Ryan Bergert

Position(s): Right-handed pitcher
Bats / Throws: Right / Right
2024 opening day age: 25
Height / Weight: 6-foot-1 / 210 pounds
How acquired: Sixth round in 2021 (West Virginia)
Contract status: Has yet to make MLB debut
fWAR in 2024: N/A
Key 2024 stats (minors): 2-10, 4.78 ERA, 87 strikeouts, 33 walks, 1.35 WHIP, .268 opponent average, 98 innings (23 starts)

.571 — Bergert’s OPS over his last 10 starts, allowing him to finish the season with a 2.89 ERA over his last 46⅔ innings. He started the season allowing hitters a .904 OPS (.319/.380/.525) as he was sitting on a 6.49 ERA at Double-A San Antonio as late as July 22.

Down — While Tommy John surgery cost Bergert his junior season, the Padres believed in him enough to sign him for $500,000, nearly double the recommendation for the spot. He struggled his first full year back in action (5.84 ERA) before thriving in 2023, posting a 2.73 ERA as he rose from high Single-A Fort Wayne (2.63 ERA) to Double-A San Antonio (2.86 ERA) in earning an invite to big-league camp. Bergert got into two Cactus League games (3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER) and then struggled to get his feet beneath him in the Texas League until mid-July (see stat to note). The home run rate nearly doubled — from 0.34 per nine innings in 2023 to 0.64 — but it was not obscene by any stretch. Bergert’s walk rate even improved from 3.92 per nine innings to 3.03, so his struggles were more about the balls in play. In fact, Bergert’s BABIP rose from .292 to .327 as his hit rate jumped from 6.56 to 9.09. Bergert, however, finished on a high note (again, see stat to note), leading the Padres to add him to the 40-man roster in November to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.

Because he finished 2023 in the Texas League and spent the entire season at the Padres’ Double-A affiliate, Bergert is ticketed for a trip to Triple-A El Paso. The stat line won’t look great if his strikeout rate is in line with what he did in 2024 (7.99 per nine innings) and not at 10-plus as it sat his first three years in the organization, but Bergert figures to be on the short list for spot-start opportunities that arise in 2025. Bergert has a classic, four-pitch mix with a mid-90s fastball.

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