Mack's Mock Pick - #39 - LHP - Andrew Abbott

 

Andrew Abbott

 

LHP      6-0      175     Virginia

Mack's spin - 

Abbott and his teammate, Mike Vasil, has pitched their team into the College World Series this weekend.

Did you check out the strikeouts vs. the innings pitched?

Only question I have is his height. Also, needs to work on secondary pitches.

I have him as a middle rotation starter with a 9K/9IP ratio.

  

2020 Virginia stat line - 9-appearances, 3-0, 1.35, 13.1-IP, 28-K

 

2021 stat line - 18-G, 16-ST, 8-6, 3.04, 100.2-IP, 152-K

  

6-11-21 - mlb - Draft prospects to watch in Super Regionals -

 

Andrew Abbott, LHP (No. 71) -- Once thought to be a sure-fire reliever in the future, Abbott has given teams reason to at least offer him the chance to start by anchoring Virginia’s rotation and posting an eye-popping 144/29 K/BB ratio in 95 2/3 innings.

  

3-30-21 - Prospects Worldwide -

 

161. LHP Andrew Abbott | School: Virginia | B / T: L / L | Ht: 6’0 | Wt: 175lbs | Age: 22.1

 

Control has seemed to take the next step and elevated his entire game. Has shown more swing and miss abilities in and out of the zone with the Curveball with plus spin rates, which is his best pitch, grading out as an Above-average offering. His Fastball works 91-94 with natural arm side run due to a low 3/4 arm slot. A Below-average Changeup which needs more usage and development. Abbott misses a ton of bats in college, likely see less of that at the next level, but should still be over 1K per inning. Mid-back end rotation upside.

  

3-8-21 - Baseball News - Top Players Week 3 -

 

LHP Andrew Abbott, Virginia: Abbott struck out 14 Florida St. batters in 5 2/3 innings and only allowed 2 hits and 1 earned run. During the game, won by Florida St., 2-0, pitchers for both teams combined to strike out 29 total batters. Three Virginia pitchers struck out 18 Seminole hitters while Florida St. pitcher Parker Messick fanned 11 Virginia batters.

 

 3-5-21 - Ian Smith @FlaSmitty

 

Another Friday guy with a career high in Ks.

 

Virginia LHP Andrew Abbott with 14 K in 5.2 IP tonight. FB up to 95, paired well with a filthy low 80s CB. Lacked feel of the CH, and ovr. command wavered at times with 4 walks but lots of swing and miss.

 

 2-25-21 - Joe Doyle  @JoeDoyleMiLB

 

Pretty good pitching matchup in Chapel Hill today. Virginia LHP Andrew Abbott takes on UNC RHP Austin Love.

 

Love was up to 95 in the first. Abbott sitting 92-93 flashing a sweeping breaking ball and and changeup 86-87. Both guys are serious MLB Draft names to know

 

 2-22-21 - BA - Stock Watch -

 

Andrew Abbott, LHP, Virginia (No. 119)

 

5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K (93 pitches)

 

Abbott is transitioning to a full-time starting role for the Cavaliers after being a reliable bullpen arm from 2018-2020. His first start went well, as the slight-framed lefthander whiffed nine batters and worked around two hits and a walk to shutout a resilient Connecticut offense over 5.2 innings. The outing marked career highs for Abbott in innings, strikeouts and pitches. His fastball was his best pitch in this outing. While it didn’t have a ton of movement, there’s sneaky zip on his heater, and it played well above the zone—where he got a good number of whiffs. He paired the fastball with a 1-to-7 curveball that occasionally showed two-plane biting action, but also hung up and looked like more of a show-me pitch. Abbott did show good feel to land both of his offerings for strikes, but it was more of a control-over-command performance. It will be interesting to see if Abbott develops feel for a changeup that he flashed but didn’t use frequently in this outing.

