It’s the week apparently for major pundits to do database updates. We had Baseball America earlier this week, we had Fangraphs a day after with their completely whacked board, and today we have the saner MLB Pipeline folks updating our top 30 for Drafted players. As we did with the BA list, here’s a quick analysis of who we added and a few comments on the handful of players they made somewhat large adjustments for mid-season
Here’s the announcement from yesterday, which has links right to our system top 30. Below is a table from my Master Nats Prospect Rank XLS where i’ve pulled out the last few MLB Pipeline ranks to show rank evolution since March for these players. BTW, that Master prospect ranks XLS is one of the things I’m most proud of maintaining; it has nearly 300 sources dating back to Nov 2004’s Baseball America system rank for our system pre move, and its where I pull these tables for these poses. We have now ranked at some point 526 players in a list of some sort since the team moved here.
| 8/13/26 post draft | 7/24/26 post trade, pre dr aft | 3/3/26 pre-season | First name | Last Name | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Eli | Willits | SS |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | Travis | Sykora | RHP (Starter) |
| 3 | 3 | 4 | Jarlin | Susana | RHP (Starter) |
| 4 | 4 | 7 | Seaver | King | SS |
| 5 | 6 | 9 | Devin | Fitz-Gerald | SS |
| 6 | Pre-Draft | Pre-Draft | Chris | Hacopian | 2B |
| 7 | 5 | 25 | Ronny | Cruz | SS |
| 8 | 8 | 5 | Gavin | Fein | SS |
| 9 | 9 | 14 | Jackson | Kent | LHP (Starter) |
| 10 | 10 | 16 | Miguel | Sime Jr. | RHP (Starter) |
| 11 | 13 | 10 | Landon | Harmon | RHP (Starter) |
| 12 | 11 | 6 | Luis | Perales | RHP (Starter) |
| 13 | Pre-Draft | Pre-Draft | Chase | Brunson | OF (CF) |
| 14 | 13 | Pre-Trade | Jack | Cebert | RHP (Starter) |
| 15 | 18 | 17 | Coy | James | SS |
| 16 | 28 | Samil | Serrano | OF (Corner) | |
| 17 | 15 | 12 | Ethan | Petry | 1B/OF (Corner) |
| 18 | 14 | 11 | Alex | Clemmey | LHP (Starter) |
| 19 | 23 | 24 | Abimelec | Ortiz | 1B/OF (Corner) |
| 20 | 17 | 15 | Alejandro | Rosario | RHP |
| 21 | 25 | Pre-Trade | Ben | Grable | RHP (Reliever) |
| 22 | 12 | 8 | Luke | Dickerson | SS/CF |
| 23 | Pre-Draft | Pre-Draft | Luke | Williams | SS |
| 24 | Pre-Draft | Pre-Draft | Cooper | Harris | RHP (Starter) |
| 25 | 16 | 13 | Yoel | Tejeda Jr. | RHP (Starter) |
| 26 | 20 | 21 | Marconi | German | SS |
| 27 | 30 | Yovanny | Cruz | RHP (Reliever) | |
| 28 | 19 | 20 | Yeremy | Cabrera | OF (corner) |
| 29 | 21 | 22 | Sam | Peterson | OF (CF) |
| 30 | 25 | 28 | Caleb | Lomavita | C |
| (In majors) | 7 | 3 | Harry | Ford | C |
| (In majors) | 30 | 19 | Andrew | Pinckney | OF (Corner) |
| Traded away | 29 | 18 | Christian | Franklin | OF (CF) |
| Traded away | Traded away | 27 | Sean Paul | Linan | RHP (Starter) |
| 22 | 23 | Angel | Feliz | SS/3B | |
| 24 | 26 | Eriq | Swan | RHP (Starter) | |
| 26 | 29 | Yohandy | Morales | 3B | |
| 27 | 30 | Nauris | De La Cruz | OF (Corner) | |
| 29 | Pre-Trade | Josh | Hartle | LHP (Starter) |
Ok. Here we go
- In this list, the 2026 draft netted us 4 additions: Hacopian, Brunson, Williams, and Harris. Same 4 added by BA.
- 2026 Trade deadline netted us just 2 of the current top 30: Cebert & Grable. Hartle was #29 until we added in the 4 new draftees, so he’s right there.
