2018 Draft - Mets Pick #2: - RHP - Simeon Wood-Richardson - *** NEW STORY***

Simeon Wood-Richardson - R/R, HS 9/27/2000 - Kempner HS (TX) - 6'3" 200 lbs

***NEW***

Sportsmap - 

People spend their entire lives chasing their dream Simeon Woods-Richardson has achieved it at the ripe old age of 18 years old. The 2018 Major League Baseball amateur draft saw over 20 high school prospects receive the opportunity to become a professional in the first two rounds alone.

"This has been a dream for me and it actually came true like words can't describe" says Simeon Woods Richardson on being drafted.

After a senior season that had games packed with scouts with reports as many as 14 for one game, the question was more where not if Simeon would get the call. Woods-Richardson heard his name called near the top of Round 2 at pick #48 overall (6th in Round 2) as a right handed pitcher, he is now in the New York Mets system.

Woods-Richardson is committed to the University of Texas, but pitching in the high 90's on a consistent basis made him a high end prospect on pro scouts radar a few years ago, and this season confirmed Woods-Richardson was more than hype as he delivered dominant starts all season averaging 10 striekouts a game.

ABC-13:

The next dominant pitcher might be playing at Kempner High School. Kempner Senior Simeon Woods-Richardson is just 17 years old, but he has a major fastball the scouts can't get enough of. Simeon has major league stuff and a big league attitude.

3^rd Man:

Woods-Richardson’s development has positioned himself for a bright future in baseball. Committed to Texas, Woods-Richardson is also a well-regarded prospect for June’s MLB Draft. Baseball America ranks him as the 84th-best prospect in the class.

“It’s actually a blessing, but sometimes it can be overwhelming,” he said. “I just try to keep my head down and look on to the next day because everything is a new day. I just keep my head down, stay humble, keep working and playing, and not focus on the future.”

Considered a legitimate two-way player, Woods-Richardson’s primary position is on the mound. It’s also where professional scouts project him long-term.

An aggressive pitcher who prefers to work quickly, Woods-Richardson throws a fastball – four-seam and two-seam – changeup, cutter and a sharp 12-to-6 curveball.

He attacks the zone and has impressive command for his age. In the 2017 Area Code Games, Woods-Richardson caught scouts’ attention when he struck out four straight batters in 13 pitches out of the bullpen in his first appearance in the event.

MLB Draft Pipeline:

           Fastball        50       60       (90-95)         

Slider             30       50      

Changeup    30       50       –         

Mechanics   50       60      

Control         40       55      

Command    40       55

Baseball America (#76) –

           One of the youngest players in the 2018 draft class, Woods-Richardson is a 6-foot-4, 210-pound righthander out of Texas who impressed scouts at multiple summer showcase events last year. At both the Area Code Games in Long Beach, Calif., and Perfect Game’s World Wood Bat Association world championships in Jupiter, Fla., during the fall, Woods-Richardson pitched with a low-90s fastball that touched 93 mph at times. He features both a four-seam and two-seam fastball, as well as two breaking balls—one a sweeping slider in the upper 70s and the other a mid-70s curveball with an 11-to-5 shape. He showed the makings of a plus breaking ball at the Area Code Games and even flashed a potential plus changeup during the Tournament of Stars in Cary, N.C. After all the flashes of upside over the summer, Woods-Richardson has continued to trend up this spring, with his fastball velocity ticking up. Scouts have noted, however, that he doesn’t always hold his velocity into starts as long as they would like to see. As a younger, athletic righthander out of Texas who has trended in the right direction this spring, Woods-Richardson has checked enough boxes on his scouting report to get him drafted quickly in June. If he did make it to campus at Texas, he would be a two-way talent with some impressive raw power with the bat as well.

5-4 1 save, 0.84 ERA, 58.2-IP 38-H 15-R 7-ER 13-BB 107-SO

Hit .446 in 24 games, 5-2B, 3-3B, 6-HR 22-RBI 14-R, Walked 21 times struck out 7, 10 errors.