Matthew
Upchurch

Athletic frame with room to continue to add strength, standing 6-foot, 170 pounds.  Easy delivery, staying over the rubber with ease after a leg kick to the top of the chest, loading the back side.  Medium arm swing with strength to foot strike.  High-3/4 release with good arm speed present.  Swing the font leg to a foot strike on-line, and a slightly open front toe.  Some uphill leverage in the shoulders.  Fastball at 76-78, touching 81.  Some run when on the arm side.  Erratic early, but dialed in the zone as the bullpen progressed.  1/7 tilt to the breaking ball at 65-67.  Consistently down in the zone, thrown with some aggression.  Slight hump out of the hand.  Change-up was erratic but thrown with hand speed and deception.  Sitting 67-68, arm side run is present. 

08.07.18

Athletic 6-foot, 170 pounds.  Some length in the frame.  Good athlete, ran a 6.97 sixty.  Potential dual prospect.  Fastball up to 83 late in the outing as he found his rhythm and began to flood the zone.  Fastball sat 76-83 with arm side run on the arm side.  Change-up acts as second pitch, with high deception at 71-75.  Good hand speed, the change plays straight creating swing and miss.  Gradual 1/7 tilt to the breaking ball at 65-71.  Feel for all three pitches and willing to attack hitters in multiple ways.  Some rhythm in the delivery, loading the back side at balance with shoulders gaining a slight uphill leverage.  Swings the leg to an average kick with a slight hip turn.  Average arm swing, with looseness, to a high-3/4 slot.  Works on-line, landing square.  Fights for extension as he can leak out of balance early causing some rotation in the delivery.  Stuff should continue to grow as strength is added to the frame.

Offensively he works from the left side using an athletic, tall, slightly open setup.  Smooth load using a small leg kick, getting his lower half through the ball. Looks to get extension with some feel for his barrel.  When timing is off his barrel works out of the zone to quickly. Fluid swing with a gap to gap approach.  Exit velocity recorded at 85 mph.  Athletic in the outfield, playing through balls, with fluid feet and average hands.  Clean exchanges with a long arm action throwing from a high ¾ slot.  Accurate arm with carry to his throws topping at 85 mph. Looks to drive the ball in game but pulls off occasionally, possibly looking to do too much.

06.20.18

6 feet, 170-pound strong, athletic build.  Quickness exists, running a solid 7.06 sixty on an oppressively hot day.  Frame will continue to add strength and quickness with maturity. On the mound, uses a fluid delivery with a high leg left. Gets some lean with his upper half to the third base side coming out of balance.  The lean causes some up-down issues with location. Good stride length, working athletic and loose over the front side. Long, athletic arm action throwing from a high ¾ slot with above average arm quickness.  Occasionally slightly open at foot-strike the body tends to roll over the front foot, falling slightly to the 3B side. Fastball ranged 77-80 mph, topping at 81 mph. Elevated during this outing, there is occasional run to the fastball when located down to the arm side.  Breaking ball ranged 62-70 mph with 11/5 break. Seems to change speeds on the breaking ball with tighter spin and tilt at 68-70. At times a little early, better extension through the line may create more depth on the pitch. Slower curveball has a hump out of the hand and rolls through the zone at 62-63.  Aggressive with his arm speed on change-up, mimicking the fastball. Change was straight but may fade with more extension through the pitch. Creating soft contact and some swing and miss with the offspeed pitch sitting at 69.
Potential dual player at the next level.  Hits from the left side using a tall, balanced, athletic setup. Smooth back in his load with a short stride, creating some momentum and getting his lower half through the ball. Loose hands with above average bat speed and some feel for his barrel. Barrel stays in the zone getting extension out front. Fluid swing with good balance and ball off the bat topping at 84 mph. Athletically plays through balls in the outfield with fluid feet and average hands. Long arm action throwing from an over the top slot. Accurate arm with carry to his throws topping at 80 mph.

02.09.18
Athletic presence, with length in the limbs.  Listed at 6-foot, 170 pounds with room to add strength.  Tall to balance, loading the backside as he reaches for his landing, with the shoulders creating uphill leverage.  Throws a lot of strikes with some movement in the delivery.  Fastball sat 80-82.  Slider over curveball but both serve a purpose.  Slider ranged 69-74 with late darting side-to-side action.  The curveball wants downer action, occasionally rolling out of the hand in the early season bullpen, sitting 61-63.  Change-up is straight with occasional run at 65-67.  Occasionally slows the arm. 

01.28.18
Athletic and strong at 5-foot-11, 165 pounds.  Some effort in a delivery that has movement with a large rocker and leg lift designed to load the front hip.  Posture at balance has the head leaning toward 3B.  Lands open to his line as his arm works through an athletic arm swing and over-the-top slot.  Some effort as the delivery has a quick pace.  Fastball ranged 79-83 with run and sink in the zone.  Depth and feel on a peaking at 73.  Slows the arm some on the breaking ball, working for 12/6 action.  Gradual arc at 65.  Slows the arm on the change-up, playing as the 4^th pitch at 70. 
Quickness is present in the body, running a 3.93 thirty with a 5-10-5 agility shuttle of 4.53.  Standing broad jump of 9’4”.  Left handed hitter works from an athletic, open base, using a leg kick to load the body.  Simple hands and bat position at launch create uphill leverage with strength and better than average bat speed.  Good feel for the barrel once he got into each round.  Big movement on stride is used as a timing device creating some issues at times.  Exit velocity peaked at 84.  Aggressive in the outfield, playing through the ball with ease.  Athletic transition and long arm swing to an over-the-top slot.  Positional velocity touched 89 with easy carry and a feel for accuracy.

10.21.17
Good athlete with plenty of upside in the 5-foot-11, 165 pound frame.  Long limbs and a thin build should allow for continued development as strength is added to the body.  Rhythmic delivery that begins with an exaggerated rocker step and a full turn of the hips as the leg works to an average kick, loading the hips.  The shoulders tilt uphill as the head works to stay over the rubber.  Landing open, there is some hip speed and an aggressive stride length, that translates into a quick arm from an over-the-top slot.  Fastball worked 81-84.  Command of the fastball was erratic, but looked to settle as the bullpen lengthened.  Curveball has good shape with a gradual 1/7 arc at 60-64.  Good hand speed created some deception out of the hand.  The change-up came from a slower arm at 66-68.  There is fade to the arm side and a feel for the zone.  Also throws a cutter at 70-73.  Short, slider type action that varied from gradual to tight and late. 
Left handed hitter works out of an athletic base, using a leg kick to load the weight.  Good rhythm and approach.  Quick bat through the zone.  Drives the baseball with an exit velocity of 84 mph, while using the entire field.  Advanced barrel ability.  Athletic actions in the outfield, working with ease and rhythm through the ball.  Easy catch.  Arm has carry and accuracy at 83 mph out of the hand.  Ran a 7.18 sixty with a good burst off the line.