Not every college pitcher is destined for a role in a big league rotation. Hell, not every pitcher selected in the MLB Draft is a college starter in the first place. Sometimes the best pure pitches in college baseball come by way of a bullpen weapon. The 2022 class has a stacked class of dudes with supreme stuff. All of these guys are legitimate options on day two of this year’s draft.
RHP Eric Adler, Wake Forest
With Adler, you’re looking at potentially the best relief prospect in this year’s draft class. After a successful spring out of Wake Forest’s bullpen, Adler went to the Cape and garnered more attention with a revamped arsenal. There’s still a chance he slots into the Wake Forest rotation, but for this exercise, and because we didn’t include him in the RHP preview, we felt compelled to include him here.
For starters, his pitches possess a lot of vertical movement. The fastball is a menace, sitting 94-97 MPH and reaching back for 99 MPH with significant carry and high spin rates. The power curveball sits in the low-to-mid 80’s with 12/6 shape and late biting action, as well as spin rates exceeding 2,800 RPM’s. A new addition to his arsenal is the cutter/slider hybrid, a pitch that sits in the high-80’s and has breached 90 MPH on a couple of occasions. It was a weapon against lefties on the Cape with good potential and this fall, he’s managed to land the pitch “at will.” He’s got a change-up, though it’s sparsely used.
It’s a relatively easy delivery from a three-quarters arm slot, though there’s some effort at release. He’s had a tendency to over-rotate, which has hampered the control and command, though he’s managed to throw more strikes as 2021 progressed. There’s a good likelihood Adler gets stretched out more, and he could even get a couple of starts, but he’s definitely got the look of a back-end bullpen arm at the next level.
RHP Nick Maldonado, Vanderbilt
Overshadowed a bit by the uber-talented duo of Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter, Nick Maldonado was one half of the bullpen monster that Vanderbilt possessed in 2021. Last season, he split closing duties with now-Angels pitcher Luke Murphy, compiling nine saves across 50.2 innings, striking out 59 and allowing just seven free passes. It’s one of the deadlier fastball/slider combinations in college baseball, and for good reason.
It’s an electric, high-spin heater from Maldonado that sits in the 92-97 MPH range with solid arm-side run to it. It’s been able to garner a healthy chase rate as a result. However, the bread and butter pitch is his slider and it might be the best one in college baseball. As our own Brandon Smith notes, there’s two variations to his slider, a gyro-heavy pitch and a more sweepy sister. Both are thrown hard, ranging anywhere from 84-88 MPH with extremely high spin rates, sometimes exceeding 3,000 RPM’s. Better yet, thanks to his excellent command, he’s able to land the pitch on repeat.
Seeing as he was stretched out by Tim Corbin late in the year, there’s a chance we could see Maldonado ultimately take that Sunday spot in the rotation. He’s been working on a change-up and it’s been noted that Maldonado could be used in any role this spring. Whatever role that may be, Maldonado is one to watch.
RHP Devereaux Harrison, Long Beach State
If you want a guy that can make batters bat below the Mendoza line against him, look no further than Long Beach State’s closer, Devereaux Harrison.
The Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year was a dominant force in the back half of games in the spring, with batters hitting just .175 against him, while also accumulating 42 strikeouts to 12 walks in 34.1 innings. There’s not much effort to his delivery, with the finish becoming a right-handed version of Mitch Williams. It’s a high three-quarters arm slot with a long arm action for Harrison, whose fastball sits in the low-90’s and bumps up to 94-95 MPH with plenty of riding action. He tunnels his breaking ball well, a sharp high-70’s breaker with late biting action that he has good command of. He’ll throw in a low-to-mid 80’s change-up, as well.
There’s a good chance we could see him in a starting role at some point this year, but with how loaded LBSU’s rotation is expected to be, he brings more value in the closing role. There’s some fine tuning to be done to the breaker, but he’s got a good chance to hear his name called in the top five rounds this summer.
RHP Will Kempner, Gonzaga
There’s ridiculous movement profiles and then there’s what Will Kempner is able to do to the baseball.
