| |
Physical Description: Slightly
undersized with an average frame. Minimal remaining projection.
Athletic.
Mechanics: Throws from a low
three-quarters arm slot. Effort in delivery. Pitches exclusively
from the stretch. Medium-high leg kick and long arm action.
Solid front-side deception. Has trouble repeating his delivery.
Fastball: 94-96 mph. Tops out at 98 mph.
Has shown the ability to miss bats with the pitch. Pitch will
show sink sometimes, arm-side run at others. Will also throw a
two-seam fastball at 90-93 mph on occasion. Velocity will
fluctuate from outing-to-outing. Command and control need work.
Below-average command and control profile. Struggles locating
arm-side. 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 with refined command.
Slider: 86-88 mph. Hard breaker with tilt that will
register as a cutter at higher velocities. Pitch shows sharp,
10-to-4 shape and depth. Has shown the ability to land it in the
zone when ahead in the count or bury it down and away from
righties or in on the hands of lefties to generate swinging
strikes. Will flash above-average potential, but needs to
improve consistency.
Changeup: 88-90
mph. Clear third pitch that he has not incorporated often and
de-emphasized in 2024. Poor pitch he would throw early in counts
in 2023 in what seemed to be an effort to work on the pitch, but
he lacked feel for and confidence in the pitch. Well
below-average potential. |
|
Career Notes: Was a top high school prospect in
Oklahoma in 2018. Big-12 All-Freshman Team in 2019. Started 2021
in the Oklahoma rotation, but moved to the bullpen after he
struggled. May have changed his pitch mix at OU in 2021 as part
of his move into a full-time starting role, but Red Sox
preferred his 2020 pitch mix. Participated in the Fall
Performance Program in 2021. Struggled throughout the first half
of 2022, leading to a stint on the development list and, in
mid-June, a reassignment to the FCL to attempt to address his
control struggles. Returned to Portland in late July in a
bullpen role. Selected to participate in the Arizona Fall League
in 2023. Spent all of 2024 pitching in relief with some outings
in a single-inning role and others in long relief.
Summation: Potential organizational relief arm.
Ceiling of a volatile up-and-down reliever. Command and control
need significant refinement for him to reach his potential, and
even with improvement, they are likely to remain volatile from
year to year given his profile. Fastball and slider are both
intriguing pitches and he provides a different look with his
slot and long levers, but lack of consistency both within
outings and from appearance to appearance hold him back.
Links
Red Sox select
Wyatt Olds with seventh-round pick
(7.12.2021)
Scouting Report Update (3.4.2022)
|
|
