RHP Markevian Hence, Watson Chapel HS [AR]
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DoB: 8/6/2002. Commitment: Arkansas.
In 1993, the city of Pine Bluff, Arkansas produced an exceptional talent in young outfielder Torii Hunter, who eschewed a commitment to Arkansas to sign with the Twins at 20th overall. 27 years later, while he won't go as high in the draft, fellow Arkansas signee Markevian Hence has a chance to follow in his footsteps and become a big league star. One of the younger players available in this class, Hence is an exciting arm with plenty of upside to tap into.
He's a bit smaller at 6'1" and with a skinny frame, but he packs a lot of punch. His fastball sits in the low 90's, but he can get into the mid 90's at times as well and there seems to be more velocity in the tank. He has great feel to spin the ball, showing both a slider and a curveball with nice bite. Both need work, but he can really snap off some good ones and both could be plus pitches. He also has a changeup, though like most high schoolers, it's an average pitch and could develop in any number of ways.
Hence throws strikes, but perhaps his most attractive asset is his quick, loose right arm. Undersized right handers often elicit a lot of reliever labels, but that natural athleticism makes him seem more like a potential Max Meyer-type of impact starter than a short reliever. Of course, he lacks Meyer's plus-plus slider, but he spins the ball well enough to project a strength in that area regardless. In that sense, he brings a lot of risk factors, but you can make a lot of valid excuses as to why those risk factors aren't as big of a deal as they seem. As a major plus, Hence won't turn 18 until August, making him very young for his class.
Hence looks like an impact starter if he can hold up under a full season's workload and refine that secondary stuff just a little bit, at least the latter of which he is clearly capable of. If he's signable away from Arkansas, which is reeling in an excellent recruiting class this year, he could just scrape that second comp round as his ceiling but more likely fits in round three or four. Personally, I look at him and then look over to Max Meyer and get excited about his future.
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