Joseph
King

RHP/C, had a solid outing on the mound, allowing a run on two hits in two innings while striking out five. He was 88-92 from a high slot and showed a tight, downer breaking ball at 78-81.

7/13/18 - WSU commit, evaluation from USA PDP workout, showed big raw power in BP round though was working to show that off with a pullside approach and long swing. Strong kid and does have natural strength and good lower body balance, power will be part of his profile but maybe at expense of consistent barrel contact. Calling card as a position player is his plus arm and ability to throw out runner, pop times were 1.81-1.90 on five throws. Didn't pitch in this workout.

3/15/18 - Washington State commit. King has a lanky 6-foot-1 185-pound frame and is going to pack on great size and strength as he physically matures. Fairly normal/natural physical development at this point, he has good agility and flexibility, with a loose arm and flexible wrists. Behind the plate he can sit really low and yet gets out of the crouch easily. His receiving skills were good with the fastball, as he can catch and curl with subtle movements that don't tip off the umpire. He's also particularly good on the low fastball. Seemed to not have the same feel for receiving the slow curveball however. No runners tried to steal in the game so a pair of 1.93 warm-up tosses and a gun reading of 82 mph on one of them were the only glimpses of his arm talent behind the plate. As for blocking, he's a willing blocker though can improve the angle of his outside shoulder to steer the ball back toward the plate. Hustled down the line to back-up a couple of 6-3 putouts. Good athlete and plays like he likes the game. Offensively he has a fairly traditional set-up, with slight flex in his lower half. Takes a healthy hack with some lift in his swing and a big follow through. Mostly a pullside approach with some projectable power potential. Showed strong baserunning skills as well, tagging at 2nd base on a shallow pop to left field (with runner ahead of him at 3rd base) then reading the throw and easily getting to 3rd base with only one out and scoring two pitches later on a wild pitch. It was winning-type baserunning. Pitched final inning, loose and fast arm, big stuff, fastball touched up to 92 mph and it happens easily. Slider feel was solid, showing a smaller break to steal a strike and was able to tilt that pitch more in out-type situations. Also flashed a dive-bomb changeup in his warm ups. Has both two-seam and four-seam fastball, with the sinker having late and hard action. There are mid-90s in his future. Delivery is athletic, with a high flexible knee lift and good direction. Recoils at the end and can develop better front side stability in order to locate better and be in better fielding position. In all, this is one talented kid.

11/2/19:Chance to be a significant power arm in the 2022 draft, prototypical pitcher build with lanky proportions and present size and strength. Overhand slot, loose powerful arm stroke though there is some recoil as he decelerates. Fastball ranged up to 93 mph and control was fair at best in that velocity range, worked more comfortably in the 91 mph range. Has both slider (which was his secondary pitch in HS) and newly developed curveball. Spin will have to tighten up to get more bite on both pitches, curveball at 78 mph and slider 79-81 mph, threw one plus change-up with dive-bomb action (83-84 mph) and also spiked one, indicating that there is a fine line with his delivery/arm stroke timing to consistently find feeling of that offering. Will end up sitting comfortably in the mid-90s with the fastball and durability should not be an issue, though that recoil could affect how much rest he will need between relief outings. Profiles as a short reliever and if one of the secondary pitches can develop into an above average pitch he will have a chance to profile as a closer type.