Future Games Spotlight: Aiden Gallagher

Aiden Gallagher C / RHP / Paul VI, VA / 2026

Gallagher stands 6-foot-4, 225-pounds with proportional strength. Over the past twelve to fourteen months, Gallagher has made his name on the arm talent, but it started from behind the plate. Although that catch and throw ability still remains, the arm talent on the mound has taken center stage. This spring he had a tough time breaking into a very strong, upperclass heavy lineup for Paul VI, but made some big contributions on the mound. While this is kind of new to Gallagher, it is easy to see the upside. Short quick arm, above average feel for the zone with the fastball and slider, and has developed a dependable changeup that has the makings of a solid third pitch. The fastball at Future Games was 86-88 T90 during his two innings of work. While I have seen the overall performance on the mound be a bit sharper, the outing was still very succesful. He displayed his ability to spin what has the potential to be, and has shown as such, an above average slider. He worked a bit deeper in counts than what he usually does, but what still in and around the zone. 

We had a couple quick looks during the high school season, as he was used as more short/late relief in games and really excelled in that spot. He commanded the zone, spun a higher percentage of breaking balls, and seemed to navigate his way through an order fairly quickly and efficiently.

The catch and throw ability behind the plate is well above average. Not only does he possess the arm strength to stay behind the plate, it is a quick and clean exchange and is very accurate around the bag. Gallagher did not get to show much of this due to the fact that he took a foul ball off the throwing shoulder early in game two and was only able to hit the remainder of the time. The offense is probably third in line, in terms of tools and present ability. He has flashed some strength to pull, but the power has been inconsistent and the swing is pretty compact and a little more contact profile with some pull side tendency.

My belief is that this is an arm first profile right now, with the definite potential to impact the game behind the plate and as a two-way, but the offense will need to take the next step forward.