Rank History
| Year | Team | Position | Team Rank | OFP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | MIL | RHP | 17 | 40 |
Grades Update: Jan 2021
| OFP | Role | FB | CB | CH | Cnt/Cmd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 40 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 60/55 |
Jan 2021 Report
Evaluator: Joe Drake
Age: 22 yr
Height: 6-3
Weight: 185 lbs
Hits/Throws: R/R
Acquired: 2017 Round 11
RuleV: 2021
Physical Description: Ideal frame at 6'3, 185 pounds. Broad shoulders, long limbs, has some muscle but plenty of room for good weight. Wiry, borderline lanky. Athletic; can field his position and make plays around the mound. Baby-faced.
Delivery & Mechanics: Moderately-high effort delivery with over the top arm slot. Leg lift peaks at letters and pauses for a moment before moving toward the plate. Big time extension; gets terrific separation at foot plant; Arm might be a touch early; good scap retraction. Arm action is short; straight back and over the top. Lacks arm speed. Abbreviated leg kick from stretch, moves quicker through delivery; mixes in a slide step. Quick pick move.
Fastball: 85-89; Over the top release gives it good ride and with his great extension creates a very flat approach angle. Works up with it often and hitters swing through it. Great example of the modern optimized fastball minus the velo. Loses a tick from the stretch. Velocity wanes later in the start, sitting 86. Gets hit hard when left down in the zone, runs into barrels. Lack of velocity may limit its effectiveness against upper level hitters. Grade: 45
Curveball: 72-76; Steep vertical break from over the top slot; good depth; tunnels with the fastball, hitters struggle to recognize it, swing through it often. Humps out of his hand when he doesn't have feel for it and those break real softly with only moderate depth. Gets blistered when that happens. Falls off the table when it's on. Can freeze guys with it in the zone or get them to chase when he buries it. Solid command, appears to drop it he wants most times, but will leave it up a little more often than he should. Break may not be sharp enough to beat upper level hitters. Grade: 45
Changeup: 79-83; Used sparingly, clear 3rd pitch. Good separation from fastball; tunnels well. Will leave it up. Gets hitters to pop it up, suggesting it has more lift than you'd expect from a change; other times it appears to get good sink. Not much fade to it; straight change. Not a swing and miss pitch. Seems to lack feel. Grade: 45
Control and Command: Pounds the zone, constantly working edges. Loses a fastball here and there, but not frequently. Seems to have feel for each pitch in most outings. Keeps hitters on their toes because he's so consistently on the edges but knows when and where to get away from the zone for chases. Key to his effectiveness. Control: 60 | Command: 55
Overall: Soft-tossing, pitchability righty who lives and dies with command. Dominated the Midwest League in 2019; Lazar's stuff plays when it's located well (which is often) but is hammered when it's not given the lack of velocity - doesn't have the stuff to consistently put away good hitters. There's a chance he adds a tick or two as he fills out his frame, but it would still leave him below average at the MLB level; he would need a significant bump to change his stars. There's a chance he could find a way to stick as a back-end starter - he has a real knack for missing bats - but it's more likely his subpar velocity is less effective against good hitters and relegates him to a long-relief/multi-inning role.
OFP: 40
Role: 40 - Low Leverage Reliever
Risk: Moderate