- As of this ranking, Ford (#7) and Pinckney (#30 ish) were in the majors but still have rookie eligibility, so they’re not listed. Kent was probably promoted after this work was done else he’d be missing too under their guidelines for prospect listings.
- There’s not a ton of movement from the 7/24 list to the 8/13 list … that’s just 3 weeks of play, but we did see a couple of interesting players making somewhat significant jumps:
- Serrano, unraked in March, went from #28 three weeks ago to #16 today. BA has jumped him up a ton as well.
- Dickerson has gone from #8 in March to #12 three weeks ago to #22 today. Honestly, having him #12 in July was probably the problem; he should have been well below that level of ranking at that point.
- Tejeda has gone from 13->16->25. On the one hand, I think MLB was way high on him in March, but he solved High-A in his 2nd pro season and is in AA as a 23yr old; I would think that would at least keep him somewhat where he was ranked a month ago. Weird.
- They dumped both Cabrera and Peterson ten spots for meh 2026 performances so far.
- There were five guys on the top 30 now pushed off with addition of draftees: Angel Feliz, Eriq Swan, Yohandy Morales, Nauris De La Cruz, and Josh Hartle.
I’m not going to do a Fangraphs ranking reaction piece. I don’t think any of the other major pundits do updated rankings mid-season due to workloads, so this is it for now.
I know it’s not the main point of your post, Todd, but I don’t actually think that’s a full update from FG. They did refresh their top ~100, slot in the draftees and give another look to some the guys who got traded, but that list mostly still reflects their thoughts in April.
As far as the Pipeline update, that’s now a second shop (and a second shop who I believe is mostly aggregating industry feedback) who is high on Serrano. I’m not sure how much we should believe it, especially since there’s a good chance that the same league scout(s) that got him helium from BA also got him helium here.
And while I do agree with folks on last week’s post that a decent bonus and solid DSL results isn’t enough to justify this kind of rise, this kind of player is also the ones where I’m most likely to bend to industry scouting consensus, because I know the statline doesn’t mean much, that I have no independent looks and that I don’t know how to scout 17 year olds even if I did.
SMS
14 Aug 26 at 1:28 pm
If Samil Serrano makes it to the show, I’m making Jobu shirseys.
kevin r
14 Aug 26 at 4:22 pm
I know there’s a lot of cynics with prospect rankings … but the Serrano helium is a great example of why they’re valuable to me. We’re just scouting the stats, but these shops talk to sources throughout the industry, get the insider scoop from front offices, travel to see these players, etc. I think that’s why, for example, we see the dichotomy of opinion on someone like Morales, and why we suddenly see a guy like Serrano explode up the charts. Law talks about his process a lot: he’s unable to see everyone, but he’s talking to all 30 front offices, asking them who in their system isn’t getting the recognition that they deserve, who’s over-rated etc.
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2026-dominican-summer-league-all-star-rosters-top-players-to-know/
We had two players make the DSL all star team this year: Samil Serrano and Juan Duran. They’re our two leading hitters, both with solid OPS figures. Serrano is a CF, Duran a 1B, but both clearly hitting their way off the island well.
Todd Boss
15 Aug 26 at 9:37 am
I 100% agree with that, Todd. And I think, even when we mostly disagree with a ranking, we have to consider them seriously.
And to take it further, while every shop has their occasional idiosyncratic preferences, I believe most the variance between the various evaluators results from differences in their methods.
I’d really like to see a breakdown, for each of Pipeline, BA, FG, Law, and ESPN (though since Kiley switched to top 10s, I’m not sure ESPN should still be considered a major prospect evaluator), what percentage of their information comes through the different channels:
1. Independent scouting based on live looks
2. Independent scouting based on video
3. Statistical analysis based on easily accessible public data
4. Statistic analysis based on proprietary data (eg Statcast from non-AAA)
5. League sources talking about their own organizations
6. League sources talking about other organizations
7. Imputing from team decisions (eg bonus size, level assignment, playing time etc)
I imagine Law and FG has at least 50% weight in the first 2 buckets, whereas none of the others are over 20%. And it’s just a hunch, but I’d bet Pipeline leans harder than the others on #5 and #7, and that BA would have the highest for #6.
SMS
15 Aug 26 at 10:57 am
to clarify my earlier comments, I do not dismiss prospect rankings entirely, but I see little value in trying to distinguish between No. 5 and No. 15 without detailed information, or at least tool grades.
my personal favorite, John Sickels, no longer does this. I bought his prospect book every year, and I still enjoy revisiting his evaluations from 2012 to 2016. he missed on plenty of players, of course, but he also got plenty right.
