Rank History
| Year | Team | Position | Team Rank | OFP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | LAD | RHP | 8 | 50 |
Grades Update: Dec 2020
| OFP | Role | FB | CB | SL | CH | Cnt/Cmd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 50 | 55 | 40 | 50 | 60 | 45/40 |
Dec 2020 Report
Evaluator: Anthony Franco
Age: 23 yr
Height: 6-3
Weight: 215 lbs
Hits/Throws: R/R
Acquired: 2019 Draft - Round 3
RuleV: 2022
Physical Description: Prototype innings-eater build; strong base; toned calves, tree trunk legs; thick lower half; well-built upper body; physically maxed out. Body will require maintenance long term but nothing substantial.
Delivery & Mechanics: Below-average athlete. Three quarters arm slot; arm stroke is inconsistent and delayed early in delivery; arm is nearly perpendicular to the ground at foot strike, limiting his ability to open up his front hip. Not much effort or head movement throughout delivery.
Fastball: Sat 90-93 mph, topping 94, in two-inning stints in most recent minor league action. Fastball has a flatter plane that works fairly effectively at the top of the zone. Has added significant velocity during 2020 Alternative Site performances, showed high efficiency movement with 19-20 inches of induced vertical break. Might be a bit of Dodgers player development magic but Pepiot's fastball is trending towards plus. Grade: 55
Curveball: 70-73 mph; a clear fourth pitch, used only to get early count called strikes. Very little feel for locating. Metrically it's a strong pitch getting 16 inches of drop and a high raw spin rate of 2800 rpm. Apparently the Dodgers have temporarily scrapped the pitch, but if a reworked version reappeared we wouldn't be shocked. Grade: 40
Slider: 82-84 mph; high spin efficiency offering mostly horizontal action; has enough lateral movement to stay off the barrel when located away from right-handed hitters; not enough depth to get many whiffs. This is typical of this style of slider, little to no IVB (<2) and around a foot of horizontal movement. His combination of above average velocity on the slider combined with his efficiency make it an average pitch. Grade: 50
Changeup: 82-84 mph; works straight downhill with plus drop; around 10 mph gap off the fastball; sells arm speed well to deceive hitters. Good run, matching the opposite horizontal break from Pepiot's slider. Doesn't shy away from deploying it against righties and lefties. Pepiot's best swing and miss offering. Grade: 60
Control and Command: Has difficulty throwing the fastball for strikes; struggles to finish out over his front side, leading to lack of consistency locating down or glove-side. Shows the ability to locate fastball and changeup with greater frequency than breaking balls. Significant development needed in this regard for Pepiot to max out his stuff. The largest concern in Pepiot's profile is his ability to throw strikes and hit his spots. Ultimately Pepiot's ceiling will be decided by his strike throwing. Control: 45 | Command: 40
Overall: Pepiot's probably a future reliever. He can finish hitters off with both his fastball and changeup, but he struggles to get into advantageous counts. Pepiot's below-average athleticism keeps him from consistently throwing strikes and establishing the glove-side corner. If the strike-throwing improves, he's got the repertoire of a mid-rotation starter. But walks have been a problem dating back to his time at Butler, and his lack of flexibility figures to be hard to overcome. That said, Pepiot has the stuff and the right organization behind him to turn the corner and utilize his fastball-changeup-slider mix to carve out a role as a good long term rotation piece.
OFP: 50
Role: 50 - #4 - #5 Backend SP
Risk: Moderate
