David Peterson | LHP
Background
The 21-year-old Peterson was a 28th round pick out of a Denver high school by the Red Sox in 2014, though he didn’t sign and instead followed through on his commitment to Oregon. He’s gotten better and better each year with the Ducks, and so far this spring he has a 2.51 ERA with 140 strikeouts and only 15 walks in 15 starts and 100.1 innings. Peterson has both a 17-strikeout game and a 20-strikeout game this year.
Scouting Report
At 6-foot-6 and 235 lbs., Peterson has the type of frame teams love on the mound, and his top two weapons are a low-90s fastball and a wipeout mid-80s slider. He also throws a low-80s changeup and an upper-70s curveball, both of which are in need of refinement. Peterson has a bit of a wrist wrap at the back of his delivery, otherwise he repeats it well, and he throws a ton of strikes. He locates his fastball to both sides of the plate and buries the slider down. Peterson is considered one of the quickest moving prospects available in the draft this year.
Miscellany
The various scouting publications are split on Peterson. Baseball America ranked him the 15th best prospect in the draft class while MLB.com ranked him 31st. Keith Law (subs. req’d) did not include Peterson in his most recent top 50 rankings at all. The Yankees hold the 16th overall pick. It’s worth noting Peterson is one of the biggest risers in the country this spring because he’s dominating, and because 6-foot-6 college southpaws with a good fastball and a bat-missing breaking ball tend to be very in demand.
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