I’ve since moved on to Keith Law, having a NYT subscription helps. plus he will frequently answer your questions in the comments.
thank you Todd for posting these and providing your thoughts.
FredMD
17 Aug 26 at 8:42 am
@FredMD: If i see a prospect in the top 10, i’m thinking “at worst making the majors at some point, at best an all-star.” Jackson Kent a great example: was in the 9-10 range on nearly every ranking sheet this season, he’s now made it to the majors. Is he going to be an all star? Probably not: i think he’s a #4 starter at best, maybe more like what we got out of Herz/Parker as a 5th starter who is in danger of getting bumped out if we get enough good arms. But that tells me his prospect ranking was spot on. Now, the age of the prospect matters of course: our current top 10 has some really young players who look promising, but a lot still has to go right for them to make it: Sime, Harmon, Cruz, Willits, Fitz-Gerald … all way too young to be anything more than hopeful on. A more mature prospect in the top 10 (thinking King here really) is more of a sure thing, and i feel like it’s just a matter of days before King gets called up at this point; we’re past the point where a player can debut in 2026 and blow their rookie eligibility for 2027, so something tells me the combination of Abrams->2B and King’s hot streak will mean a September callup.
Now, If I see someone in the teens, i’m more like, “ok this is someone who could make the jump, or someone who could top out as a role player.” Ortiz is a great example here: he was #19, has come up to majors and gotten hot… same with Pinckney. I think we expect these guys to be platoon bats at best, and if they pop then all the better. If i see a kid in the teens that’s a huge risk of totally flaming out.
If i see someone in the 20s? then i’m just hoping they make it to AAA in one piece. If they’re a starter, i’m hoping they turn into a middle reliever candidate at some point. I don’t mind seeing super young players in the 20s; that’s room to grow. But if you’re in the 20s and you’re already in your 4th season, org guy.
I think, thusly, that this is why I find the Fangraphs ranking of Seaver King so laughable. Putting a 23yr old college jr draftee at #30 in your system is basically saying that you have zero hope he’ll even make the majors, and that at best he’s a backup middle infielder or something. You’d expect this type of player to still be trying to hit their way out of high-A in their 2nd full pro season. Instead King has a .301/.376/.505 slash line in AAA and is on the cusp of being called up to the majors. That’s not a 30th ranked player; that’s a top 10 ranked player and at some point Longenhagen is going to have to admit how badly he’s evaluated that player.
Todd Boss
17 Aug 26 at 9:33 am
good stuff!
FredMD
17 Aug 26 at 11:32 am
The funny thing is that FG was higher on King than most shops as recently as last year’s AFL (45+). And he never had King below a 45 until this April, even when he was struggling hard back in 2025 and a lot of other evaluators tanked him.
As far as I can tell, Eric just saw something this spring that torched his eval of King’s defense.
You can disagree, but King was clocking an error every 3 games in AA so I don’t think you can dismiss it as a ridiculous take. I mean, do you think his bat plays as a DH? Especially back in April when we had a good AFL and a hot 2 weeks after a year of being pretty terrible at the plate?
The actual optimistic take is that the bad defense was just a blip. The Athletic had a recent article about a couple of defensive fixes they’ve been working on, and FWIW the errors have been better at AAA. I guess we’ll see.
But if he makes CJ looks like Ozzie Smith, then I hope you send a note to Eric congratulating him on his scouting.
SMS
17 Aug 26 at 12:08 pm
@SMS I think Law’s oft-repeated take about some moron in the previous regime futzing with his swing has proved to be pretty prophetic.
Tangent: so, you draft a kid in the 1st round, pay him mid seven figures, then immediately decide he has to change all his swing mechanics that enabled him to succeed in college so well as to put himself in position for you to … draft him in the 1st round and pay him mid seven figures?? Ok, if you’re Elijah Green and you spend 4 straight seasons with a 40% K rate, yes maybe its time to try some tweaks. but not in your first pro season. That just gets me, and it smells like old school BS mentality of lifers who are doing more harm than good.
Errors, of course, suck as a defensive metric. But as you pointed out: https://www.fangraphs.com/players/seaver-king/sa3025414/stats/batting
– 10 errors in 30 AA games, but
– 3 errors in 40 AAA games.
