Kentucky came down to Knoxville earlier this year which gave me to opportunity to see Andrew Lindsey in a starting role for the first time. This also gave me the chance to see a hot bat as of late in Jared Dickey, Magdiel Cotto, who is an incredible arm talent. I was also impressed by Aaron Combs after getting to see him for the second time because of his unique pitch profile along with the ability to create high amounts of swing and misses.
Prospects lIve #217 Andrew Lindsey, RHP
Over the last five weekend series Lindsey has found himself in the Friday night role. He has held his own as a starter giving the Vols three quality starts against some decent SEC lineups. Lindsey has shown the ability to be stretched out while holding velocity across the longer innings than we have seen from him before. The move out of the bullpen has definitely increased Lindey’s draft stock. He is older for the draft class, but the velocity and flashes of an above-average curveball are interesting and had drawn good interest from organizations.
Lindsey works with a tight leg lift, a slow-paced wind-up, but when he accelerates down the mound, the ball gets out of the hand rather quickly. The back half of the delivery is explosive and quick which can cause a perceived uptick in velocity to hitters. The ball seemingly launches from right behind the right shoulder which most likely adds some deception also. Considering the fastball is not necessarily a “swing and miss pitch”, the mechanics and arm action adds some ability to have missed spots at times and still be successful. Friday night Lindsey held 93-96 T 97 MPH with a 2-seam shape fastball that created a ton of ground balls with occasional sink when staying away from lefties. All night the fastball performed and he did not show a drop in velocity, and held shape relatively well. It seems the be a consistent pitch that he controls in the zone well and can create some ground balls with.
All off-speed for Lindsey Friday night started out a tad loose. The spin on the cutter/ slider and curveball was not tight and had no desired deception or movement. When Lindsey came out in the third, an adjustment was made and the off-speed looked much better for the rest of the night.
From the looks of it, Lindsey has a slider and a cutter and uses both fairly often. Friday night he seemed to use the cutter more often than not. The pitch floated 86-90 MPH with little movement early on but in the third inning, it tightened up creating more cut sticking at the same velocity. The pitch showed the ability to create above-average movement while also throwing it for strikes. I do think the offering at times did not have enough distinction either not creating enough sweep or cut to be a true out pitch but some tinkering with the pitch will help. Either way, the slider and cutter both have great numbers in terms of swing and miss as well as the ability to be thrown for strikes.
Lindsey’s off-speed offering came in the form of a true 12-6 curveball (77-79 MPH) that flashed above-average depth that he kept in the zone well. He used the CB in various counts showing he was confident in the pitch. Friday the curveball did not get a ton of whiffs or freezes, but based on pure movement profile the future potential of the pitch is promising. During my Live Look, as well as the video may have shown, Lindsey has to alternate mechanics a tad to get the 12-6 spin desired. This most likely comes from his pronation bias. This makes sense considering the decent feel for the slider/ cutter as well as distinct 2-seam shape fastball. When throwing the curveball Lindsey tends to create more contralateral tilt with his torso to get the arm up into a higher arm slot. As he gets into pro ball and pitches against more advanced hitters, this may be something that opposing scouts and hitters see but, it may be so minimal that it may not affect the production of the breaking ball.
Prospects Live # 297 Magdiel Cotto, LHP
Cotto is a very intriguing arm for the 2023 draft class. It is a 6’4” 250 LB frame that is explosive and moves exceptionally well. Cotto’s arm is loose and athletic which creates an intriguing shape on the fastball. It shows average to above average carry paired with athletic and whippy arm action allowing the fastball to play up although it already registered 94-96 MPH this particular night. The secondary offerings are rather inconsistent, but both the slider did flash the ability to have future potential while the change-up continues to be a work in progress. The changeup rested 84-86 MPH showing decent separation from the fastball but only one change-up flashed above-average shape with good vertical depth. Most of the other changeups showed some cut and a tad too much carry to be an outpitch. Cotto also slowed the arm up a bit and seemed to force pronation early on the CH, so maybe flirting with some different grips could bode well for the pitch. The arm speed and play of the fastball could definitely allow the changeup to be a definite out pitch for Cotto in the future.
The breaking ball offered profiles as a potential true gyro slider (85-87). 2 out of the 4 showed good vertical depth both grabbing whiffs that tunneled very well with the arm slot and were deceptive because of the arm action. Getting a better feel on the slider as well as some consistency can grade this pitch to a solid average, if not above average pitch in the future.
The arm talent here is absolutely undeniable. There are obvious command issues here that have limited Cotto’s time on the field this year but, a team will definitely buy into the body and high velocity from the left side. Also, Cotto showing the ability to have at least some feel for spinning a breaking ball will help him out although the arsenal as a whole needs some work.
Prospects Live #384, Aaron Combs, RHP
This was my second time with eyes on Combs and both times he has been a fun arm to see come out of the pen for Tennessee. It is a definite reliever profile at the next level working out of a funky set position with a low 3 quarters slot. Although the arm slot is lower, Combs still manages to produce decent carry through the top portion of the zone with a well-spun fastball that sits 90-91. The low launch and ability to create carry on his fastball creates a vertical approach angle that creates plenty of swings and misses from hitters. To add on top of the uniqueness, Combs also showed the ability to spin his breaking ball (73-77) with some tight 12-6 action which is definitely rather rare from a lower 3/4 arm slot. He can also manipulate the pitch by creating some slurvy action to lefties which has boded well throughout the season. The breaking ball has run a 50% whiff rate this season and the fastball is not far behind in terms of swing-and-miss numbers. Combs does have a changeup that is used sparingly, but because of the arm slot and deception the slot creates, the changeup has played well as a 3rd pitch. It bores into righties, can front hip lefties, and randomly flashes some good depth but only separates 8-9 MPH on average.
Overall, it seems as though Combs has a good feel for three pitches that he keeps in the zone consistently and creates a good bit of swings and misses. Combs is unique in the fact that he can create pitch shapes that we are used to seeing from higher-arm slot pitchers from his low 3 quarters release. Most pitchers with this slot tend to be two-seam/sinker with a sweeping slider. This definitely makes Combs an intriguing option in this year’s draft.
Prospects Live #74, Jared Dickey, C/OF
Jared Dickey has been a consistent bat for Tennessee this year while mainly holding down left field but can be used behind the plate when needed. The operation at the plate does have some moving parts with a wide stance setup that works into a quick toe tap. The load can feel a tad rushed at times but, he does not seem to have much swing and miss issues with velocity and does not have much of a problem with spin. He has done well throughout the year limiting strikeouts in comparison to walks considering he seems to be a rather aggressive hitter. The raw power is above average but in-game power may be a question to some scouts as to how it will transition to pro ball. Dickey is a definite option to teams for the upcoming draft because of the pure present strength and proven ability to hit good pitching.