotation for the next two weeks.

“I feel like it shows a lot of trust in me,” said Bergert on his first afternoon in the big league clubhouse. “I’m very happy for the opportunity.”

Bergert, who has worked exclusively as a starter throughout his professional career (he made several piggy-back appearances in the 2023 season), is feeling good about taking on a new role.

“I’m just trying to pick the brains of the guys around me. There are a lot of experienced guys in the bullpen, so I think I’ll just kind of take some from each guy,” Bergert said. “I’m just going to learn my role and be ready when my name is called.”

“He has a really nice demeanor about him that we know he’s going to be able to keep his composure and get after hitters,” said Niebla.

Bergert, originally signed for an over-slot deal in the sixth round, becomes the seventh member of the Padres 2021 draft class to reach the big leagues.

We first covered the West Virginia University product in his first full season in the organization as he worked back from elbow surgery that kept him from pitching in his draft year. Even then, he showed a high-spin fastball that played well at the top of the strike zone.

By 2023, he had unlocked better movement on his slider and was holding his velocity deeper into outings because of a lowered release point.

That earned him his first invitation to big league spring training last year, where he made an impression.

“He keeps maturing. He keeps showing he’s a major league pitcher,” said Niebla. “The positive notes on Bergert have been that his work ethic is very good and professional.”

By the time Bergert arrived back in the Peoria clubhouse this spring, he was locked in with his delivery and feeling confident about the progress he’d made since his struggles last spring.

Bergert brings four quality offerings to the mound. His fastball sits in the mid-90s working as a starter, and it could see a bump in shorter relief roles. He’s shown the ability to throw both a traditional slider and a sweeper, and his seldom-used changeup can get swings and misses from hitters on both sides of the plate.

“I feel pretty good about the sweeper,” Bergert told us.” Execution on it has been pretty good, with both lefties and righties.”

His pitching coach was a bit less humble about the repertoire.

“His fastball plays up, the slider and sweeper have been good weapons and he’s a strike thrower,” said Niebla.

Friday morning, Bergert’s parents and wife made it to San Diego, with more family scrambling to arrive before the start of the game. If he deploys his arsenal well, they’ll likely have plenty of opportunities to plan future visits.