It is hard to find a more unorthodox pitching prospect than Tyler DeLoach, but his results speak for himself which is he found his way onto our top prospect countdown.
Tyler DeLoach
10 words or less: Big lefty with little stuff. Gets it done.
Position: SP Born: 4/12/1991
Bats: R Throws: L
Height: 6’6″ Weight: 240
2014 Rank: Unranked
2014 Season Stats
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PITCHING
Fastball – D+. Despite having the build of a pitcher that throws in the mid-90’s for 100 pitches a game, Tyler is a soft-tosser. I’m sure that if he amps up he could throw in the low-90’s with regularity, but he’d also lose what has made him so effective, his ability to spot his fastball. Thus we see an effortless, almost carefree approach. His fastball in Double-A Arkansas this season sat 86-88, but he hides the ball well and comes from a low-three quarters angle (reminiscent of Scott Downs) in a way that has to be killer for a LHB.
Off-speed Pitches – B+. DeLoach was able to deploy his slider with great effectiveness as a starter this year, but I think inevitably he’ll need to focus on using it versus LHB in the future. DeLoach also has a very good change up and he can throw in the strike zone, though I’ve seen him leave it elevated.
Control – C. DeLoach’s subpar heater forces him to live a bit dangerously on the corners and lowering and elevating his pitches constantly. As a result, we see the somewhat unsightly 4.0 BB/9. This isn’t as much a byproduct of his inability to command his pitches as much as it is his style and approach.
Command – B. Tyler actually has quite good command of all of his pitches. He’s no Greg Maddux, but he still has an idea of how to attack hitters and is fairly efficient at executing this plan. As infuriating as it is, he’s very similar to C.J. Wilson in that respect. He’ll choose to live off the plate until hitters stop swinging and force him to live on the corner.
Mechanics – B. If DeLoach was expected to remain in the rotation at the higher levels, I’d probably take exception to his mechanics. He throws from the stretch only, uses a fluid arm motion with no snap and doesn’t use his large frame as efficiently as he could. But I fully expect DeLoach to be a reliever, specifically a lefty specialist. And as a lefty specialist, I love his approach. The ball is basically coming in from behind a LHB, and Tyler even has a little hitch in his delivery that you can tell really throws off the timing of hitters.
OVERALL
Performance – A. You have to love what Tyler has done in his career and specifically this year. He’s a pitcher, not a thrower and because of that mentality, approach and ability, he’s able to find success in a role he isn’t necessarily suited for. Most importantly, he stayed healthy and was death on lefties.
Projection – D. What you see in DeLoach is exactly what you get. He may or may not throw harder when he transitions to relief. His off-speed offerings wont’ get a whole lot better, but it shouldn’t matter much. He’ll be a same-side specific reliever or maybe even a long-reliever. The difference is Tyler looks like he’s going to be awfully good at it.
Estimated Time of Arrival – 2017. I expect Tyler will spend the year as a starter in Double-A Arkansas this next year. Then in 2016 I think he’ll probably work in both starting and relief at the Triple-A level. The next year we’ll see him get some looks from the Angels and latch on from there.
Grade as a Prospect – C+. He’s big, left handed, just posted an ERA under 3.00 and is absolutely racking up the K’s. If it weren’t for his limited upside, DeLoach would be a “B” or an “A”. As it stands, he likely has a big league future and is a slightly above average prospect.
2014 in Review*
Man, Tyler DeLoach is weird. Between his fringy velocity, his nibbling tendencies, the almost sidearm arm slot and always pitching from the stretch, it is hard to buy into him as a starting pitcher. However, the results DeLoach gets continue to fly in the face of that physical evidence. Maybe it is because he is such a weird pitcher that his size, three-pitch mix and unique delivery allow him to miss a lot of bats and generate a ton of pop-ups. This was his first full season, one in which he jumped all the way to Double-A and his gimmick just continues to keep working.
It feels like it shouldn’t work though. Take a look at former Angel prospect Michael Roth, who had a similar profile. He had dominant stretches in the minors with similarly fringy velocity and command and also a lower arm slot. Roth broke into the majors but hit a wall at that level. The difference between Roth and DeLoach though is that DeLoach misses a lot more bats and, most importantly, has yet to show that he is particularly vulnerable to right-handed hitters. It feels like it should happen, but so far DeLoach hasn’t let it happen.
Looking Ahead*
DeLoach only got a taste of Double-A last season and survived, but he needs to spend significant amount of time there or in Salt Lake before we are going to know whether or not his results can continue to defy his profile. More than anything, his up-in-the-zone approach is going to be put to the test against these upper level hitters. We already saw his home run rate spike in his brief time in Arkansas, and that was at Dickey-Stephens Park. It might even behoove the Angels to throw DeLoach into the fire that is the altitude of Salt Lake just to see if he continue to succeed there. If he does, great, but if he doesn’t, it can help hasten DeLoach’s transition to the bullpen where he has a chance to be a factor with the big league club in a relatively short amount of time, especially it his velocity plays up in a relief role.
*As we do every year, the scouting reports and grades are provided by Scotty Allen while Garrett Wilson provides the 2014 in Review and Looking Ahead sections.
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