RHP 5-11 180
Aidan Maldonado (R)
5’11’’ 180
Illinois
A 5’11 180 right hander out of Illinois, Maldonado is a very low risk option for the early middle rounds that showcases the ideal approach angle. Featuring a very repeatable, simple, and stress free motion, Maldonado checks off many boxes mechanically. He gets a very tight spin on the breaking ball from 11/5, which has solid vertical movement, with a slight horizontal dip. His change is workable (flattens out a bit but still good enough action), with a quality low to mid 90s fastball; in other words, his stuff is good enough. Another example of a shorter arm with a very high efficiency rating and a solid spin axis, Maldonado could project out to the bottom of a big league rotation. His very tight and low approach angle is a plus, and it shows as he gets a lot of pop outs (while keeping the ball in the yard).
He is a solid pick for rounds 4–10 depending on how he improves over the next few months. Maldonado could probably still get some more out of his legs as well, as he has a relatively methodical lower half during delivery. His aforementioned curveball shows flashes of elite bite, though I would like to see larger variation in velocity between said breaking ball and his fastball. The difference is less than 10mph between his slowest offspeed and max fastball velocity (83 mph on curve and 92–93 on heater).
This lack of differentiation in velocity would not be as big of an issue for a pitcher throwing an upper 90s fastball, but for Maldonado I’d like to see the rpms on his changeup go down by 200–300 in order to give him the difference he needs to take an even further step. Coaches in the minors should be able to help him accomplish this, which is why I am not concerned in this regard.
The only other critique of note is not stuff related, but has to do with control. His strikeout to walk ratio is negative during his college career. This is obviously a red flag, though it has slowly improved year by year. In other words, it (K/BB Ratio) is a work in progress that should be followed closely heading into his 2021 season.
BCSNN -
Illinois pitcher Aidan Maldonado was ranked the No. 77 MLB Draft prospect for 2021 by Baseball America, the publication announced. Maldonado, who had a breakout summer in the Cape Cod League in 2019, was in Illinois' starting rotation before the season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maldonado had a 2-1 record and 3.20 ERA in 19 2/3 innings for the Cape League's Falmouth Commodores last summer. He ranked third on the Cape in strikeouts per nine innings (15.6) during the regular season, helping Falmouth reach the Cape semifinals. The hand-throwing right-hander was off to a 1-2 start with a 5.82 ERA for Illinois.
D1Baseball.com ranked Maldonado as the No. 11 right-hander overall in the Cape League and the No. 2 sophomore right-hander.
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