In 10 words or fewer: Prep arm comes with polish and intrigue.
Position: SP | Age (2016): 19
Throws: R | Bats: R
Height: 6’0″ | Weight: 175
2015 Rank: Unranked
Fastball – B. Pastrone’s fastball typically hovers around 92 mph, but he’s added a couple ticks just in the last year alone of maturity, adjustment and refinement. It’s possible with professional instruction He could start hitting 94-95 with regularity. For now he has a slightly above average fastball because of the velocity and the way in which he hides the ball behind his body.
Off-speed Pitches – C-. As far as I could tell, his breaking ball showed a TON of promise. In the outing I watched, he couldn’t get it over for a strike, but it did have a lot of break and a fair amount of velocity despite it being of the more overhand variety which tend to be slower (i.e. Skaggs’ curve ball). The change up looks like a show me offering so far.
Control – B. Sam was able to stay in the strike zone pretty consistently for a prep arm as evidenced by his miniscule 2.8 BB/9. His delivery and issues that I observed made in entirely likely this will continue to be a strength of his.
Command – B. The command seemed a bit spotty at times, and at others, literally pin point. It’s difficult to settle on just one grade given the disparity of results, but over a larger period of observation, it appears Pastrone should be pretty solid with spotting his pitches.
Mechanics – A. I LOVE Sam’s delivery. It looks exactly like what a pitcher of smaller stature should be striving for. He has a higher leg kick and exaggerated drop, which results in his ball hand outstretched toward the mound and his glove hand pointing in the sky. This motion offers him a lot of momentum, which in turn provides not only deception, but velocity of done properly. It’s fairly reminiscent of former Angel Tyler Chatwood’s delivery and more of a toned down version of what Tim Lincecum and Trevor Bauer do. Pastrone does have some bouts of inconsistency though. At times his release point leaves him but the more concerning of the two is that at times he comes across his body and badly misses the strike zone. This happened almost every start, and is something that the coaches and scouts will almost certainly work with him on.
Performance – A. It really couldn’t have gone much better. Coming out of a very competitive Las Vegas high school circuit, Pastrone seemed more than prepared to face the best teens from across the world in Arizona. After being picked in the 17th round by the Angels, he went on to post a 3.26 ERA across 10 starts while limiting walks and hits and collecting a fair amount of strikeouts. Everything about this performance indicates it’s legitimate and without regression, there’d be little reason for him to repeat. Pastrone did all that was asked of him and more.
Projection – C. Because of a lack of a change up, big fastball or size, Pastrone’s ceiling isn’t as high as many prep pitchers. But with the further addition of strength, developing his change up and refining his mechanics, Pastrone really could turn into a solid prospect. Right now, he profiles as a back of the rotation starter or middle reliever.
Estimated Time of Arrival – 2020. Baring injury, Sam looks like he has the stuff and upside to made a steady climb up the minor league ladder. If he does so, expect him to be in the majors around his 23rd or 24th birthday.
What to expect in 2016 – I think we’ll see Pastrone jump into the Pioneer League in Orem this year. Although, with his impressive Summer performance, if Pastrone impresses in camp next Spring, we could very well see him in A Ball as a 19 year old. But the more likely outcome is a second year in Rookie Ball in Orem where he’d be facing off against predominantly collegiate hitters.
Most Likely Scenario – Sam will add another mph or so to where he’s consistently hitting 93-94 and will go as far as he can without a discernable change up. Once in the high minors, we’ll see him used as a starter and reliever. Whichever he takes to better will dictate his future.
Grade as a Prospect – C. Great first showing, but the lack of upside has left him largely unnoticed. If he wants to garner recognition, he could either skip Orem, or dominate in such a hitter-friendly league. Then people would start following him a little more closely.
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