2014 Draft: Luis Ortiz

Luis Ortiz | RHP

Background
Ortiz attends Sanger High School in Fresno and is committed to Fresno State. He helped Team USA win gold at the 18U World Cup in Taiwan last September and was named MVP of the tournament. Ortiz has not pitched much this spring due to a forearm strain and only recently starting throwing side sessions for scouts.

Scouting Report
Ortiz stands 6-foot-3 and, depending on who you ask, weighs somewhere between 190-220 pounds. Pretty big difference there. Most listings I’ve seen have him on the higher end of that range. Either way, everyone agrees Ortiz already has three pitches in his low-to-mid-90s fastball, out pitch low-80s slider, and improving mid-80s changeup. He’s also been working on a curveball, reportedly. It’s no doubt starter stuff. Ortiz stands out from the rest of the high school crop because of his pitching know-how and the way he repeats his delivery. He also draws high marks for his work ethic. Ortiz doesn’t offer the kind of physical projection as other prep arms but he’s very advanced and has a chance to be one of those rare high school pitchers who climbs the ladder quickly. The stuff is good, the delivery is good, and the intangibles appear to be good as well.

Miscellany
In his latest ranking, Keith Law (subs. req’d) had Ortiz has the eighth best prospect in the entire draft. That was before the forearm became an issue, however. MLB.com‘s and Baseball America‘s more recent rankings have him as the 33rd and 40th best prospect in the draft, respectively. That’s still ahead of the Yankees first pick (55th overall), but this draft class is said to be very deep in right-handed pitchers. Someone like Ortiz, who has battled an arm injury and hasn’t been seen much this spring, could slide in favor of “safer” arms. Forearm issues are a common precursor to elbow issues and Tommy John surgery, but the Yankees have a small chance of landing a prospect of Ortiz’s caliber with their first selection. If he falls into their lap, they should grab him and hope the arm holds up. There’s too much talent to ignore at that spot of the draft.