8th rounder Tyler Guilfoil identified as one of sixteen 2022 draftees who impressed in their pro debuts…
Guilfoil topped all drafted pitchers in strikeouts (31 in 17 1/3 innings) and all those who worked at least 10 frames in ERA (0.52) and WHIP (0.69) while dividing his time between Rookie ball and Single-A. He earned All-America honors during the spring at Kentucky after recording a 1.59 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 51 innings, getting a ton of swings and misses on his low-90s fastball because he has a low release point and a lot of induced vertical break.
BA looked at EV data for ‘22 draftees from their first pro season and identified 10 to get excited about. More specifically all 10 had EVs in the 90th percentile (in excess of 104.5 mph). Two were Astros—2nd rounder Jacob Melton and 12th rounder Zach Dezenzo. Dezenzo actually had the highest exit velo of any player drafted while Melton had an EV north of 105.
BA looking at more statcast-type data gleaned on draftees from their pro debuts, this time taking a look at pitchers who exhibited elite spin rates and/or pitch movement. They caveat that the pool is somewhat limited given the number of pitchers who were shut down post-draft after heavy spring usage (as the Astros did with 2nd rounder Andrew Taylor, 3rd rounder Michael Knorr, 4th rounder Trey Dombroski and 15th rounder Joey Mancini). Anyway they identified 8 spin rate standouts and one was an Astro.
5th rounder Nolan DeVos drew plaudits for showing two of the highest spin rate breaking balls among all draftees making their debuts with a 77-79 mph CB and a mid-80s slider with the latter generating 2,800-2,900 rpm. As far as his FB and overall repertoire they had this to say…
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…has arguably the “hoppiest” fastball from the most recent draft class, generating well above-average induced vertical break. Devos is one of the few pitchers you’ll see hit 20 inches of induced vertical break. He does not generate elite spin rates on his fastball, but rather a strong combination of spin and spin efficiency, meaning he generates spin on his fastball that directly contributes to movement. His ability to generate hop on his fastball and high spin rates on his two breaking ball variations gives DeVos the ability to attack north and south, mixing in horizontal movement with his high-spin slider and changeup.