Let’s start with the heater. It’s a mid-90’s heavy heater from a low three-quarters slot that produces a very unique and rare VAA. He’s been up to 98 MPH and averaged 17.6 inches of horizontal run this fall, which is mind-boggling to think about. But wait, there’s more! The change-up Kempner possesses is also a freak of nature, with a chance to be a plus or better offering. It mirrors the fastball run, averaging closer to 18 inches of run. That’s nearly 36 inches of separation between the two pitches (!!) and as our Joe Doyle has pointed out, it’s a combination that hasn’t been seen in the major leagues.
To round out the arsenal, Kempner has made good progress on a slider that has gotten up to 83 MPH, but it’s a clear third pitch at the present time. Another thing that Kempner has improved upon has been his command of the baseball. He’s struggled to throw strikes on campus, though he showed immense progress with his strike-throwing in the Alaskan Baseball League this summer. If he’s able to pepper the zone this spring, watch out.
LHP Noah Dean, Old Dominion
Anybody like hard tossing lefties? Well, you’re in luck with Noah Dean, Old Dominion’s fire-breathing strikeout machine that has lined himself up as one of the better closers in college baseball.
It’s an intriguing profile for Dean, who has a quick arm from a three-quarters arm slot and a relatively easy delivery. The fastball has been clocked upwards of 100 MPH, though he usually sits in the mid-90’s. As Geoff Pontes of Baseball America notes, the fastball has plenty of carry and spin rates as high as 2,400 RPM’s, as well as efficient tilt to the pitch. This helps the pitch miss bats at an extremely high rate, though his strike-throwing prevents the pitch from being better. He’s got a slurvy breaking ball to pair with the heater, which sits in the high-70’s with big breaking action and spin rates upwards of 2,900 RPM’s. Much like the heater, he struggles to throw strikes with the pitch. If Dean can manage to improve his control and command, there’s more legitimate back-end potential at the next level.
RHP Ben Joyce, Tennessee
If easy and low effort flamethrowers are your cup of tea, then Ben Joyce is the arm for you.
A former JUCO bandit at Walters State, Joyce transferred to his hometown college for his sophomore year, but ultimately did not see the field after having surgery in the off-season. He came back this past fall and it’s an uncomfortably easy operation for someone who can hit triple digits. Everything comes out of a low three-quarters arm slot and the ball jumps out of his hand. He’ll sit in the upper-90’s with good sinking action, touching 100 on occasion and even got up to 102 MPH this fall on some radar guns.
To go along with the easy heat, Joyce has a short slider with spin in the 2400 RPM range, though command is a work in progress presently. The mechanics are pretty similar to current Chicago White Sox reliever Kendall Graveman and there will be teams that will be attracted to the easy cheddar.
RHP Orion Kerkering, South Florida
If there’s any breaking ball in college that could rival Nick Maldonado’s slider, Orion Kerkering is certainly at the top of that list. He was a vital arm in South Florida’s magical run to the Super Regionals last spring, providing the most innings out of the bullpen and even got a spot start in April. Our Jackson Thomas and Brandon Smith got to see Kerkering quite a bit this summer with Orleans in the Cape Cod league, so their insight was heavily leaned on.
It’s as nasty of a two pitch mix that you’ll find in college ranks right now. It all starts with the lively heater he possesses, a mid-90’s pitch that explodes out of the hand with good rising and running action. There are moments where the pitch does flatten out, however. The real star is the slider, a nasty biting demon with frisbee movement and spin rates exceeding 3,000 RPM’s. It has the makings of a true swing and miss pitch in the mid-80’s. There is a third pitch, a change-up in the same velocity band as the slider, with flashes of plus sink, but it’s a work in progress.
Kerkering’s command can be very streaky at times and that’s one of the major things that will need to be worked on moving forward. He struggles to maintain a consistent release point despite a relatively low effort delivery, but an uptempo pace is the culprit for the command issues. There’s a chance he could start in USF’s rotation, but he projects as a potential late inning reliever when all is said and done.
RHP Matthew Wyatt, Virginia
Virginia was a surprise to many this past spring, overcoming a giant hurdle after a low start to achieve a trip to Omaha. They’ll be returning a good chunk of that core this year and one arm that is turning heads is flame-throwing right-hander Matthew Wyatt. He was utilized mostly in the bullpen in 2021 and this spring, the expectation is that he will be stretched out, but his main role is yet to be determined.
