Rank History
| Year | Team | Position | Team Rank | OFP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | KC | LHP | 3 | 50 |
Grades Update: May 2021
| OFP | Role | FB | CB | SL | CH | Ctr/Cmd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 50 | 55 | 50 | 55 | 55 | 50/45 |
May 2021 Report
Evaluator: Joe Drake
Age: 24 yr
Height: 6-6
Weight: 200 lbs
Hits/Throws: L/L
Acquired: 2018 Round 1C
RuleV: On 40-Man Roster
Physical Description: XL frame with wide shoulders, long limbs and high waist. Ideal projectable starter's frame. Very lean, lanky; plenty of room for good weight still. Moves well around the mound. Missed 2 months with arm discomfort in 2019.
Delivery & Mechanics: Windup; Tall and fall delivery, with moderate effort out of a 3/4s slot. Long arm action with good speed. Big frame gives him above-average extension. Hides the ball fairly well behind big body. Simple delivery that he repeats well; quick worker. Maintains leg kick from the stretch but pace ticks up. Very cognizant of runners, borderline preoccupied at times.
Fastball: 93-96, t99; Some ride and run, but fairly average shape. Works to all four quadrants, up for whiffs and down for weak contact. Command is solid, always around the zone. Doesn't miss as many bats as the velo would suggest. Up to 99 at both the AFL in 2019 and ATS in 2020, so we may see a step forward in 2021 that would lead to a plus grade. Grade: 55
Curveball: 77-80; more vertical than the slider and a few ticks slower. More of a 1-7 shape. Good depth, plays well off the high fastball. Leaves it up here and there, like the slider, but generally consistent. Shape bleeds into slider a bit at times getting slurvy. Reliable pitch but doesn't have the bite the slider does. Grade: 50
Slider: 83-86; sweeping action with depth. Features against all hitters, low and away to lefties and back foot to righties, but will steal strikes in the zone with it, too. Sometimes leaves it up in the zone and flattens out. Pretty consistent bite; breaks late, misses barrels well when it's on. Typically located below the belt and around the edges getting whiffs and bad contact. Sometimes manipulates it for a more cutter-ish appearance, but not sure if it's a truly separate offering. Grade: 55
Changeup: 81-83; Solid tumble and some fade. Sells with arm speed and sequencing, setting it up well. Good feel. Hitters struggle to identify it, especially when located down - bottom falls out. Will use against both lefties and righties, but a real weapon against righties. Gets whiffs and weak contact. Grade: 55
Control and Command: Mixes pitches well; will throw any pitch to any hitter. Varies time to plate with runners on. Average and fringe control and command, respectively. Always around the zone, but nibbles which leads to deeper counts and needing to come over the heart. Can throw a strike when he needs to, just not particularly efficient. Hitters who control the zone well will make him work. Locates to all quadrants and able to spot chase pitches in competitive areas. A bit erratic at times, may be a side effect of increased velo; keeps the grade at average instead of above. Control: 50 | Command: 45
Overall: Tall, lanky lefty with good stuff and command, but hasn't missed as many bats as you would expect. He's got an arsenal of 4 average or better pitches and he's comfortable attacking any hitter with all of them. Fastball has ticked up since college and has taken a step forward since we've seen him in regular season action -- Lynch reportedly touched 99 in the AFL and ATS. There's frontline starter upside here should everything break perfectly, but more likely a solid mid to back of the rotation arm with a #5 floor.
OFP: 50
Role: 50 - #4 or #5 SP
Risk: Low
