Central Valley Preseason ID - Pitcher Analysis

Lean and lanky 6-foot-1, 152-pounds as a rising sophomore. Composed delivery with patience and feel for what he’s doing. Gets to overhand slot, compact on backside with slight takeaway below the waist. Hands a little tight to the body which tends to cause some drift/pulling to the 1st base side as he gets to extension. Keeps fingers above ball well but to gain more depth and length to his stuff he will have to stay on line better. Sweeping breaking ball with wide lateral break. Saw some depth and feel of the change-up, chance to develop that pitch as a good compliment to the fastball. Has hints of arm speed that given his physical gains, should allow the velocity to continue to tick upwards in the coming years.

Physical 6-foot-2, 195-pound body with strong lower half and broad shoulders. Repeatable mechanics, good lower body stability and direction, controlled/compact backside arm action representative of his being a catcher, high 3/4 slot moving towards release point. Average arm speed with fairly easy effort in a somewhat high tempo delivery. Heavy fastball with late arm-side run could give hitters uncomfortable at-bats. Velocity likely to tick up in season and warmer weather, fastball had length through the zone. Enough lateral action on the slider to play well off the fastball run/life. Can work quickly and with his feel of the strike zone he looks to have some innings eating ability and ability to get weak contact.

Small average 5-foot-7, 150-pound body though with some shoulder proportions that look to have room to allow a more full frame as he matures. Strong lower body given his overall size. Energetic delivery, high 3/4 slot, long and clean on the backside and good timing/rhythm of hands and feet. Best combo of pitches is the tailing fastball and fading change-up, both thrown well on the arm side. Pitch to contact style of pitcher with willingness to compete in the zone. Sweeping breaking ball is the type that can get over aggressive hitters to expand and get themselves out as they could look to dive and attack his fastball. Good mound demeanor, has a quiet confidence about him.

Stout, thick and strong at 5-foot-9, 185-pounds with broad shoulders, maintained good body control throughout delivery. Slightly above average arm speed, repeated mechanics well and showed feel for the strike zone with three pitches. High 3/4 slot with a slight pause in short-ish backside arm action, which allows him to snyc his upper and lower half. Maintained good direction and got to good extension. Fair life on fastball that was consistently near 80 mph, if he has ability to locate in games it will play up due to his feel of a big 11/6 curveball with some late tumble action deep in the zone. Showed consistent feel of the curveball. Cutter is a slider-like pitch and adds another shape/velocity component for hitters to consider.

Average build on 5-foot-11, 180-pound frame with sloping shoulders and well developed lower body. Maintained body control throughout delivery when in wind-up though timing was off a bit in the stretch. Composed delivery with easy effort and slightly above average arm speed, smooth backside arm action with slight depth below waist. Consistent foot-strike with good stability for front side leverage and ability to manipulate the ball. At times darting fastall run to arm side and ability to get to glove side as well. Got fingers above curveball well and displayed feel for the zone. Change-up looks to have a chance to be an excellent complement off the fastball, with similar release and look out of the hand, but good variance of velocity and more fade. Classic three-pitch left-hander repertoire and looks to have feel and understanding of his stuff. One of the top uncommitted 2021 LHP in Northern California.

Compact build with some present strength on 5-foot-9, 160-pound frame, upper body has strength. Composed and well-trained delivery. Methodical with good focus and attention to detail. Long clean circular backside arm action with depth below the waist. Maintained on line direction and stability, front side mechanics allow for leverage. High 3/4 slot and ability to consistently repeat. Aggressive to finish through release point. Fastball mostly straight but on occasion displayed some tilt. Big shaped curveball with hints of velocity that suggest a good curveball is in his future. Change-up with some fade and given the mechanics and clean delivery he should competently develop three usable pitches at the high school level and then beyond high school will be about how far along the raw stuff comes.

Big durable large 6-foot-2, 225-pound frame with still ample room for muscular development. Given his status as a rising sophomore and all that size, his delivery and body control suggest a very bright future. Works smooth and easy, good rhythm between hands and feet, clean out of the glove with smooth circular backside arm action. Stable foot strike with on line direction, clean mechanics through release point. Ball comes out easily and not forced at all. As functional strength comes there is likely significantly more velocity in his future. Showed feel of the zone with three pitches, though curveball was up a bit; showed ability to stay above the change-up and create downward life. Wide fingers on curveball grip is somewhat unconventional. Very intriguing young pitching talent.

