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Physical Description:
Slightly undersized frame. Sturdy lower half with marginal
remaining projection in his upper body. Not that tall, looks
heavier than his listed weight of 167 pounds. Athleticism has
slightly decreased as he has physically matured.
Mechanics: Throws from a three-quarters arm slot.
Starts in the middle of the rubber, sliding to the first base
side before he comes forward. Does not use a wind-up. Loose,
quick arm. Rotational delivery. Medium-high leg kick. Stiff arm
action that is short back and then quick forward. Arm can get
out of sync and come through early because of how quick it is.
Does not stay closed consistently and falls off hard to the
first base side. Has worked to streamline delivery in the low
minors. Used to have a lot more moving parts.
Fastball: 94-96 mph. Tops out at 97 mph. Live arm.
Pitch shows good carry and life. Has shown the ability to hold
94-95 mph into the 6th inning in 2023, an improvement from past
seasons, but tends to lose fastball command as he works deeper
into games. Fastball will show bat-missing ability in the zone.
Command and control are works in progress. Control is ahead of
command and both will come and go within outings. Struggles to
command to his arm side and will yank the pitch to the glove
side when his arm gets out ahead of the rest of his delivery.
Potential plus offering with refined command.
Curveball: 75-79 mph. Long, 11-to-5 break. Pitch shows
tight rotation and depth. Really snaps it off confidently and
will throw in any count to hitters from both sides of the plate.
Advanced feel and has shown the ability to land it in the zone
or bury it down and away when looking for whiffs. True major
league-quality out pitch with significant bat-missing potential.
Potential plus offering. |
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Changeup: 84-88 mph. Deceptive arm
speed. Flashes late drop where it falls off the table at its
best. Will throw in any count to hitters from both sides, but
primarily used as put-away pitch against left-handed hitters.
Pitch is somewhat inconsistent and at times will be on the firm
side. Potential above-average offering.
Slider:
84-88 mph. 10-to-4 shape with varying length. Has shown some
ability to spin, but is inconsistent. Still needs refinement and
lags behind his other secondary pitches, but does show flashes.
Potential fringe-average offering.
Career Notes: Opening
Day starter in the DSL in 2019. Participated in the Fall
Instructional League in 2019 and 2020. Had a breakout 2021
season with a strong showing in the FCL and in Low-A, jumping
from the back end of the SoxProspects rankings into the top 15
by season's end. Participated in the Fall Performance Program in
2021. Name was misspelled "Wilkelman" on official rosters and
the like until April 2022 due a misunderstanding caused by its
pronunciation.
Summation: Potential high-quality,
multi-inning relief arm. Ceiling of a mid-rotation starter.
Potential for three above-average-to-better pitches, but still a
long way to go to get there and must significantly improve
command and control to reach his ceiling. Still unclear whether
his future home is as a starter or in the bullpen. Needs to
throw more strikes and be more efficient with his pitches to
last deeper into games. Does not have the typical size you look
for in a starter. Has simplified his delivery over the course of
his career, which should make it easier for him to keep his arm
in sync with the rest of his body. If command does not improve,
that, along with his size and delivery, could push him to a
short relief bullpen role, but with his stuff he could thrive in
such a role.
Links
Scout Chatter (9.14.2021)
Scouting Report Update (3.4.2022)
Countdown to Spring Training (3.7.2023) |
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