Scouting Report - RHP - Thatcher Hurd

 

Thatcher Hurd

 

RHP      6-4      205      Acalanes HS (CA)

 

 

12-20-20 - Joe @JoeDoyleMiLB

 

RHP Thatcher Hurd is getting a lot of attention leading into the Winter. Name on the rise. 91-93/t94 @ 2500. High spin w/run. SL 78-80. High spin + sharp @ 2800-2900. Fringy CH. Good command. Easy arm-speed. Super-projectable body. Watch for velo tick in Spring. 1st round talent

 

  

12-3-20  -  Perfect Game combined their picks for the first two rounds in this mock draft  -

 

25. Oakland Athletics | Sal Frelick, OF, Boston College | (2/54) Thatcher Hurd, RHP, Mira Costa HS, Cali.

 

In selecting Frelick, Oakland gets back to the small market thinking of taking the best available player that fits their high analytical front office. What you get with Frelick is a premium defender with plus speed and the ability to stick in centerfield. At the plate, he is a disciplined hitter with a propensity to find the barrel and a pretty high floor long term. With a full transition to pitching long term, Hurd burst onto the draft scene this summer by performing at the PG National Showcase. Blessed with a highly projectable frame and present athleticism, Hurd produces some of the easier velocity we saw in 2020. The fastball has been into the low-90s thus far with more expected as he fully takes to pitching full-time. Although there is some things that need to be refined, including the secondary offerings, there is near limitless potential with the young California native. -John McAdams

 

Sakowski’s Take: Frelick represents one of the PG scouting department’s favorite players in the class with a good mix of ceiling and floor, looking more and more like an everyday big leaguer with every evaluation. Hurd came on like gangbusters during the summer circuit with high-level spin data and projection, and the stuff is plenty good at present as well. This would be a really nice pairing of safety and risk, floor and ceiling.

 

 

11-11-20 - Prospects Live Top 300 Prospect List -

 

42. Thatcher Hurd - RHP

 

Bio:

 

Height: 6-4

Weight: 205 lbs

Hits/Throws: R-R

Hometown: Manhattan Beach, CA

School: Mira Costa

 

Comfortably 90-93 mph with good projection. Flashes a plus slider that should refine well. Tons of arm speed and athleticism on the mound.

 

 

11-7-2020 -   PG -

 

 Thatcher Hurd (2021 Manhattan Beach, CA) and Jackson Baumeister (2021 Jacksonville, FL) you can file in the same drawer. They are athletic righties with a catching background, and both seem to be tapping into their enormous potential on the mound. Hurd has a great frame, a super quick shoulder, and his performance in Fort Myers was stellar. He ran his fastball up to 93 mph, sitting around 90. Both his curveball and slider had very high spin rates and entertain swing and miss traits. Baumeister sat 91-94 mph at the WWBA and has good command to the glove side and great extension at release. The breaking stuff is trending up and his changeup gives him another solid offering. The right-hander battled an injury in the spring. Now fully healthy, this is the Baumeister we expected to see. Putting up zeros against top competition and having all the components to make big jumps this spring.

 

 

6-20-20  -  PBR -

 

Body: 6-foot-4, 195-pounds. Long body with visible strength/size gains in lower body and still plenty of room in his upper body to fill out.

 

Delivery: Simple, starts in modified stretch position, small rocker step toward 1B line, easy knee lift with good hand/feet rhythm. Clean on the backside, maintains good body control throughout the delivery, lands with stability which provides him the ability to maintain a consistent release point with all four pitches. High-3/4 slot.

 

FB: Pitched comfortably in the 90-91 mph range, topping out at 93 mph on a couple of occasions. His average speed of 91.1 was the highest among the pitchers at the ProCase. Average spin rate of 2312 on the heater, ranking third among the pitchers. Average inverted break of 10.9, indicating his ability to get angle on the fastball and pitch down in the zone. Average horizontal break of 15.1 was third highest. Flashed arm side movement that can make RHHs a little uncomfortable.

 

CB: Utilized as a sneaky pitch to keep hitters off the fastball and set up the slider, he threw it with feel in the 74-75 mph range (threw two of them). 11/6 type shape, averaged 2796 spin rate w/max of 2850 rpm.

 

SL: Hurd's best pitch (75-77 mph), not only has high spin rate on this pitch (average 2802) but also throws it with feel and ability to locate it in strikeout situations. Top spin rate was 2887 and that number is sure to get the attention of the MLB industry. Negative inverted break of -5.8 for his breaking balls, reflecting the short quick bite late in the zone that gets swings and misses.

 

CHG: Threw just one of them (84 mph) and like his other pitches, it came out easy and he flashed feel of the pitch. Much lower spin (1673) than his fastball, resulting in some downward movement at the plate. Enough decrease in velocity off the fastball and with his ability to repeat the delivery and consistency of his release point, this pitch has a chance to be the quality third pitch of a starter.

 

Summary: Results of his four competitive ABs were F7 (Blake Burke), 1B (Davis Diaz), K (Aaron Parker), K (Jake Sapien). Both Ks came via the slider. The ability to finish hitters with the slider will give him the ability to pitch for strikeouts. The fastball, while firm and still with future velocity gains, will need more life through and in the zone. The entire repertoire suggests that a future as a starter is entirely possible. The challenge will be developing the type of arm stamina for that role. Through high school and travel ball he's not been utilized as such. It stands to reason that if he develops into an offensive contributor in college then he's going to be used on the mound in relief situations. If the bat doesn't come along, it's entirely possible we see him drafted as a pitcher in the 2024 draft

 

 PG -

 

Thatcher Hurd is a 2021 RHP/C with a 6-4 205 lb. frame from Lafayette, CA who attends Acalanes. Long and strong athletic build. High level two-way prospect. Has an outstanding young pitchers build with easy athleticism on the mound, 3/4's arm slot, tends to be a bit open on his front side, ball comes out of his hand easily and with low effort. Low 90's fastball, topped out at 93 mph, really extended on his fastball release, gets hard late boring action at times and works to both sides of the plate. High velocity slider with some depth, occasionally gets under it for more of a curveball effect, some feel for a change up. Has athleticism behind the plate, receives the ball well out front with agile footwork, on top of his throws with easy plus arm strength. Right handed hitter, hits from a straight stance, uses his hands very well to generate bat speed, line drive swing plane, stays short for his size and gets good life off the barrel. Likely a pitcher future but is a legit catching prospect as well.

 

 PG -

 

Thatcher Hurd, RHP, FTB/SF Giants Scout Team

 

Hurd’s ascent this summer and fall have been well-documented, and he turned in a strong performance at WWBA to cap it. Hurd’s raw spin rate data is off the charts, and he checks starter trait boxes for his operation and command projection as well. He worked up to 93 mph/2700 rpm with the fastball and spun a slider up to 3300 rpm, the best of which were plus hammers. He’s got first round potential in the spring.

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