Here are the 10 best high school pitchers in this year’s Draft.
We’ve saved the riskiest demographic for last in our run of top 10 Draft prospects: the high school pitchers.
While there don’t appear to be any prep arms slated to go at the very top of the Draft, there is some depth in this group this year. How many actually go in the first round remains to be seen, as teams often tend to avoid the aforementioned risk at the top, but then go after the arms with high ceilings later on. All of the 10 young pitchers listed below have a good chance to get taken in the top two or three rounds and receive enough of a bonus to forgo their college commitments.
More on the Draft:
Top 250 prospects | Latest mock | Order | Top tools | Complete coverage
Top prospects:
Condon | Bazzana | Caglianone | Kurtz | Montgomery
Smith | Burns | Wetherholt | Griffin | Culpepper
1. Cam Caminiti, LHP, Saguaro HS (Scottsdale, Ariz.) (No. 15)
A combination of youth, athleticism and left-handedness are all working in Caminiti’s favor. Just 17 at Draft time, Caminiti can run his fastball up to 98 mph and showed a much better feel for spinning his breaking stuff this spring, with the chance to have a legitimate four-pitch mix when all is said and done.
2024 Draft: Cam Caminiti, LHP
Apr 15, 2024 · 0:57
2024 Draft: Cam Caminiti, LHP
2. William Schmidt, RHP, Catholic HS (Baton Rouge, La.) (No. 16)
Schmidt isn’t left-handed and he’s older than Caminiti, but he does have the best stuff of any prep pitcher in this class. He has the best curveball in the Draft — high school or college — with a low-80s hammer that has spin rates upward of 3,000 rpm. He also can push his mid-90s fastball to 99 mph and also exhibits feel for a sinking low-80s changeup.
2024 Draft: William Schmidt, RHP
Apr 15, 2024 · 0:49
2024 Draft: William Schmidt, RHP
3. Ryan Sloan, RHP, York HS (Elmhurst, Ill.) (No. 19)
Extremely physical at 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, Sloan might have three plus pitches once he’s fully developed. He can manipulate a 93-96 mph fastball that reaches 99, sports a more advanced changeup than most high schoolers with a mid-80s cambio that fades and sinks, and can attain two-plane depth at times with his low-80s slider.
2024 Draft: Ryan Sloan, RHP
Apr 15, 2024 · 0:50
2024 Draft: Ryan Sloan, RHP
More from MLB Pipeline:
• Top 100 prospects | Stats | Video | Podcast | Complete coverage
4. Kash Mayfield, LHP, Elk City (Okla.) HS (No. 30)
A two-time Gatorade Oklahoma state player of the year, Mayfield provides plenty of strikes with a fluid delivery that creates quality extension. His best pitch is a tumbling low-80s changeup that he sets up with a 92-97 mph fastball with run and carry and a slurvy breaking ball in the upper 70s.
2024 Draft: Kash Mayfield, LHP
Apr 15, 2024 · 1:04
2024 Draft: Kash Mayfield, LHP
