Elijah
Pleasants

Tall and lanky at 6-foot-4, 175 pounds, Pleasants has a long and loose arm action to a three-quarter release. He pounded the zone with a lively fastball at 90-92, topping at 93 mph. His big bore ate up right-handed hitters at times and his ability to pitch to both sides of the plate is his greatest improvement since my last look. Pleasants also showed sharp lateral bite with fair tilt to his 81 mph slider, while mixing in an 82-83 mph changeup as his third pitch.

Max FB: 87, FB: 85-87, CB: 60-64, CH: 67-70,
6-foot-4, 160-pound, RHP is one of the top uncommitted pitchers in the state and has drawn a ton of attention since his 2016 Future Games performance, long and loose movements are athletic and provide some of the highest projectability in the class, good tempo and a higher leg lift create good momentum down into a long stride that remains in line, long and loose arm action comes through a high ¾ slot with some real quickness, finishes over his front leg and toward the 1B side.  Fastball is heavy with some hard run, curveball is a swing-and-miss pitch with powerful 11/5 shape, changeup showed run and fade through the zone, was able to throw all three pitches for strikes.

1/16/17 - 60 Time: 7.29, Position Velocity:  OF-90, Exit Velocity: 92
6-foot-4, 160-pound, RHH is a Future Games participant that has continued to elevate his game over the past 6 months or so.  Hits from a wider and athletic stance with even alignment and his hands tucked just behind his back ear, uses a very small leg kick and conventional stride with a smooth movement back of his hands to get loaded, lower half stays wide and strong while firing his hips through the zone to create separation, bat path gets on plane early and drives up through balls left up in the zone, whips the barrel through with gap-to-gap pop.  Defensively, showed soft hands and fluid footwork in the outfield, played through the ball aggressively and with confidence, exchange was clean and produced a long and loose arm action through an over-the-top slot, throws are firm with a ton of carry.

7/26/16 - Max FB: 85, FB: 82-85, CB: 62-65, CH: 67-68,
6-foot-4, 160-pound, RHP uses a smooth and rhythmic motion and stays very much in sync throughout, one of the longest and lankiest pitchers you will see, Pleasants shows some serious athleticism on the mound and uses a very long and loose arm action to deliver pitches from a high ¾ to over-the-top release point, gets down the mound very will and uses his length and release point to put his pitches on a down ward plane toward the plate, stays in line and only slightly falls toward 1B on occasion.  Fastball was thrown for strikes and showed the ability to both cut and run, curveball had some sharp 11/5 shape with the potential to be a big time out pitch, changeup was a simple change of speeds.  Pleasants was one of the top performers of the event and earned himself a spot on Tennessee’s Future Games team.

7/26/16 - Home-1^st: 4.51, Position Velocity:  92, Exit Velocity: 89
6-foot-4, 160-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and comfortable stance and uses some rhythmic pre-pitch movement to stay loose, uses a leg kick and a smooth barrel tilt to get loaded, lower half fires and creates good separation, hands drop into a good slot and get on plane through the zone with some lift at the end, gets good extension and uses his length to his advantage, drove some balls deep in BP.  Defensively, moves athletically in the outfield and plays through the ball smoothly, fluid transfer leads to a long and loose arm action that sets him apart, high ¾ release made accurate throws with the strongest OF arm at the Underclass Games.  Pleasants earned a spot on Tennessee’s Future Games team.