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Physical Description: Slightly
undersized with an average frame. Minimal remaining projection.
Athletic.
Mechanics: Throws from a
three-quarters arm slot. Effort in delivery. Pitches exclusively
from the stretch. Medium-high leg kick, long arm action. Solid
front-side deception. Has had trouble repeating his delivery in
the past.
Fastball: 93-96 mph. Tops out
at 97 mph. Will sit lower when pitching in a starting role. Has
shown the ability to miss bats with the pitch. Pitch will show
sink sometimes, arm-side run at others. Command and control need
work. Has the tendency to yank the pitch glove-side when his arm
gets out ahead of the rest of his delivery. Potential
above-average offering.
Slider: 85-88
mph. Hard breaker with tilt. Pitch shows sharp 10-to-4 shape and
depth. Has shown the ability when ahead in the count to land it
in the zone or bury it down and away from righties or in on the
hands of lefties to generate swinging strikes. Will flash plus
potential, but needs to improve consistency. |
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Changeup: Clear third pitch that he has not
incorporated often. Will need to develop the pitch to stick as a
starter. Did not throw in three-inning scouted in 2021.
Career Notes: Was selected to the Big-12
All-Freshman Team in 2019 and was a top high school prospect in
Oklahoma in 2018. Started 2021 in Sooners' rotation, but was
moved to the bullpen after he struggled. May have changed his
pitch mix in 2021 in an attempt to move into full-time starting
role, but team liked his 2020 pitch mix better when drafting
him, combined with his ability to turn a lineup over shown at
times in 2021.
Summation: Potential
up-and-down relief arm. Ceiling of a middle reliever. Size,
delivery and arsenal point to bullpen role long-term. Has a
quality fastball/slider combination and could move quickly in a
pure bullpen role. Current projection is driven by how far he is
from the majors, but if he stays healthy, he has definite major
league potential. Needs to improve his changeup and show he can
stay healthy over a full season as a starter to be considered in
that role. Will likely be developed in the rotation initially to
force him to use all of his pitches and refine his fastball
command.
Links
Red Sox select
Wyatt Olds with seventh-round pick
(7.12.2021)
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