Norcal ProCase Spotlight: RHP Lex Dillon

THE REPORT:

Body: 6-foot-5, 180-pounds. Long and very lean, how he physically develops clearly is going to be a big deal in relation to how his raw stuff evolves in the coming years. There are signs of strength gains in his lower body since we saw him in the fall of his freshman year.

Delivery: Smooth gliding type delivery. High fluid knee lift, hands working in rhythm with his feet as he separates. Sinks into his post leg a bit before getting on down the slope, lands in stable position with flexion in stride leg. Good body control throughout delivery and as he finishes. Loose arm, easy arm, long circular arm action, mid-thigh depth, high-3/4 release. If there is something to 100% work on its his extension on the FB (4.92). That falls below the listed low end for the chart of MLB extension, via TrackMan. The longer the extension, the better the perceived velocity.

FB: Sat 84-87, T89 mph - 1893 avg spin rate - 14.7 avg IVB - 10.4 avg horizontal movement (HM) - The peak numbers for those metrics are a glimpse under the hood for what does and can make him successful as the raw stuff develops. The spin rate isn't what is going to get pro attention in regard to strikeouts, but lower spin fastballs tend to get ground balls, of which he induced three of in his four batters. There is enough movement on the FB to avoid barrels. His low release height (4.57) also factors in and creates a unique angle of how his pitches approach the zone, especially given that he's so tall.

CB: 73-76 mph - 1805 avg spin rate / zone% - 100% - The velocity of the pitch and his feel for the zone are both strong. The sharpness and bite of the pitch will need to improve because as is its a rolling CB that won't get hitters off his fastball. Given strength gains, even in his forearms and hands, the ability to put more spin on the ball is the goal. Grip pressure on the curveball matters.

CHG: 75-82 mph - Effective velocity avg of 75.49 - 1735 spin rate - 4.3 HM - 5.16 extension - 8.7 IVB - The spin on the CHG and FB are very similar so the action at the plate is also similar, but at about 10 mph less, which can be an effective difference. The ability to take even more spin off his CHG would be something to consider as until the CB improves, his FB will be hunted and that's where his solid CHG can be a very usable pitch.

Pitching Summary: He got the following results in his four batters (4-3, K on FB up in zone, 1B through the right side, 5-3) vs four RHH. He's still so far from physical maturity, presumably and still quite young in his development, not to mention being only a pitcher, that projecting him at this time is difficult, from a pro perspective. Check back in when he's toward the end of his soph year at UCSD and from there the projection should be much more clear. Knowing how far he's come in a short time, it is fair to say that his arrow is still pointed considerably up and there should be positive feelings about what he can be. We saw him in mid-August again and given a summer where he put in a lot of work, got more innings than a lot of kids, flew across the country for ACG, he was worn down. That can and does happen to kids every year. In his case, some of it is simply due to how much strength he has or doesn't have at this time.