LHP Jake Eder, Vanderbilt
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DoB: 10/9/1998.
2020 Stats: 1-1, 3.60 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 27/9 K/BB in 20 IP.
Jake Eder has been a well-known name for a while now, one that scouts have been waiting to see put it together for a while now. He was considered a second round talent out of high school in South Florida back in 2017 and ranked 59th in my draft rankings that year, and not much has changed about his profile since. After an up and down freshman season, he put together a 2.97 ERA and a 41/16 strikeout to walk ratio as a sophomore reliever in 2019, then found similar success in the elite Cape Cod League over the summer (2.29 ERA, 24/6 K/BB). He was a full time starter in 2020, but the results were just decent; he allowed exactly two earned runs in each of his four starts and finished with a 3.60 ERA and a 27/9 strikeout to walk ratio in 20 innings.
Eder is a 6'4" lefty with velocity and a good breaking ball – already, that's enough to get scouts interested. However, literally everything is inconsistent. At his best, his fastball can scrape the upper 90's while sitting in the mid 90's, though there are days where he dips below 90 and tops out around 92. The curveball looks like a legitimate plus pitch at times, combining power, depth, and angle into a devastating strikeout pitch at its best. However, it tends to flatten out at times and can be especially vulnerable to hard contact when he hangs it. His changeup is also behind that of most draftable college starters, but that's more due to a lack of usage than a lack of feel.
His command is similarly inconsistent to his fastball and curveball. At his best, he can look average in that regard and that helped him have success on the Cape, but there are days where he loses the zone and hangs pitches up to get crushed. He sometimes struggles to keep his long arms in check and repeat his delivery. The tools for success are absolutely there, because at his best, he looks like a first round arm with mid 90's velocity, a plus curve, and decent command from the left side. But I am a bit concerned by the fact that Vanderbilt, which is among the best in the country at developing pitchers, hasn't been able to clean him up.
College lefties tend to do well on draft day, especially when they can hit 97 and drop in a wicked curve. Though Vanderbilt hasn't quite been able to help him pull everything together on a consistent basis, pro coaching could unlock that and get first round value outside of the first round. If he does find a way to perform at his peak more often than not, as well as develop a changeup, he could be a mid-rotation starter. If not, the fastball/curveball combination will fit well in the bullpen. He probably comes off the board somewhere in the second to third round range.
2020 start vs Southern California (home plate view)
2020 start vs Illinois-Chicago (CF view)
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