| |
Physical Description: Athletic
frame with minimal remaining projection. Looks bigger than
listed height and weight. Average lower half, medium build.
Mechanics: Throws from a three-quarters arm
slot, starting on the third base side of the rubber. Takes two
small steps before a medium leg kick. Drives towards the plate
with a big stride and gets good extension. Left leg kicks up on
follow-through. Can tend to fall off towards third base
post-delivery. Quick, compact arm action. Slight arm hook with
some effort behind. Does not consistently finish delivery and
can lose release point at times.
Fastball:
90-93 mph. Tops out at 96 mph. Below-average command and control
profile. Control comes and goes in outings. Command is
inconsistent, but improved somewhat in 2022. Struggles
especially with locating to the glove side. Much more
comfortable locating arm-side at present. Potential average
pitch with refined command.
Changeup:
83-85 mph. Pitch shows late fade down and away from right-handed
hitters. Thrown with deceptive arm speed. Will throw in any
count. Inconsistent with his release at times. Has improved
significantly since he joined the organization to the point he
now has advanced feel for the pitch and it is his best
secondary. Potential above-average pitch.
Curveball: 73-76 mph. Deep, 1-to-7 break. Has some feel
for spin, but does not consistently get over the ball. When he
does, shows the ability to backdoor it for a strike or induce
swinging strikes out of the zone. Potential average pitch.
Slider: 80-84 mph. More horizontal with
shorter break. Pitch is tighter than his curveball. Can be
effective when used in sequence with his other pitches. Mostly
designed to steal a strike early in the count. Potential
below-average pitch. |
|
Career Notes: Not drafted out of high school,
but was recruited by several top Division-I colleges in
California. Played for Brewster in the Cape Cod League in 2018,
struggling with control issues. Had a fairly impressive junior
season at San Diego despite walking more than 6 batters per 9
innings. Pitching crosschecker Chris Mears strongly advocated
for the Red Sox to select Murphy in the 2019 Draft. Cut down on
walks dramatically after signing, reportedly due to minor
mechanical tweaks. Participated in the Fall Instructional League
in 2019 and 2020. Posted extreme splits in 2021, dominating
left-handed hitters (.401 OPS, 0 HR) but getting hit very hard
by right-handers (.914 OPS, 21 HR), but this did not carry
forward into 2022. Participated in the Fall Performance Program
in 2021. Participated in 2022 Winter Warm-Up. Added to the
40-man roster in November 2022 to protect him from selection in
the Rule 5 Draft. Participated in 2023 Rookie Development
Program.
Summation: Potential multi-inning relief arm. Ceiling
of a back-end starter. Lacks a standout pitch, but has three
averageish pitches and a fourth that can be effective when used
on occasion. Needs to improve consistency with secondary pitches
and command to allow him to work deeper into games and develop
into a consistent starter. Chances of starting are better now
than in the past now that he has shown he can consistently get
right-handed hitters out, something he really struggled with
coming into 2022. Showed inconsistent ability to miss bats in
2022 and will need to show more consistency there if he is to
stick as a starter.
Links
State of the System: Low Minors Pitchers (4.2.20)
Scouting Report Update (8.12.2020)
Scout Chatter (11.30.2020) |
|
