2018 Draft – Top 10 Left Hand Pitchers Available in the 2018 Draft

              

                   2018 Draft – Top 10 Left Hand Pitchers Available in the 2018 Draft

  

    1.     Shane McClanahan          USF

When The Giants Come To Town - Shane McClanahan will be a redshirt sophomore at University of South Florida in 2018.  He is a thin whippy LHP listed at 6'1", 170 lbs with a big fastball that goes 93-96 MPH.  His main calling card is 104 K's in 74 IP as a Redshirt Freshman last season which has created some early buzz for the 2018 draft.  I wasn't able to find a scouting report of his other pitches.

On video, he has a slight frame that does look like it can fill out.  He has more of a "tall and fall" delivery with a 3/4 release.  Here is his full pitching line from 2017:

 4-2, 3.28, 74 IP, 35 BB, 104 K.

I have to say, he looks like a future lefty reliever to my eye.  He could be a SP if he fills out his frames and has enough secondary stuff.  No more than a second tier draft prospect for me.

https://youtu.be/bLxgm1sBhg4  

     2.     Matt Liberatore                 Mountain Ridge HS (AZ)

PG Grade: 10 - Matthew Liberatore is a 2018 LHP with a 6-5 200 lb. frame from Peoria, AZ who attends Mountain Ridge HS. Very long and slender athletic build, extremely projectable physically. Easy low effort delivery with a 3/4's arm slot. Fastball topped out at 92 mph, gets consistent running and sinking action, works his fastball around the zone, velocity has improved from 85-88 most of last summer. Mid-70's curveball with tight spin and some sharpness, fading change up in the low 80's. Has the ability to mix his pitches up and get hitters off balance, hitters have never seen his stuff well, high performance pitcher. Excellent student, verbal commitment to Arizona. Selected for the 2017 Perfect Game All-American Classic.

https://youtu.be/TfiujOhQSFA

    3.     Ryan Rolison                       Mississippi

When The Giants Come To Town - Ryan Rolison is a draft eligible college sophomore LHP from Ole Miss.  He's close to perfect size for a pitcher listed at 6'3", 200 lbs.  He started off his freshman year pitching in the bullpen but moved into the rotation as the season progressed and was Ole Miss' best pitcher by the end of the college season.  He followed that up with a terrific Cape Cod League performance and is poised for a breakout sophomore campaign and possible first round MLB draft stock.  Here are his 2017 stat lines:

2017(College):  6-3, 3.06, 61.2 IP, 24 BB, 64 K.

2017(CCL):  6-0, 1.54, 28 IP, 11 BB, 35 K.

One scouting report has his FB 89-93 and sitting at 91.  Another says his velocity ticked up toward the end of the CCL season reaching 94-95 consistently when he needed something extra.  His delivery is low-moderate effort which makes scouts think he can reach back for more when he needs to.  The delivery is a smooth and clean with a 3/4 arm slot reminiscent of Madison Bumgarner with a little less sweeping motion.  He commands the FB on both sides of the plate.  Some scouts think his best pitch is a 2-8 slurve.  His change up is rated as a work in progress, but I saw one on a video that had nice sink and a bit of a tail on the outside corner to a RH batter.  His goals for 2018 should be to lower his walk rate by about 0.5-1 BB/9.

My take: He does not have quite enough stuff to be a top of the draft prospect, but could be a nice high floor pick late in the first round or early second round.

https://youtu.be/BvI3rtemE50

    4.     Ryan Weathers                  Loretto HS (TN)

Road To Wrigley - Bloodlines run deep here as Ryan’s father, David Weathers pitched 19 seasons in the big leagues, winning 73 games and saving another 75 more for nine different teams. Ryan’s separator being he comes at hitters as a southpaw, with advanced command of his three-pitch arsenal and is ranked as one of the top pitchers in the 2018 class. He repeats his left-handed delivery well and pounds the strike zone with a consistent, low 90s fastball, downer curve and effective change. In this year’s Class A Championship in Tennessee, Weathers struck out 12 hitters in a 4-0 victory over Goodpasture and set a Tennessee state tournament record for most strikeouts, putting away 28 hitters in just 14 innings, helping Loretto win its first ever boys championship in any sport and the second overall in school history, joining the 1958 girls basketball team.

https://youtu.be/N4oEJN35CK0

    5.     Konnor Pilkington             Mississippi State

When The Giants Come To Town - Konnor Pilkington LHP, College(Mississippi St.).  6'3", 225 lbs.

2017:  8-5, 3.08, 108 IP, 47 BB, 111 K.

