With the spring season beginning, organizations are getting started on getting their last looks on some of the prep talent that is available in the 2024 draft. Today, I’ll be looking at three prep pitchers to keep an eye on as their senior season kicks off. Let’s dive in.
RHP Aidan Hayse - Joliet Catholic Academy (#74 on Top 100)
There might not be more of a data darling in this year’s prep class of pitchers than Hayse. It’s a pretty ridiculous three-pitch mix that shows some solid upside. Standing at 6’3, Hayse is uber-athletic. It’s a smooth delivery with some electric arm speed. Sequencing-wise, he could stand to get into the front leg a little more consistently, as he can get a bit pushy with the back side, causing him to miss up and arm-side on occasion. However, when he does have it all synced up, it’s clear that there’s something special there. Hailing from Illinois, Hayse hasn’t seen as much time in game as some of his warmer-weather companions in the class have. As he makes the switch from high school to either Tennessee or pro ball, expect him to settle in fairly quickly and put up some more consistent results.
Let’s get into this ridiculous three-pitch mix. His worst pitch is probably his fastball. That said, he consistently throws it in the 91-93 mph range and touched 95 mph this summer. It gets around 16 inches of IVB with about 10 inches of horizontal break to the arm side. When it’s at its best, it shows late life to the arm side. With the arm speed at present, I wouldn’t put it past him to consistently run it up in the mid-high 90s in the coming years. The slider is a real weapon. He comfortably throws it in the 80-82 mph range, and there is some real feel for spin here. The slider typically gets around 14 inches of horizontal break, and he can locate it to either side of the plate. Profiles as a future above-average pitch, and will only continue to improve as the velocity ticks up. The changeup is borderline ridiculous. It’s a hard one as he throws it in the 83-86 mph range, but he’s still able to get upwards of 20 (!!) inches of horizontal break to the arm side. This creates some really uncomfortable looks for both right and left-handed hitters. He throws it at a lower release height, allowing it to produce a pretty steep vertical approach angle as it enters into the zone. It shows the promise of a future double-plus pitch. All in all, Hayse possesses all of the raw tools to succeed at the next level, and the pitchability is only going to continue to improve.
LHP Ethan Schiefelbein - Corona HS (#13)
Standing at 6”1 175lbs, Schiefelbein isn’t necessarily physically imposing, but the arm talent here is very real and has a chance to be very special. It’s a loose and effortless delivery that is extremely well-sequenced. He can simply cruise through games, oftentimes looking as if he has yet to even break a sweat. But, when he really needs to ramp it up, he’ll add a little extra juice to blow a pitch by the hitter. It’s an incredibly mature approach to the game, and he has all the tools to stick as a starter for a long time to come. He handles his business on the mound like a professional, and the mental game is advanced beyond his years. When you combine this advanced approach with impressive arm talent, Schiefelbein shows outstanding promise and has a chance to be one of the first prep southpaws taken off the board this summer.
Getting into the actual pitch miz, Schiefelbein has a really impressive arsenal. He typically throws the fastball in the 89-92 mph range, occasionally running it up to 94 mph. He gets an incredible amount of carry on the pitch, allowing it to really play up in the zone. It frequently pushes 20 inches IVB, and is a real weapon. His curveball is one of my favorite pitches in this prep class. Aesthetically, it brings back memories of Barry Zito’s big 12/6 breaker that gave hitters fits for years. It’s a true 12/6 that pairs extremely well with the riding fastball he features. He has the ability to manipulate the spin and shape, sometimes opting to flip it in the middle of the zone with a bigger break, and sometimes throwing it a bit firmer and burying it when ahead in the count. This ability to provide different looks with the breaking ball keeps hitters off-balance and second-guessing, and it produces some really ugly swings from some of the best hitters in the class. The changeup shows a good bit of arm-side run, pushing 15 inches of HZB frequently. This allows him to work both up and down and in and out. He throws a slider on occasion, but it oftentimes ends up fairly similar to the curveball as he gets fatigued. As he moves into pro ball or UCLA, the slider should continue to clean up and develop. This will provide him with a pretty devastating 4-pitch mix that can be deployed to any quadrant of the zone. Either way, the current arsenal shows plenty of promise. The two-pitch sequence of the riding fastball and depthy curveball will continue to be his bread and butter and allow him to avoid platoon splits against righties. He’s a mature, calm, and collected pitcher who will most certainly have plenty of eyes on him this spring as teams prepare for the draft.
RHP Tommy Bridges - Harvard-Westlake HS (NR)
Bridges has a smaller frame than Hayse and Schiefelbein, standing at 5”11, but he uses it incredibly well. It’s an incredibly smooth and incredibly efficient delivery. He stays closed for a really long time, effectively hiding the ball from hitters as he goes through the delivery, which leads to some really uncomfortable at-bats. Bridges goes about his business on the mound with an aura of confidence and poise. Like Schiefelbein, he seems to be collected beyond his years, and the entire operation when he has the ball in his hands is incredibly relaxed and confident. As he finishes up his senior year and moves on to TCU or the draft, he should see some really nice physical development which will only improve the already polished arsenal that he has. Bridges probably falls into the high-floor, lower-ceiling category, but there’s some real projection here to be a middle-of-the-order rotation arm for a long time to come.
Bridges features a really solid three-pitch mix. The fastball will consistently be 88-90 mph, occasionally topping out at 92 mph. From the lower release height that he creates from his stature and his delivery down the mound, he’s able to create some tough angles to both the top and bottom of the zone. He’ll manipulate the shape and throw it with sink down and some ride up, keeping hitters guessing even with the heater. Off of the fastball, Bridges will deploy a slider with some real teeth to it frequently. He shows really advanced feel to land both the slider and the fastball in any count and to any zone. It’s a sharp slider at 80-82 mph that misses a good bit of bats and hardly ever generates good contact. He tunnels it extremely well with the fastball with sink at the bottom, and his ability to add some deception into his motion allows it to play up even more than one might think. He also uses a fading changeup that he throws at 80-82 mph. This creates a good change of speed as well as a change of direction off of the slider. All in all, it’s about as polished of a repertoire as you could ask for as a prep arm. The physical gains will only allow the stuff to improve even more.