Rank History
| Year | Team | Position | Team Rank | OFP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | CIN | RHP | 7 | 50 |
Grades Update: Nov 2020
| OFP | Role | FB | CB | SL | CH | Ctr/Cmd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 45 | 55 | 55/50 |
Nov 2020 Report
Evaluator: Justin Lada
Age: 21 yr
Height: 6-2
Weight: 192 lbs
Hits/Throws: B/R
Acquired: 2018 Draft - Round 2
RuleV: 2022
Physical Description: Tall. Medium frame; athletic build. Square shoulders that slope. Noticeable strength in upper body and core. High waist, long levers. Moderate room for projection and added strength throughout. A former two-way player with good athleticism.
Delivery & Mechanics: Standard 3/4 arm slot with moderate effort. Works over the middle of the first-base side of the rubber. Waist-high leg kick; then begins to separate hands before plant leg gets out to lead. Short strider; moderate arm swing; uses lower half well. Finishes arm swing with the ball up behind his head which pads deception. Clean well repeated mechanics; maintains a rather consistent release point.
Fastball: Long track record of sitting upper-90s; but ran 91-93 in 2019 occasionally scraping 95. Not a ton of movement or spin; modest tailing action. If he can improve his rather short stride or bring his velocity back up consistently it can be even more competitive pitch. Command and deception pad the quality of the offering's modest fringe-average velocity. Grade: 50
Curveball: 74-77; 12/6 breaker with tight rotation and sharp late break at its best. Thrown for called strikes and swing and miss out of the zone. Enough bite and swing and miss potential to play solid average at the big league level. Grade: 50
Slider: Lacks consistency. Sits 83-86. Shows horizontal movement but lacks consistent vertical drop. Difficult to discern if it was a slider or a cutter. Needs more consistent shape. Strictly a chase pitch. Grade: 45
Changeup: Sits 82-84 lacking ideal separation from FB. Has feel; maintains arm speed; thrown with conviction. Shows tumble and fade. Tough against LHB. Not afraid to throw it to right-handers; routinely double and even triple-up on it at times. Grade: 55
Control and Command: Doesn't miss his spots by much when he does. He's pretty good about not missing in the zone for the most part, which right now is good for him to live on the black with his fastball at the velocity it showed in 2019. With the ability to repeat his delivery and release point thanks to his athleticism, it's reasonable to expect overall his control to be plus with above-average command considering that, and his relative lack of experience pitching compared to many 20-year-olds, so with more reps it should improve as he catches up on experience. Generally doesn't get rattled on the mound or under pressure. Control: 55 | Command: 50
Overall: Depending on what happens with his fastball, sequencing will be important for Richardson. There were times in starts where the velocity went from 92-94 to 89-91 as he went deeper. He should have two above-average to plus major league secondaries to work with and there were times where he started off hitters with curveballs and doubled, and tripled-up on changeups. His arm swing gives him some deception for the fastball if the velocity doesn't tick up. With some added strength and experience, the fastball could improve above this grade. But with a shorter stature and stride, it could end up sitting 92-94 as a starter. Good athlete with a determined work ethic and passion for his craft and game that should get the most out of his ability. Makeup is there to reach his ceiling. The changeup and curveball and command will give him plenty of chances to compete with what he has now, which puts him somewhere in the #4 starter range and a #3 if he hits his upper percentile outcome if the fastball velocity ticks up.
OFP: 50
Role: 50 - #4 / #5 Backend SP
Risk: High
