Dominic
Hamel

2021 MLB Draft: Hamel was just inside the PBR Draft Board last year, ranking as No. 197, but returned to Dallas Baptist after going undrafted. He only improved his stock and figures to go in the top three rounds this year. He has a high-spin heater and even high spin slider. He maintains a 92-93 fastball with 2500-2600 rpm deep into starts and shows no signs of fatigue. He works north/south against righties and east/west against lefties. The slider sits in the low 80s with 3000+ rpm and he also spins a good curveball. He occasioanlly slows bats down with a low-spin changeup at 84. He uses the spin well to create movement and this plays to his ability to elevate the fastball.

From this most recent look in Frisco, Hamel will no longer be undervalued, and he will be seen by plenty of cross checkers. He took the ball on a Friday night under the lights against Missouri and shoved for six innings, allowing just two hits and striking out 13. He confused the Tigers’ lineup with a high spin heater (2500-2600 rpm) and an even higher spin slider (3000+ rpm). He maintained his velocity throughout his 96-pitch start, sitting 92-93 during his final inning and not looking a bit fatigued. Hamel worked right handed hitters north/south and lefties more east/west with his fastball. He also attacked with a low-80s slider and occasionally slowed down the bats with a lower spin 84 mph (1950 rpm) changeup. Teams who value TrackMan data are going to love Hamel’s stuff. His four-seam fastball crossed off many of the “Wiff” checks. The “Hop” factor is there. It has above-average spin for its velocity with above average induced vertical break as well. His fastball looked shallow coming into the zone and was very effective up in the zone. He also has two high spin breaking pitches with his curveball and slider. He uses the spin well to create movement and this plays well with his ability to elevate his fastball. The vertical break gap between his fastball and slider/curveball is impressive. Overall, it was a top round display of stuff, pitchability and performance. His ability to add and subtract spin on the ball reminds me of 2019 Dodgers 3rd round pick Ryan Pepiot (Butler). With continued starts like this one against Missouri, look for Hamel to be considered in a similar round this July.

2020 DRAFT: Hamel has a strong, athletic frame at 6-foot-2, 205 pounds. He pitches with an up-tempo delivery, regular effort, landing slightly closed and coming through a high three-quarter slot with average arm speed. He strides long down the mound, getting good drive out of his lower half. His fastball ranges from 91-94 mph with some arm-side run and he holds his velo well into the game. His go-to secondary pitch is a low-80s slider. It's an above average pitch. Racked up swings and misses on fastball and slider all game. Also mixes in an occasional curveball with sharp 10/4 break at 73-74. It's a fringy pitch, but he has feel for it and can throw it for strikes just to keep it in hitters’ minds. He also showed a changeup in warm-ups, but did not throw it in the game. For the 2020 season, Hamel finished with 27 strikeouts in 19.2 IP.Due to limited looks on the JC transfer from Yavapai, AZ, Hamel was not seen by many cross-checkers during the four-week college season, and as a result, is undervalued heading into this June draft by many clubs.