Pat Connaughton | RHP
Background
Connaughton is from just outside of Boston, and he turned down the Padres out of high school as their 38th round pick in 2011. He followed through on his commitment to Notre Dame, where he plays both baseball and basketball. Connaughton had a 2.42 ERA with a 69/49 K/BB in 92.2 innings during his freshman and sophomore seasons, and this spring it’s a 3.92 ERA with a 36/40 K/BB in 62 innings. Yes, more walks than strikeouts. He has been a three-year starter for the Fighting Irish basketball team but is not a serious NBA prospect.
Scouting Report
Listed at 6-foot-5 and 214 lbs., Connaughton is a pure arm strength prospect who regularly touches 95 mph with his fastball. His curveball shows some potential but his changeup needs a lot of work. He’s clearly still a project after splitting so much time between two different sports. Connaughton’s delivery is pretty stiff and it hurts his command. Obviously he’s a very good athlete, that’s kinda necessary to play two sports at the Division I level, and he draws praise for his competitiveness and makeup.
Miscellany
Baseball America ranked Connaughton as the 128th best prospect in the draft class last week. He did not make either Keith Law‘s (subs. req’d) or MLB.com‘s most recent top 100 rankings. Connaughton told Andrew Owens the Yankees are one team he has spoken to “a lot” in recent weeks. He plans to return to school to play his senior basketball season and said clubs are open to letting him play both sports before focusing on baseball full-time in 2015. The Yankees don’t pick until the second round (55th overall), though Connaughton is a better fit as a roll of the dice with their third (91st overall), fourth (122nd), or even fifth (152nd) round pick.
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