RHP Nick Frasso, Loyola Marymount
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DoB: 10/18/1998.
2020 Stats: 0-1, 4.15 ERA, 1.73 WHIP, 11/3 K/BB in 8.2 IP.
Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles produced just one top 100 pick from 2001-2019, when Cory Abbott went 67th overall to the Cubs in 2017, but Nick Frasso could be the next. Bringing an interesting combination of upside and present ability, Frasso has a strong track record at LMU, with a 2.80 ERA and a 158/37 strikeout to walk ratio over 125.1 innings. He had a chance to pitch his way into the first round this spring, but he lasted just 8.2 innings before forearm problems shut him down. If Frasso had worked his way back and proven he was healthy, he could have still gone in the first fifty or so picks with good performance, but unfortunately he never got the chance.
Frasso is a lanky kid at 6'5" and just 190 pounds, but he's a great athlete and very coordinated for his size. His fastball is in the low to mid 90's, and it plays up because his long arms help him get great extension towards the plate and because his funky delivery puts a lot of ride on the ball. While quite a few pitchers in this class can run their fastballs up to 97 like Frasso can, not many can match the velocity combined with the deception he puts on it. The rest of his arsenal is fairly fringy and will need development. He has a solid slider that can tunnel well off his fastball, though it's an average pitch for now. The changeup is behind both of those two, and it will need to be developed if he wants to start in pro ball.
Frasso fills up the strike zone and hits his spots consistently. That command is key, because it enables him to make his secondary pitches play up off his fastball, though it won't be enough on its own to keep him in the rotation. He'll need to sharpen up that slider and develop that changeup, but if he can, that's an impact starting pitcher. The forearm problems are a bit scary, because they often lead to Tommy John surgery, and he has yet to prove he is durable enough for the rotation. There is a lot of funk in his delivery, but he's athletic and repeats it well, so only a little bit of smoothing out here and there might be all he needs.
There is a wide range of outcomes here, anywhere from an impact starting pitcher to a funky long reliever. The injury clouds his draft status a little, so he probably fits somewhere in rounds three through five if he's signable, but he could provide a ton of value at that point in the draft if he bounces back healthy. I was really excited to see what he could do before the injury and the shutdown, and I remain optimistic on this one.
2020 start vs Washington
2019 start vs Baylor
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