2021 top-10 prospects for right-handed pitching

MLB Pipeline will announce on January 20 its list of the top 100 prospects for 2021. In the run-up to the launch of the Top 100, we will be exploring the top 10 prospects of baseball at each position. In the shortened 2020 season, many young guns were asked to help staff. Six of

MLB Pipeline will announce on January 20 its list of the top 100 prospects for 2021. In the run-up to the launch of the Top 100, we will be exploring the top 10 prospects of baseball at each position.

In the shortened 2020 season, many young arms were asked to help the site staff. Six of last year’s Top 10 right-handed throwers took turns in the major leagues, though only one – Dustin May of the Dodgers – graduated due to the prospect lists.

If a hopefully full 2021 season is on the horizon, you can expect more from the same. Seven of our new Top 10 must continue to establish themselves in major league rotations or make their debut this year, with several getting the chance to compete for the Rookie of the Year award.

It is a good division of students or signatures in high school (Sixto Sánchez, Ian Anderson, Luis Patiño, Matt Manning, Grayson Rodriguez) and colleagues (Nate Pearson, Casey Mize, Max Meyer, Emerson Hancock and Logan Gilbert), with Meyer and Hancock representing the 2020 Draft Class.

The top 10 prospects (ETA)

1. Nate Pearson, Blue Jays (2021)
Casey Mize, Tigers (2021)
Sixto Sánchez, Marlins (2021)
4. Ian Anderson, Braves (2021)
Luis Patiño, Rays (2021)
Matt Manning, Tigers (2021)
Grayson Rodriguez, Orioles (2022)
Max Meyer, Marlins (2022)
Emerson Hancock, Mariners (2022)
10. Logan Gilbert, Mariners (2021)
Complete list »

Top tools

Quick ball: Pearson (80)
Although he struggled a bit in the big leagues and missed time with a bending strain in his elbow, the fast ball was still just as impressive as ever. It averaged 96.3 km / h and peaked at 101.5 km / h during his time with Toronto, and achieved an impressive turning speed of 2,300 rpm on the four-speed.

Curveball: Manning (60)
Manning has the one-time plus curve in the Top 10, and that’s his off-pitch. It is a true 12-to-6 hammer with hard downward action and high spin rates.

Slider: Meyer (70)
Many thought Meyer could eliminate big league players with his chip immediately after the signing. It was the best pitch under all arms in the 2020 concept, a breakdown ball that hits 91km per hour and from which he picks up and subtracts depth.

Change: Sánchez, Rodriguez (65)
During that time in the major leagues in 2020, Sánchez changed more than any other field in the 80s, an unbeatable track that dives on the board and misses a bunch of bats. Rodriguez’s change has now become his best secondary offer, thrown in the low 80s and constantly diving under the barrel.

Other Pitch: Mize (70)
Although his results in the major leagues were not optimal, Mize showed that his splitter in the mid-80s is still close to the top scale, with better vertical movement than the league on the diving track.

Management: Mize, Sánchez (60)
We are prepared to give Mize a mulligan on his control issues in the major leagues last year, based on his performance history (1.4 BB / 9 in college and 1.9 BB / 9 in the minor leagues). Sánchez’s athletic frame and repeat delivery helped him limit runs to 2.5 per nine in the major leagues last season, and the continuation of a minor trend, where he ran just 1.8 per nine in his career .

Superlative

Highest ceiling: Rodriguez
There are many candidates on this list to claim this category, but Rodriguez’s size, well, sense of pitch and age (he will be 21 for the whole of 2021) make it easy to imagine you being the first player of 2018 will occupy this list in the future. .

Highest floor: maize
With three plus stands, an average curveball and a sinker, it’s hard to fit Mize in line with his repertoire and feel like throwing it – despite his early struggles in the big leagues. That combination of things and assignment is the reason why he was the overall choice in 2018.

Candidate for the rookie of the year: Anderson
Many of these lists will see quite a bit of time in the major leagues in 2021, but no one has gone as well as Anderson during a major league debut in 2020. Especially in light of his post-season, it’s hard not to place Anderson on any National League ROY award. candidate list.

Highest Rise: Anderson
Anderson was currently not in the top 10 a year ago, but a combination of graduation ceremonies from the 2020 list and Anderson’s performance in Atlanta took him to no. 4 chopped.

Humblest beginning: Sánchez
The Phillies found Sánchez almost by accident when they saw him while exploring a Cuban catcher in the Dominican country in 2015. They could sign the right hand for only $ 35,000; he made his United States debut in 2016 and was in the major leagues with the Marlins in 2020 at the age of 22.

Most to prove: Mize
While we give him a mulligan, it’s still a little worrying that Mize posted an ERA period of 6.99 over his seven major leagues in 2020 and that he was hit harder than anyone expected. This year offers a fresh start, but he will have to show that he can miss barrels more consistently.

Like: Quinn Priest, Pirates, dop
Although he did not throw an official pitch in 2020, like many Minor League arms, there are few prospects on the campsite that sound more like the Pirates’ first round in ’19. The Illinois high school product threw up well when he joined the organization’s alternative training center late in the summer, and thereafter the fire was on fire during the instructional league game in Florida.