Too bad we don’t have range stats for minors. I’ll take the errors if he’s got massive range.
Todd Boss
17 Aug 26 at 3:04 pm
IF the question about King is his defense, then how much more can the team tell about his defense if he’s getting his reps in MLB rather than AAA? I suppose “everything’s faster” in MLB might say you need to expose the guy to MLB to really judge the divide, but for the most part, King can get reps in AAA as easily as MLB. He does not need to be added to the roster until the end of 2027. It may make sense to just leave him in AAA, both for a roster management perspective and to ensure he gets to get games in in 2027 rather than sit during the lockout. It’s not like adding King is going to help this team reach the playoffs this year. It’s mostly about whether a month of exposure to MLB is going to tell the front office enough to justify the roster issue and the potential lockout problem.
JCA
17 Aug 26 at 5:21 pm
@JCA … I’m not sure its entirely about King’s defense getting him to the majors. The Nats are starting a middle infielder right now with this slash line: .228/.313/.265. I want to see King up, get him MLB at bats, get him playing SS, and see how he handles everything. If you call him up now he retains rookie eligibility for 2027, even if he burns enough time to cost the team another year. If he’s actually terrible at defense AND can’t hit, then he gets sent back down to AAA to work on one or the other or both. If he hits, you figure out how to keep him in the lineup; maybe Abrahms moves back to SS, King to 2B and Nunez to backup where he belongs. Or he looks at other positions he can play like 3B or CF. If we have too many OFs … then we trade from strength for something we need.
Todd Boss
18 Aug 26 at 9:22 am
BA just did a writeup on top hitters from DSL, now that its regular season has ended.
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/dsl-hitters-to-know-dynasty-leagues/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=prospects-on-the-cusp-of-the-top-100&_bhlid=6365ac9148307566d00fb079c38387730d14c9d1
Serrano made the list; now the below is kind of fantasy focused, but still has good info.
Samil Serrano, OF, Nationals, Age: 17
Stats: 47 games, .312/.434/.546, 10 2B, 4 3B, 5 HR, 29 BB, 28 K
Serrano signed for $1.97 million out of the Dominican Republic in January and has been one of the best performers in the DSL based on underlying data. Despite strong numbers shown by a .312/.434/.546 slashline, Serrano has actually underproduced his expected batting average. The reasons behind this are clear, Serrano has an enviable blend of contact, approach, power and angles. Serrano’s run a 15.4% in-zone whiff rate, 17.6% miss rate while walking more than he’s struck out. His 17.5% chase rate is low, but a 22 point gap between his swing rate and chase rate show it’s rooted in discretion not passivity. Serrano most importantly is showing potential for plus power with a 104.7 mph 90th percentile EV and a 48.4% hard hit rate. He also hit the ball hard in the air consistently, with an average launch angle of 16.3 degrees on balls in play that were hit 95+ mph. It’s a robust and well rounded profile for fantasy.
Todd Boss
19 Aug 26 at 1:10 pm
Off topic here, but I’m curious about the collective thoughts on Cavalli’s recent outings. I’m not ready to crown him a true ace, but I can’t help thinking back to this time last year when he was middling in AAA coming off the injury and plenty of people bemoaned that he wouldn’t recapture any MLB projectability. It’s a good reminder that sometimes you have to give prospects a chance under the big lights because occasionally they just might exceed what their minor league performance says they can be.
MG
20 Aug 26 at 10:20 am
@MG: I would phrase it a bit differently. There simply aren’t enough roster spots to give all “prospects” a chance at the MLB level to give them a chance to beat their middling minor league numbers. While it occasionally happens that a player improves coming up to MLB, what is a LOT more common is that a player that lights up the minors disappears when he gets to the show. There’s a reason that the term “AAAA player” exists.
I’m really glad that Cavalli is seeming to reach his potential. The true test, of course, will be seeing how long he can sustain this. I’m enjoying the ride as long as it will last.
John C.
20 Aug 26 at 12:58 pm
John C – yes, absolutely. I should have clarified that for teams like the 2026 Nats, I’d advocate for giving guys with solid AAA numbers like Morales who have demonstrated success, but the evaluators doubt, a chance to prove it wrong. I remember feeling stronly this way about Matt Cronin, and bullpen arms in general, a few years ago. The 2012-2020 Nats didn’t have this luxury to give a sink or swim shot in the majors, but “developmental” seasons like this one do.
