The 2013 amateur draft will be held from June 6-8 this year, and between now and then I’m going to highlight some prospects individually rather than lump them together into larger posts.
Tom Windle | LHP
Background
A Minnesota kid who turned down the White Sox as 28th round pick in 2010, Windle pitched to a 2.41 ERA with 72/28 K/BB in 82 mostly relief innings for the University of Minnesota during his first two years on campus. He shined as a starter in the Cape Cod League last summer, and this spring he has 1.76 ERA with 78 strikeouts and 23 walks in 81.2 innings as a starter for the Gophers. Windle threw the school’s first nine-inning no-hitter back in March.
Scouting Report
Listed at 6-foot-4 and 215 lbs., Windle is a three-pitch left-hander with varying reports on his secondary stuff. His fastball sits in the 88-93 mph range as a starter and closer to 94-95 mph out of the bullpen. Depending on the day, his low-80s slider and low-80s changeup will look like out pitches or inconsistent works in progress. Windle has athleticism but he doesn’t use his lower half well, plus his delivery has some recoil. His future could lie in the bullpen even though his command is solid. There are plenty more videos on YouTube.
Miscellany
Baseball America and Keith Law (subs. req’d) ranked Windle as the 46th and 60th best prospect in their draft in their latest rankings, respectively. Even though he doesn’t have much (if any) physical projection remaining, Windle offers quite a bit of upside if he can iron out his offspeed pitches and pair both with his fastball on an every-start basis. The fallback option is a lefty reliever who might be something more than a specialist because of the changeup. The Yankees have made it clear they value strong performance on the Cape, the premium wood bat collegiate league, so Windle is very likely on their radar.
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