One of top uncommitted RHP in California, lean streamlined and athletic 5-foot-11, 180-pounds. Runs extremely well, which only speaks to the velocity upside he has. Aggressive delivery (though compact and calm arm on the backside), fast arm, uses athleticism well in delivery while maintaining a calm head, overhand slot, creates stability and power over the rubber. Stays on line with stride foot though there is some loud spin off action that can calm down and allow for more consistent feel. As a high level high school athlete, he can and should be able to make any mechanical adjustments at the college level. The fastball has life and down angle, the slider has late bite and two-plane action while the change-up was thrown with aggressive arm action and can be a viable third pitch with some swing and miss potential. Was able to make mechanical adjustments from pitch to pitch. Should see some low-90s in spring action and will be interesting to see what his future holds at the collegiate level.

Athletic rising sophomore with a strong well-developed lower half and physical 6-foot-0, 195-pound body type. Somewhat raw mechanically on the mound but flashed potential for future development into a mid-80s high school pitcher. Calm lift over the rubber, minimal hands movement, compact backside arm action while maintaining a quiet head throughout the delivery. Some inconsistencies with his stride foot and front side stability created some difficulty repeating the release point. Fastball with some life/length at times but large variances in his missed locations. Change-up feel appeared better than 11/6 type curveball at this point, speaking a bit to his need to have better extension and more consistent release point. Plenty of good things present to keep an eye on his development.

Athletically built 5-foot-9, 155-pounds with a well-proportioned build. Outstanding delivery, creates good rhythm with hands/feet, clean fairly shallow backside arm action, works over the rubber well, while maintaining good direction down the slope. Firm and stable at foot strike which allows him to have a consistent release point. Quality three-pitch repertoire and just enough stuff/movement to compete to the zone with all three. Obviously not seen vs live hitters, but his tempo and delivery look like they just might allow his stuff to play up. There is some slippery fastball movement with feel to both sides, depth to the smooth big breaking ball, and the change-up came out of his hand nicely. Pinch of lift knee over the rubber in stretch suggests that he’s got a good move and ability to hold runners as well. To get four-year college interest the velocity will need to tick up a bit, but when that happens, the pitchability is already present.

Lean athletic streamlined 5-foot-11, 170-pounds, should continue to add size and strength as he physically matures. Good composure in this session, body works with rhythm, has a trained delivery and mechanically his lower body was functional. Little bit of an elbow takeaway out of the glove and has inverted wrist hook under the ball on the backside,which necessitates consistently good timing of his hands and feet to allow him to get uncoiled on backside. Slight cross body stride but good lower body stability, tall and fall from rubber and could develop more lower body power as he starts down the slope. Showed ability to throw strikes w/fastball and displayed some feel of a big tumbling, sweeping breaking ball. Change-up feel was present.

Lean and athletically proportioned 5-foot-9, 160-pound body type, body works athletically on the mound and possesses good body control. Mechanically can develop better front side stability/leverage to take advantage of what looked to be better arm speed than the velocity showed. Clean controlled, fairly compact backside arm action, has hand/foot coordination, gets to overhand slot, not much drive with post leg and tall/fall delivery tends to cause him to drift through front side a bit, sapping some power. Flashed makings of three quality pitches and hints of future mid-80s fastball velocity, slider better in this look than curveball, with change-up being a bit firm but thrown confidently. There are reasons to keep this 2022 on the radar and see how he develops.

Tall lithe, slight build on 5-foot-11, 145-pound body, has some quick twitch and natural arm speed which should continue to help along the velocity if/when he gains some more musculariture. Good rhythm with delivery, consistently on line with lower body. Slot is a bit more overhand than perhaps should be as he has some significant head action to allow the arm up to that slot. Long backside and loose arm. Not much power generated by his backside, indicating most of the velocity is generated from raw arm speed. Some sneakiness to his fastballs. Spike curveball with solid spin and action through the zone. Change-up with pronounced width between index and middle finger, like a modified split-finger fastball. There are some mechanical adjustments and physical gains to make, and with his looseness and arm speed, there could be a significant velocity spike in his future.