 

 1-20-21 - D1 Baseball's top 100 College Prospects -

 

55 Andrew Abbott LHP Virginia ACC

 

 1-15-21 - ncaa.com -

 

In the two fall scrimmages I saw at Disharoon Park at Davenport Field, Virginia’s four talented weekend starter candidates went head-to-head on back-to-back days. Notably, fourth-year junior left-hander Andrew Abbott has worked as a starter all fall, after serving as the linchpin of the bullpen over the last three seasons. And he was dominant in the three scoreless innings I saw, striking out three while allowing just one baserunner. Abbott carved up the zone at 91-93 and showcased his typical wipeout curveball at 75-79 with a high spin rate in the 2700-2900 rpm range, one of the best breaking balls in college baseball. He also mixed in a firm but effective changeup at 85-87, giving him a solid third offering to combat righties. Abbott ranked No. 64 on our Top 150 college prospects list for the 2020 draft, and we expected some pro team would surely take him in the top five rounds and sign him — so did the Cavaliers. But the buzz among scouts is that Abbott stuck firm to his high asking price, and he went undrafted, giving UVA its biggest mound weapon for another year. As good as he’s been in the bullpen, Abbott changes the dynamics of Virginia’s staff by sliding into the rotation and potentially eating up 100-plus innings; his career high for innings as a reliever was 51. He has the best combination of stuff, command and experience on this staff, so it makes sense to maximize his workload.

 

 1-14-21  -  Baseball America

 

Andrew Abbott

 

Virginia LHP

 

Ht: 6-0 | Wt: 175 | B-T: L-L

Commit/Drafted: Yankees '17 (36)

Age At Draft: 22.1

 

A small-framed, 6 feet, 175-pound lefthander, Abbott has been a consistent weapon for Virginia’s bullpen since he stepped on campus. After adding nine relief appearances in the shortened 2020 season, Abbott has a 3.24 career ERA for the Cavaliers in 108.1 innings of work, with 165 strikeouts (13.7 per nine) and 49 walks (4.1 per nine). He has also excelled as a reliever with Team USA and posted a 2.70 ERA in 26.2 innings in the Cape Cod League over two summers. Simply put, Abbott has done his job at a high level wherever he’s been. He can run his fastball into the 94-95 mph range, but sits in the 89-93 range typically, with a breaking ball in the mid-to-upper 70s that features solid depth. A competitive arm on the mound, Abbott has faced questions about his size and the durability issues that may come from that, but there aren’t many relievers in the class with as much extensive track record as he’s compiled throughout his career.

  

virginia sports 

 

2021

 

• Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Third Team Preseason All-American (Relief Pitcher)

• Perfect Game Second Team Preseason All-American (Relief Pitcher)

 

2020

 

• Ranked No. 7 in D1Baseball.com’s Top 50 relief pitchers in college baseball

• Appeared in nine games, all out of the bullpen, the second most on the staff

• His 1.35 ERA was the lowest among UVA relievers and fifth lowest among ACC relievers with 10 or more innings pitched

• Struck out 28 batters (the most among any ACC reliever) in 13.1 innings pitched

• Recorded team-high three wins against VMI (2/19), William & Mary (2/25) and Dartmouth (3/1)

• Pitched a season-high 3.1 innings pitched and struck out a career-high eight batters in win over William & Mary (2/25)

• Did not allow an earned run in his first 10 innings pitched allowed only two in 13.1 innings pitched on the year

• Credited with a team-best three bullpen holds – vs. Oklahoma (2/14), Dartmouth (2/29) and NC State (3/6)

 

 lwos -

 

MLB Comp

 

Andrew Abbott is a tricky player to comp. There are not many active left-handed relief pitchers that are undersized like he is and thrive with two pitches. However, that does not mean that there aren’t pitchers to compare him to.

 

Ranger Suarez of the Philadelphia Phillies is one undersized left-handed reliever. He stands six-feet, one-inch tall and he weighs 180 pounds. He utilizes a much different pitch mix than Abbott, but he is able to find success despite his size, and he posted a 3.14 ERA in 2019.

 

Jalen Beeks of the Tampa Bay Rays is another undersized left-handed reliever. He stands five-feet, eleven inches tall and weighs 200 pounds. Beeks uses a fastball, curveball combo, but his changeup is more prominently used than his curveball.

 

Andrew Abbott will be a good pickup for any team, especially one that wants a quicker return on their investment.

Mack's Previous reports on Andrew Abbott: 1/17/2021; 1/30/2021; 4/4/2021; 

Click here for the full list of Mack's MLB Draft Scouting Reports.