MG
20 Aug 26 at 1:30 pm
Cavalli is certainly on a hot streak: 8 straight quality starts and just one hiccup since the 7ip/13K start in Boston that kind of was the eye opener.
Ace? That’s a high bar. He’s certainly pitching like a solid staff #2 though for sure, even if its only 2 months of work.
As for giving prospects a chance: the team certainly made a weird decision skipping over the (checks notes) TEN other relievers in AAA so as to promote Erik Tolman (2026 figures: 5.23 ERA, 1.61 whip). If i’m Lipscomb or Morales (both of whom are crawling up towards 30 homers this year in AAA) i’m probably going … wow, that’s all it takes to get a call-up?
Todd Boss
21 Aug 26 at 8:42 am
Chapparo’s second half surge sealed Morales’ fate.
FredMD
21 Aug 26 at 9:16 am
I think it’s pretty clear (and I made this argument last year when some were suggesting that Cavalli belonged in the bullpen) that Cavalli’s ’24-25 performance in the minor leagues is the outlier. His ’26 performance in MLB is very consistent in terms of results with his ’21-22 performance in the minor leagues. Cavalli is currently running a 3.32 FIP in ’26. In ’21 and ’22, he had full season FIPs of 2.86 (127 IP across three levels) and 3.25 (97 IP, all in AAA). In ’25, he had a 4.26 FIP in 75 IP in the minor leagues, with numerous short starts. I think last year people were over-indexing on then-recent performance, and justifiably worried about the long recovery from injury. We now know (I think) that the ’25 performance was pretty misleading.
A deeper look at the numbers does show that Cavalli is not exactly the same as he was pre-injury. He’s substantially improved his BB%–from 11.5% in ’21 to 9.7% in ’22 to 7% this year. In my opinion, he would need to improve that just a bit and get better at limiting hard contact (he has consistently given up high BABIPs throughout his career, which suggests guys hit the ball hard against him when they do make contact) to be a true #1 starter. From my eye test (I try to make it a point to watch the games Cavalli starts), I think he can squeeze more value out of his changeup. It’s inconsistent, which I think causes him to throw it less than he should. If he improves it just a little bit, I think he could take the next step forward. There’s no question in my mind that Cavalli is the best pitcher drafted in the late Rizzo era.
There’s a counterfactual world in which the Nats had Skenes, Gore, and Cavalli in this year’s rotation. That’s a rotation even the Dodgers wouldn’t want to face in a playoff series.
Derek
21 Aug 26 at 10:28 am
@derek; imagine the world where we had no injuries and were competitive and not trading away players. Our rotation this year might be Cavalli, Gore, Grey, Sykora, Susana.
Todd Boss
23 Aug 26 at 11:51 am
So I’m wondering who’ll be in the rotation in 2027, if there’s a 2027 season.
Cavalli
Herz?
Gray will show up in camp and get 3 starts and get hurt and miss the season
Alvarez
Kent?
Susana?
Sykora?
kevin r
23 Aug 26 at 2:32 pm
https://x.com/RocRedWings/status/2091685407708549266
Look at this play from King deep in the hole at SS. Sure doesn’t look like a 35 defender (or whatever grade Longenhagen put on him)
Derek
24 Aug 26 at 12:01 pm
I think the only two locks for the ‘27 rotation are Cavalli and Early (assuming the latter is healthy). Herz and Gray are both candidates, though (a) health is a big factor, and (b) either could end up in the bullpen. I like Herz for the rotation more than Gray, but post-injury performance for both is a big unknown. I think Kent needs to perform better between now and October to be a viable candidate. I see Alvarez and Irvin more as bullpen arms than rotation arms. Susana, at best, is ready at the end of ‘27, and Sykora would have to be healthy and rip through the minors to be in the big leagues in ‘27 (I don’t see it happening). Perales is a big question mark too—they seem to be trying him out of the bullpen.
For me, I think this means the club needs two free agent starters: one at the high end of the market and one at the low end (a Littell/Mikolas innings eater type). Herz showing good form for the rest of the year would do a lot for my expectations for the rotation.
I expect a lot of bullpen improvement next year. Not only because of the recent player acquisitions, but guys like Gray and Perales are likely a lot better than who we’ve trotted out this year.
