LHP Matthew Liberatore (Mountain Ridge HS, AZ): 6'5", 200 lbs, born 11/6/1999
Overview
Fastball: 55. Curveball: 55. Slider: 55. Changeup: 60. Control: 60.
My personal favorite in this year's high school class, as of mid May, is Matthew Liberatore, who reminds me a lot of Clayton Kershaw. Liberatore is a tall, skinny left hander who is more about polish than power, throwing an array of quality pitches and commanding them well. He has hung around the top of the draft all spring, and he will likely go in the top ten picks with a good shot at the top five, though high school pitchers can be unpredictable.
Strengths
Liberatore is as polished as they come in high school. He has enough fastball velocity to get by, throwing in the low 90's, even touching 97 at some points, and he can locate that fastball around the zone with ease. His curveball has very good depth on it, and while it doesn't have too much power at the moment, its high spin rate makes it a very promising pitch. The slider is new this year, showing good bite and offering a different look from his curve. The changeup also has very good diving action, giving him four quality pitches, and with his command, everything plays up. His delivery looked like it would need to be cleaned up once he was in pro ball, but it looks cleaner this year already, showing that he is trending in the right direction.
Weaknesses
When teams are going to bypass high-upside flamethrowers for polished strike throwers like Liberatore, they look for consistency, and while Liberatore hasn't been too inconsistent, his stuff has ticked up and down a little bit this spring. He came out of the gate throwing mid 90's this spring, but has settled back into his usual low 90's as the season progressed, and his stuff has looked plus at times while looking more ordinary at others. That said, he is just 18, so you can't expect him to be perfect.
Clayton Kershaw Comparison
Kershaw and Liberatore share a striking number of similarities. Both are tall, skinny left handers with balanced skillsets that don't rely on any one pitch or skill to much. Both throw in the low 90's, and they're offspeed arsenals are identical. Kershaw's curve has more power, but Liberatore's drops nearly as much and has a similar shape, and both have short but effective sliders. Lastly, they both know how to use a changeup, and both can command their pitches around the zone. They also have similar deliveries, using a sizable leg kick before dropping and driving to the plate while dropping the ball down behind their back knee. Liberatore doesn't have the pause, but that is nit picking. I obviously don't think Liberatore will be quite the sure-fire Hall of Famer that Kershaw is, but they are extremely similar pitchers.
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