Nate
Savino

After scuffling during my previous look last summer in a one inning relief appearance for the USA CNT, Savino continued those struggles this past Friday for the first two innings of his start. However, something clicked (he possibly simply relaxed with an 8-3 lead) in inning number three and the 6-foot-3, 210-pound left-hander cruised from there. He KO'd the side in the third and fourth, finishing his 71-pitch outing with one walk and 11 strikeouts. Throwing a bit less across his body compared to last summer, he struggled early to locate a low-spin (1700-1900 rpm) 91-93 mph fastball, but later locked in on the bottom half of the strike zone and pounded away with his well-angled fastball. His lower three-quarter release point makes it tough to spin a quality breaking ball with any type of depth. Instead his slider had a long, sweeping break and ranged from 81-85 mph.

Scuffled during his one inning relief appearance in Bluefield, allowing four runs on four hits. Working east/west in his delivery and throwing well across his body, he struggled to locate a low-spin (1900s) 91-93 mph fastball. His delivery and low three-quarter release point make it tough to spin a quality breaking ball as well. His current offering has a long break on a flat plane in the low-80s. He also mixed in a fringe quality changeup at 83.

VA/DC Scout Blog

Savino has a big athletic frame that still has projection and room to add strength to it. Throws from a low three-quarters arm slot with a longer free arm action that is quick, normal to easier effort to his delivery. A bit of crossfire, lands closed with a fall off finish. Fastball in the first inning was 89-93, hitting 93 at least four times. Held his velocity in the stretch. Pitch has late run to it that has depth, run gets very heavy when throwing to armside. Worked five innings in the game, velocity settled into 86-88, touching 90 whenever he needed to, held that velocity the whole game. Had a very long, high stress first inning which inflated his pitch count. Slider had sharp hard 2/8 break and good armspeed, pitch was 75-77 early and settled into 72-74. Pitch was swing and miss. Change-up had some armspeed and sink to it, running 75-80 throughout the outing. Overall, struck out 9 and walked 1 in five innings, but gave up 9 hits and a handful of hard hit balls. Threw a lot of strikes with all of his pitches, but the quality of the strikes will need to improve at the next level. Showed the ability to bury his slider in on righties, and a few of the ones that he threw are borderline unfair to high school hitters. Can throw change-up for strikes, average pitch and clearly third offering now, doesn't need it much at the moment, still has a chance to be a useful pitch for him as he uses it more at higher levels.

VA/DC Scout Blog

Premium left-handed arm and one of the top pitchers in the country. Controlled side step delivery with a high, involved leg kick. Smooth lower half working out. Nice backside involvement thru release. Longer, free arm action throwing from a low three quarter slot. Electric arm speed while pitching with light effort. Stays pretty connected throughout his delivery. Fastball has late run and sink to the pitch that gets on hitters quickly. This day ranged from 91-93 mph. Occasionally falls to the third base side prior to release which affected some fastball control. Breaking ball is the real deal. Fastball arm speed, same slot, comes out hard and dives with sharp 1/7 shape. Hard to pick up. Change-up has dive to the pitch and will need to work on it down the road but doesn’t have to now with his elite fastball and breaking ball combination. Was dominant in this start though might have been a tick off in this outing. 5 IP, 1H, 12K, 1BB, 1HBP. Scary and exciting that he still has room for improvement.  

VA/DC Scout Blog

Savino threw a short relief appearance on Friday night when we were there. His fastball was 91-92 and he threw a slider with good armspeed and hard 2/8 break that was 77. Showed athleticism all weekend at the plate as a hitter as well.

VA/DC Scout Blog

Savino has a tall, athletic frame that still has projection left to it and plenty of room to add strength. Arm is a bit short on the backside but is very quick and loose through his armstroke, generates velocity with easy effort. Fell off a bit trying to spin his slider at times. Low three-quarters arm slot and long arms creates a tough angle for hitters. Fastball was 88-91 in the first, touching 92 a few times with hard late run. Held velocity in the stretch, working 89-90 in the first. Showed a good pickoff move once, but was inconsistent with it. In the fifth, had settled into 87-90, but was still able to get a 93 for a strikeout. Was still holding 87-90 in the seventh inning. Change-up had very good armspeed and heavy fading action. Threw it at 83 once early and began using it more in later innings with it sitting at 75-80. Slider had good armspeed and 2/8 break, had good depth when thrown to glove side and late hard sharpness. Pitch was 75-78 all game and has potential to be a true swing and miss pitch as he continues to develop. It shows best now when he throws it away from lefties, he was not asked to attempt a back-foot one to a righthander during the game. Fields his position well and confidently with good rhythm. Threw a lot of offspeed in the outing, Stone Bridge showed early in the game that they would hit fastballs out over the plate the other way. He was not calling his pitches, they were coming from the dugout. Savino is a strike thrower now, but the next step for him is to better command the ball inside the strike zone. Very high floor prospect with an even higher ceiling.