It’s a sturdy frame at 6’4”, 215 pounds with a delivery that is similar to that of Ryan Weber. Everything comes out of a low three-quarters arm slot, starting with a heavy running mid-to-upper 90’s heater that has gotten upwards of 98 MPH. He’s got decent command of the pitch and is able to locate it east-west and bore it in on right-handed batters. The slider has wipeout characteristics, a tight spinning pitch that generates a good amount of swings and misses, but the change-up is his best secondary. He gets a solid amount of whiffs with the pitch in the same velocity band as the slider with good tumbling action. He could very well be Virginia’s Sunday starter, but there’s a lot to like about him as a quick-moving reliever.
RHP Aaron Nixon, Texas
Texas has built a gauntlet of a pitching staff in Austin. Aaron Nixon, a draft-eligible sophomore due to age, will end up being the man tasked to close down games for the Longhorns once again in 2022.
Nixon is built like a tank and has tree trunks for legs. It’s an over the top arm slot for hitters, starting with a fastball that’s seen a good velocity bump over the past couple of years. He’s jumped more consistently into the low-90’s, sitting 92-94 MPH most nights and reaching back for 96 MPH when necessary. The pitch has good carry, though it’s hampered slightly due to inefficient command. The slider, however, is a menace that he can land for strikes at will. He throws the pitch hard, sitting in the mid-80’s and getting upwards of 88 MPH, with nasty late bite that garners plenty of swing and miss. There’s some gyro spin to the pitch, which has spin rates hovering around the 2,150 RPM mark and he’s able to land the pitch for strikes just over 70% of the time. If Nixon is able to figure out the fastball command, he’ll end up with one of the nastier 1-2 punches in the country and bring up his value for teams.
RHP Eric Reyzelman, LSU
A former San Francisco Don, Reyzelman decided to take a trip down to Baton Rouge, following Jay Johnson to LSU. He put himself squarely on the map after a loud Cape Cod season, where he struck out 36 batters across 23.1 innings while walking just six across five appearances, including four starts. However, it looks like he will be the closer for the Tigers come the spring.
He’s made some adjustments to the arsenal over the past calendar year. Everything comes out of a near side-arm slot, with an easy operation and a loose, quick arm. The fastball generates plenty of running action in the low-to-mid 90’s, reaching upwards of 98 MPH in short spurts this fall. He’s added a cutter to his arsenal, which has sat anywhere from the high-80’s to the low-90’s that he’s shown good command of. He rounds out the arsenal with a fading mid-80’s change-up, a sweepy curveball, and a low-80’s slider with good bite and spin rates upwards of 2,600 RPM’s that plays up due to his arm slot.
There’s always a chance that we could see Reyzelman in the rotation at some point for LSU, but he looks primed for the closing role. If he’s able to continue his success on the Cape, he could be an early Day 2 pick.
Two-Way Fun: Jackson Finley, Georgia Tech; LHP Reggie Crawford, UConn
We wanted to give these guys blurbs because if it weren’t for injuries, they’d both be high on this list.
We’ll start with Finley, who excelled in a relief role with Georgia Tech in the spring with a dominant mid-to-high 90’s heater and a nasty mid-80’s slider. However, he ended up having Tommy John surgery late in the season and will now exclusively be a bat in the upcoming season.
As for Crawford, he surged up draft boards this summer with a loud Cape Cod and CNT performance. The fastball was electric, sitting in the high-90’s and cracking triple digits on multiple occasions with spin rates exceeding 2,600 RPM’s. He also possessed a very good low-80’s breaking ball, but ultimately underwent Tommy John as well after an injury in fall ball.
Honorable Mentions: RHP Graham Firoved, Virginia Tech; RHP Luke Trahan, Dallas Baptist; RHP Max Geig, Boston College; RHP Landon Green, Alabama; RHP Stone Simmons, Mississippi State; LHP Kolby Somers, Oregon; RHP K.C. Hunt, Mississippi State; RHP Wes Burton, Ole Miss; RHP Tyler Stuart, Southern Miss; RHP Dylan Ross, Georgia; LHP Chris Villaman, NC State