Rank History
| Year | Team | Position | Team Rank | OFP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | TOR | RHP | 12 | 45 |
Grades Update: Mar 2021
| OFP | Role | FB | CB | SL | CH | Cnt/Cmd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45 | 40 | 50 | 45 | 55 | 50 | 45/40 |
Mar 2021 Report
Evaluator: Geoff Pontes
Age: 22 yr
Height: 6-1
Weight: 230 lbs
Hits/Throws: R/R
Acquired: 2020 Round 3
RuleV: 2023
Physical Description: Stout, square body, reliever type build. Shorter arms and legs, strong but will require maintenance long term
Delivery & Mechanics: Full windup; drop and drive; longer arm action; low 3/4 slot; fast arm; wrapper. Moderate leg kick; pats ball in glove before arm stroke. Slow motion down the hill, moves more deliberate than smooth. Repeats his motion well.
Fastball: Sinker; sits 92-94 mph; touching 96-97 mph at peak. Sharp downward break and run. Bores in on right handers and off the plate to lefties. Lands well to his armside consistently. Bowling ball; generates a significant amount of bad groundball contact. Pairs well with his slider as a contact suppression tool. Not a bat missing pitch. Grade: 50
Curveball: Slow 11-5 breaker, sits 73-76 mph, touching 79 mph at peak. Early downer break with late sweeping tail. Works off the plate to right handed batters as a change of pace pitch from his fastball+slider combination. Third pitch in right-on-right matchups, with good feel for the zone and the ability to land it when needed. Generates groundballs and whiffs, but I'm not sure how the pitch would play with increased usage. Grade: 45
Slider: Above average slider and Palmer's best pitch. Sits 81-83 mph and has been up to 86 mph. Sweepy break and late drop. Misses bats and barrels in bunches. Hardly was touched in 2019 Cape looks. Thrown 30% of the time in any count and against any handedness. Lands low gloveside for consistency. Challenges hitters with the slider when he's in a jam. Grade: 55
Changeup: Average changeup with projection to improve; sits 82-87 mph, up to 89, with late tumble and significant armside run. Mostly used versus left handed batters, but Palmer shows enough confidence to throw it in right on right matchups. Is still mastering the ability to land it off the plate, as it will show more run at times and becomes an easy take. Landing it for a strike with more frequency would ultimately lead to more swings. A majority of contact is weak groundballs. An increase in zone rate would likely lead to a jump in grade. Grade: 50
Control and Command: Fringe average control that has improved over the past 18 months. Shows the ability to consistently land his fastball over the plate, particularly in the lower quadrants driving ground balls, its intended purpose. Slider command is average and he tends to do a great job of hitting his intended target low gloveside, but struggles at times to consistently hit the zone. This can be said for his curveball as well. As for his changeup, his arm speed sells the pitch, but he struggles to land it at the bottom armside of the zone, as the late run and tumble make it a difficult pitch to land on the black. Overall his strike throwing is good enough that he has a chance to start. Control: 45 | Command: 40
Overall: A true four-pitch mix with two distinct breaking balls, and a changeup. His fastball is a groundball driving machine, while his slider gives him a true swing and miss pitch. Progression with his changeup could firmly land Palmer in starter territory but as currently constituted likely ends up in the pen. Make no mistake, he has the chops for high leverage relief and his fastball might play even hotter in short stints. There's still an outside shot of starting and a step forward in control, command, or changeup feel could vault him into a backend rotation role.
OFP: 45
Role: 40 - Spot Starter or Low-Leverage Reliever
Risk: Moderate
