LHP Asa Lacy, Texas A&M
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DoB: 6/2/1999
2020 Stats: 3-0, 0.75 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 46/8 K/BB in 24 IP
First off, I have to start with a quick brag. In 2017, I put a star next to then-high schooler Asa Lacy's name in my draft list to denote him as a "favorite" compared to other players in the draft class. His ranking of #78 on my list might seem modest, but MLB Pipeline had him at #124 and Baseball America had him at #176, so I'm going to call that a big success for me. Of course, there were other players on that list marked as favorites that I'm less proud of, such as Alex Lange and Jordan Spicer, but I'd like to revel in this one.
Okay, now to talk about Lacy himself. There's a stereotype about big Texas pitchers, and Lacy fits it to a T. Hailing from the small Hill Country town of Kerrville, also home to Johnny Manziel, Lacy is listed at 6'4", 215 pounds and looks every bit of it. He significantly elevated his draft stock with a 2.13 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP, and a 130/43 strikeout to walk ratio against a tough SEC schedule as a sophomore in 2019, then looked even sharper through four starts in 2020 with a 0.75 ERA, a 0.71 WHIP, and a 46/8 strikeout to walk ratio across 24 innings against four pretty good lineups, as far as non-conference slates go. He struck out 14 against Army on February 21st and 13 against New Mexico State on March 6th, including likely top five pick Nick Gonzales.
There's no question about, well, most of Lacy's profile. He's an imposing presence on the mound not only due to his size, but due to his competitiveness and go-right-after-you style of pitching. Of course, he backs it up with excellent stuff, including a mid 90's fastball, a great curve, a slider, and a good changeup. He's not shy about challenging hitters with all of his pitches, and with the fastball and curveball especially being downright unfair when he locates and sequences them well. It's a true front-of-the-rotation four pitch mix, and with his competitiveness and big, durable frame, he has what it takes to become a big league ace.
There's one piece of Lacy's profile that doesn't get resounding plus grades from scouts, and that's command. He doesn't have the same impeccable history of strike throwing that other high-end college starters like Emerson Hancock and Reid Detmers possess, though fortunately, he's very much trending in the right direction. He dropped his walk rate from 20.2% in 2019 to 11.4% in 2020, and even if it would have jumped back up to around 14% or 15% once he started facing all those SEC lineups, he took a tangible step forward in that regard. Entering the season, the command looked slightly below average, though now it looks to be a bit above average and it makes him a fully complete profile.
The ultimate ceiling here is true ace, of course. Lacy has the best four pitch mix in amateur baseball, and it's all coming from a durable, 6'4" frame and a pitcher with all the intangibles needed for success. The command was originally the one slight qualm in Lacy's profile, but he's already making us forget that question and it gets 50 or even 55 grades from evaluators. Though he entered the season right behind Emerson Hancock, he's flipped the script and he's safely ahead now. As for a draft projection, I think he does have a slight shot at going first or second overall, but most of the industry sees him pretty locked in at #3 to the Marlins.
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