UPDATED RESEARCH - 2023 Draft Prospect - RHP - Grayson Smith

 

Grayson Smith 

RHP         McCallie HS (TN) 

 

9-13-22 - PBR FALL OPEN - OUTSTANDING PROSPECTS

https://www.prepbaseballreport.com/news/GA/PBR-Fall-Open---Outstanding-Prospects-9207483615?r=%2Fgeorgia%2Fnews-listings&s=03  

Grayson Smith, RHP, McCallie (TN), 2023, Scorpions MidSouth

Florida Commit. 6 foot 3, 190 pounds. This Rocky Face, GA native produced one of the most electric 1st innings I’ve seen all year. As I’ve talked about with the arms above, delivery is extremely important in the long term success of a pitcher. There’s no one right way to throw, there are many. Many would question the “healthiness” of Smith’s delivery. 

Here’s my question - is throwing a weighted baseball at over 90 mph healthy? No, but it’s very fun and a lot of fun to watch. I say Grayson’s pitching motion is one of the most efficient & explosive I’ve seen in 2022. Smith creates rapid lower half momentum with his hips going to the plate nearly as soon as he squares up. As the knee starts coming down, he coils his hips and torso to the backside which creates an unreal stretch as his stride starts to separate. 

The stride is long and aggressive & isolates like a rubber band from his deep stab overhand arm action that stretches below his hamstrings/glutes. This creates elite torque & slingshot action as lead leg blocks. Smith still checks all the boxes as far as pitching absolutes go. The upper body loads over the rubber & stays closed, he keeps balance, stays connected to his backside with slight bend, keeps pressure on his legs from start to finish, maintains good direction etc. 

This unorthodox delivery is one of my favorites in the country right now and resembles a pitcher called “The Freak” from San Francisco. So when we talk stuff, it’s no surprise that this Florida commit has one of the nastiest arsenals in the country. His FB sat in the 91-92 range for 3 innings with one of the best ride+run combos I’ve been privileged to scout this year. 

The pitch violently hisses toward the handle of RHH’s bats just daring them to swing. Surprisingly they do, and seldom make contact. The special life on his FB only makes his 77-79 power SLV that much better. It comes from an identical slot as his FB and has some of the most sudden sweep I’ve seen all year coupled with wipeout depth at its best. 

As you see in the video below, his 1st SLV was a plus pitch to MLB standards. If he can be looser in the fingers & wrist at the bottom of his arm action, the ceiling on his velo is endless.

All the 2023 Draft Prospects in the Mack’s Mets database can be viewed by going to www.macksmets.blogspot.com and clicking on 2023 DRAFT PROSPECT DATABASE found on the top, left of the front page of the site.