Alex Verdugo | LHP
Background
Verdugo is an Arizona kid from Tucson, and he stars both as an outfielder and a pitcher at Sahuaro High School. He is hitting .539/.602/.907 with three homers in 26 games this spring, and on the mound he has a 1.63 ERA with 77 strikeouts and 22 walks in 43 innings. Verdugo is committed to Arizona State, where he would presumably be a two-way player for the Sun Devils.
Scouting Report
On the mound, the 6-foot-1 and 190 lb. Verdugo usually sits in the 89-92 mph range with his fastball but has shown some 94s and 95s this spring. His curveball is ahead of his changeup at this point but both pitches look like they will be future weapons. They still need some work, however. Verdugo is an excellent athlete (hence the whole two-way player thing) and his delivery is really smooth and low-effort. He also hides the ball well. At the plate, Verdugo offers some left-handed pop and speed, and obviously he has a strong arm as well. After drawing split opinions in the past, the consensus now is that Verdugo is a better prospect as a pitcher.
Miscellany
In their latest rankings, Keith Law (subs. req’d), Baseball America, and MLB.com ranked Verdugo as the 31st, 41st, and 54th best prospect in the draft class, respectively. Ever since I read this article about the Cardinals’ scouting and development strategies, I’ve kinda had a thing for athletic pitchers. (Hey, St. Louis is pretty good at developing pitchers.) Verdugo definitely fits the bill, and when you add in his three-pitch mix and easy delivery, he seems like the kind of prospect who could really take off under pro instruction. The Yankees don’t pick until the second round (55th overall) this summer.
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