2018 Draft Prospect Profile: J.T Ginn

J.T. Ginn | RHP

Background
Ginn, who turned 19 last month, attends Brandon High School outside Jackson, Mississippi. He hit 16 home runs last spring, second most in the country, and pitched out of the bullpen earlier this year so he could set the state saves record. Ginn hit .419/.624/.918 with nine home runs in 30 games this year while throwing 39.1 innings with a 0.36 ERA and a 78/9 K/BB. He’s committed to Mississippi State, where he should get a chance to be a two-way player.

Scouting Report
Despite his offensive exploits, Ginn’s future lies on the mound and he offers one of the best two-pitch mixes in the draft class. His fastball sits 92-99 mph and runs back in on right-handed hitters, and his slider is a wipeout mid-80s offering. Ginn also throws a changeup and a curveball. The former is a good pitch by high school standards. The latter isn’t very good and probably a pitch he’ll stop throwing in pro ball so he can focus on the slider. He’s also a good athlete who doesn’t have much trouble throwing strikes. There are three knocks on Ginn. One, he is one of the oldest high schoolers in draft class, and 19-year-old high school draftees don’t have the best track record in pro ball. Two, he looks to be two or three inches shorter than his listed size of 6-foot-2 and 199 lbs. And three, Ginn has a high-effort delivery. He repeats it and it doesn’t hinder his command, but that 92-99 mph heater and mid-80s slider don’t come out of his hand easily, and some think he’s destined for a relief role long-term.

Miscellany
In their latest rankings MLB.com, Keith Law (subs. req’d), and Baseball America (subs. req’d) ranked Ginn as the 33rd, 38th, and 39th best prospect in the draft class, respectively. The Yankees hold the 23rd overall pick and, for what it’s worth, they’ve been connected to Ginn in a recent mock draft. In my amateur opinion Ginn seems like a potential target for team looking to cut an underslot deal with their first round pick so they can spend big on a top talent that falls later in the draft. He has first round stuff but not a first round delivery, and his age and size complicate things. At the end of the day though, mid-to-upper-90s gas and an out-pitch slider are mid-to-upper-90s gas and an out-pitch slider. Hard to ignore that.