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Physical Description: Tall,
athletic frame with some projection, especially in his upper
body. Looks the part.
Mechanics: Throws
from a three-quarters arm slot from the first base side. Doesn't
use a wind-up and utilizes a medium leg kick. Short arm action.
Arm will drag behind delivery at times. Some effort in delivery,
but repeats it well. Very quick arm with some deception. Ball
jumps out of his hand. Gets good extension and separation
between his hip and shoulder. Crossfire action in delivery
provides deception.
Fastball: 93-96 mph.
Tops out at 99 mph. Strong command profile. Throws a lot of
quality strikes already. Has shown the ability to spot arm-side
as well as up in the zone when he wants to elevate. Pitch shows
life and jumps on hitters. Pitch has shown the ability to miss
bats. Potential plus-to-better offering.
Slider:
84-86 mph. 10-to-4 shape. When he gets over it, shows bite and
bat-missing potential. Doesn't consistently get over the pitch,
getting on the side of it and leaving it flat and up in the
zone. Potential above-average offering.
Changeup:
83-85 mph. Throws with deceptive arm speed. Can pull the string
with late fade at its best. Inconsistent at times, feel comes
and goes. Threw a fringe-average, show-me changeup in college,
but pitch has already shown signs of development early in his
pro career. Potential above-average offering.
Curveball: 74-78 mph. Work in progress. Long,
11-to-5 shape. More of a spinner, but has the potential to
continue to improve. Fringe-average offering.
Career Notes: Was regarded as a potential
late-first/early-second-round talent but for his service
requirement as a pending graduate of the Naval Academy. Red Sox
drafted him in the fourth round anyway and signed him to a
well-below-slot bonus. Following his graduation and being
commissioned as an officer, played for Lowell while on temporary
assignment duty at the Academy. Impressed in Lowell, showing an
expectedly good fastball and slider and an unexpectedly good
changeup after |
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having barely thrown it in college. Returned to the Naval
Academy for a month before pitching in relief for Team USA
during the 2019 Premier12 Tournament, where he was considered by
some to be the most impressive pitcher on a talented, generally
much older squad. Submitted a waiver request to transfer his
service commitment to the Navy Reserve in October 2019 in order
to continue his baseball career, but the request was Chief Naval
Officer at the Naval Academy did not endorse his request because
Song had graduated during a short window during which the
Department of Defense ended the program allowing graduates of
the service academies to delay or alter their service
commitments in order to pursue careers in professional sports.
After several months in limbo (perhaps due in part to the
application being made during a period of numerous changes at
the Departments of Defense and the Navy), altered his request in
April 2020, requesting to begin flight school. Was ultimately
ordered to report to flight school in June 2020. Lieutenant
Junior Grade Song graduated from flight school and received his
wings as a Naval Flight Officer on April 28, 2022, after which
he submitted another request for a service waiver to resume his
baseball career. The waiver request is currently pending before
the Secretary of the Navy. Song has begun a new training block
at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville in the meantime.
Summation: Has the potential to develop into a number
three or four starter. Canceled 2020 minor league season, plus
clarity with regards to his situation with the Navy, give him a
better chance of reaching his potential relative to his peers.
However, there is still a non-zero chance he either never
returns to baseball
or returns with diminished stuff having not pitched in so long,
and therefore his floor is much lower and risk far higher than that of a typical
prospect with his talent. Strong pitchability, already showing
the makings of a four-pitch mix, with three showing
above-average potential. Outstanding makeup, strong work ethic.
Type of person every organization strives to have. If he returns
from his Naval service with the same stuff he showed in Lowell
in 2019, he could move quickly as long as he can build up his
stamina.
Links
State of the System: Low Minors Pitchers (4.2.20)
Scouting Report Update (8.12.2020) |
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