2016 CCL:  2-1, 1.37, 39.1 IP, 12 BB, 33 K.

Pilkington is a large college lefty with a nice 3 pitch mix.  According to his MLB scouting report, his FB sits 88-93 and touches 96 MPH.  His best second pitch is a changeup.  His breaking ball tends to be slurvy.  He has a high release point with a steep downhill plane.  College pitchers tend to move up boards as the draft approaches.  Pilkington could easily break into the top 10 picks on draft day with a strong junior campaign.

https://youtu.be/i5IOySc5Drk

    6.     Tim Cate                               Connecticut

When The Giants Come To Town - Tim Cate LHP, College(Connecticut).  6'0", 167 lbs.  2017:  4-3, 3.33, 75.2 IP, 31 BB, 102 K.  Small college lefty with a 3 pitch mix that gets lots of K's.  Could be a late first round value.

https://youtu.be/q1Y7wSN8bo4

     7.     Steven Gingery                   Texas Tech

School website – 2017: Named Big 12 Pitcher of the Year by the league’s coaches … earned unanimous First Team All-Big 12 accolades … received Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors … National Pitcher of the Year by the College Baseball Foundation … Unanimous First Team All-American … first in program history … ABCA First Team All-American … Collegiate Baseball First Team All-American … NCBWA First Team All-American … Baseball America First Team All-American … D1 Baseball First Team All-American … Perfect Game First Team All-American … started in all 15 games he pitched during his sophomore campaign at Texas Tech … put together a team-leading 1.58 ERA … lowest at Tech since Corey Taylor’s 0.31 in 2015 … sixth-lowest in school history … achieved a 10-1 record, also a team-high … second-straight year a Red Raider had posted 10 wins … 10th time Tech has had pitchers register 10-win seasons in consecutive years … tossed a program-most 91.1 innings last season … rattled off 107 strikeouts, which also led the squad … first Red Raider with 100+ strikeouts since Chad Bettis (102) in 2010 … most in a season at Tech since Monty Ward had 151 in 1998 … issued only 29 walks and gave up just 16 earned runs on 60 hits .. 16 of his 60 hits allowed were for extra bases, as opponents hit just .186 against him … helped Tech post one of its two shutouts on the season … recorded 10 strikeouts on two separate occasions … struck out double digit hitters at Oklahoma on April 1 and at Kansas State on April 14 … had five or more strikeouts in all but one of his 15 appearances … gave up five of fewer hits in 11 of his 15 starts, including a two-hit game against Sam Houston State in his final appearance of the year on June 3 … one of four games giving up just two hits … RANKINGS … led the conference in ERA (1.58) … fifth in the NCAA in ERA … finished second among Big 12 pitchers and 13th in the country in wins (10) … had a WHIP of 0.97, putting him at second in the league and 26th in the NCAA

https://youtu.be/7OVPDvWVNnk

    8.     Luke Bartnicki                    Walton HS (GA)

PG Grade: 10 - Luke Bartnicki is a 2018 LHP with a 6-3 210 lb. frame from Marietta, GA who attends Walton HS. Broad shouldered physical build, plenty of present strength. Big hip turn delivery, fast arm coming through in an extended 3/4's arm slot, ball comes out easy and with minimum effort. Fastball topped out at 94, jumps on hitters due to lack of effort, very consistent in the strike zone with angle. Slider has shown tremendous improvement, sharp and late at 94 mph, potential plus pitch, can throw his slider to spots. Flashed two present plus pitches and the difference in his breaking ball is eye opening. Good student, verbal commitment to Georgia Tech. Selected for the 2017 Perfect Game All-American Classic.

https://youtu.be/EJIRAX4rBts

     9.     Kris Bubic                             Stanford

School website – 2017: • Honorable Mention Academic All-Pac-12

• 2017 Cape Cod League Pitcher of the Year

• 2017 Perfect Game/Rawlings Summer Collegiate Baseball All-America

• Friday night starter, 15 starts (7-6, 2.79 ERA)

• Sixth in the Pac-12 in ERA (2.79) and strikeouts (96), led Stanford starters in both categories

• Second on the team with seven wins and 90.1 innings pitched

• Stanford won his last seven starts

• Did not allow a run in his last 16.0 innings of the season

• Career-high 8.0 IP, 11 K in Regional start vs. Sacramento State (June 1)

• Carried no-hitter into fifth and had 10 strikeouts in Opening Day start at No. 8 Cal State Fullerton (Feb. 16)

• Carried no-hitter into fourth and had 11 strikeouts in second start (Feb. 23 vs. Cal Poly)

• Struck out nine in 6.0 innings (0 ER) against Texas (March 2)

• Allowed just one run in 7.0 innings and earned win over No. 13 Arizona (April 27)

• Seven shutout innings and six strikeouts at Washington State (May 25)

https://youtu.be/NnDQQ7AzMuA

     10. Nick Sprengel                    San Diego 

College Baseball Daily - The 6-foot-1, 185 pound lefty is a very projectable player with a solid frame and a smooth delivery. He has a fastball that sits in the low 90s, but he can bump it up in to the mid-90s. Sprengel has struck out well over a batter an inning through his college career with 156 strikeouts in 147.1 innings pitched. However, his career WHIP of 1.39 is a bit high. Scouts would love to see him improve his command as a junior in 2018 and work on keeping hitters off base. Sprengel will be one of the top left-handed pitchers to come out of the college ranks in the 2018 MLB Draft.

https://youtu.be/YhBFQp-HqGM