Derek
24 Aug 26 at 12:16 pm
Assuming optimistic health projections and no FA signings, I have the OD rotation as:
1. Cavalli
2. Herz
3. Early
4. Gray
5. Alvarez
6. Kent (starts in AAA)
This has Irvin non-tendered and Lord in the bullpen. I also have Susana ready for a call up in June, and slotting him in as SP2 after Cavalli at that point. I’m not a believer in Perales and think he’s going to the bullpen. Rosario, Sykora, Sime and Harmon all have ETAs of 2028+.
If I ran the team, my priorities for the offseason would be signing a frontline starter and 3 decent bullpen arms. But we’ll have to see what the budget looks like. They’ll have the lockout as an excuse if they want a $70M payroll, and I suspect they’ll take it.
SMS
24 Aug 26 at 12:55 pm
Current SP depth chart for 2027 goes something like this: Cavalli, Early, Grey, Alvarez*, Herz, Irvin, JKent, Dion, Lord, Cornelio, Perales (Parker on DL).
Now, perhaps you draw a line right behind Herz and send everyone else to the bullpen; certainly seems like that’s the current plan. They’ve spent most of the last month turning Perales into a reliever for sure, Cornelio is doing 2-inning stints in AAA, Lord has proven he’s better as a reliever (career splits: 4.84 ERA as starter, 3.49 ERA as reliever in the majors). Dion was a darn good starter up until he got to AAA, but has been doing really well in long-relief stints for us so far, so … maybe? Kent’s 8.03 ERA needs to go back to AAA. The team went out of its way to get Irvin back into the rotation in the spring, i wonder if that ends in 2027.
But a rotation of Cavalli, Early, Grey, Alvarez*, Herz isn’t really scaring anyone. A #2, two 3s and 2 fives. If this team was serious, we’d either acquire a frontline starter (ala the Gio Gonzalez trade) or buy one (cough up the cash you cheap bastards).
The rest of the AAA “rotation” is in shambles; even Luke Erickson jokes about it .. its like bullpen games all week. AA now has an entire rotation of trade acquisitions (Randall, Hartle, Cebert, Clemmey, Lyon) as well as an entire rotation of injured prospects (Sykora, Susana, Rosario, Stuart, Garcia). I’d guess the first 5 mostly move up to be our 2027 AAA rotation while the rest get healthy in Harrisburg until they earn their promotions next season, but its hard to see any of these guys making an impact in 2027.
Todd Boss
24 Aug 26 at 5:13 pm
Gavin Fien is sort of coming around a bit since 6/1. .802 OPS, 112 wRC+ on 256 PAs. .266 / .352 / .450, 9 HR, 12.1 BB%, 24.6 K%. Slightly better BB% and K% the past couple of series. Not tearing up A ball, but not overmatched or having a lost season. Maybe this season is turning into a floor and he will ascend at a reasonable pace.
JCA
24 Aug 26 at 5:41 pm
some reports from K Law:
Clemmey:FB 90-93 and had some trouble keeping his arm slot consistent.slider and changeup were above-average pitches in isolation, but without a functional fastball I’m not sure what he is.
Cranz: I’m surprised he was that bad in Triple A
Fitz-Gerald: swinging much more uphill now than he was at the start of the year, which is producing more swing-and-miss without more production to balance it out.
Dickerson: not good. striking out three times in four plate appearances, twice looking at fastballs right down the middle
Hacopian: I still like the swing, which looks geared to drive the ball out to left-center, but saw him take too many pitches in the zone.
FredMD
27 Aug 26 at 8:52 am
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7540735/2026/08/26/mlb-prospect-scouting-jefferson-rojas-chris-hacopian-enddy-azocar/ is the link to Law’s report.
Not a great report on anyone he saw frankly. The Clemmey at 90-93 seems like the most concerning. how is a kid who was hitting 100 in HS now only throwing 90-93?? His BA scouting report has him sitting 93-94 and reaching 98 heading into this season? This change of velocity means one of two things:
1. he’s hurt
2. he’s giving back velocity at the instruction of the team to search for control.
I’m going to go with option #2, since he’s been pretty durable for his career injury wise, and the major thing holding him back as a pitching prospect has always been his control. But, if he gives up 3-4mph and still walks everybody AND gets hit hard, what’s the point? Something tells me we’re going to see Clemmey converted to relief where he can ramp back up his velocity to be a higher impact reliever where a walk an inning isn’t necessarily going to end his career.
Todd Boss
27 Aug 26 at 9:04 am