One aspect of the MLB Draft League that sets itself apart from other summer baseball leagues is its access and utilization of data capture. Each ballpark is equipped to capture live, in-game metrics and video to help further develop and scout the league’s prospects ahead of the MLB Draft.
Working with each team’s Data Coordinators, every week we’ll share a select group of players, or “Data Darlings”, who throughout the week and season have set themselves apart from the league, their trends and how it has impacted their summers.
Roman Harrison, Aberdeen: The southpaw has had a solid stretch out of the bullpen for the IronBirds. In the past 10 innings, Harrison has struck out eight without allowing a run, using a sinker/slider combination. Over the 10-inning span, his sinker has varied in velocity, sitting in the 88-92 mph range, peaking at 94.1 mph. He spins it around 2,100 to under 2,400 and carries consistently 8-to-13 inches of induced vertical break. Horizontally, Harrison has achieved up to 21.3 inches of arm-side movement, typically ranging from 14-to-19 inches. The slider slows down to 78 mph with 2,024 rpm of spin. He averages 5.1” IVB with a half foot of glove-side movement. The secondary has been located well by Harrison with a zone rate of 59.5%.
Alex Kanipe, Mahoning Valley: Through five games, four of them starts, Kanipe has been the qualified leader in the second half with an ERA of 1.15 and ranks 10th with a 1.09 WHIP. He uses four pitches that have combined for a 26.2% chase rate and earning strikes 65.4% of the time and keeping the ball on the ground at a 58.8% clip. He leads with a cutter that sits in the mid-80s with 2,100-2,200 rpm. He has achieved strong IVB with 12.9 inches on average and keeps the horizontal movement tight with around two inches of glove-side movement. He also utilizes a fastball that has sat 90-91 mph with a max velocity of 92.5 mph and spins it around 2,000 rpm. Similar to the cutter, Kanipe keeps the horizontal break tight with around five inches of arm-side movement and has a bit more induced vertical break from 14-to-17 inches. As a breaking pitch, he throws a slider that sits in the mid-70s with around 10 inches of IVB and over half a foot of horizontal break to the glove-side. He rounds out his attack with a split-changeup that spins in the 700 rpm range with around no inches of IVB and around a foot of horizontal arm-side break.
Patrick Morris, State College: The second half saves leader (5) has struck out a gaudy 28 batters over 16 1/3 innings, led by a 39% whiff rate and 37.3% shadow rate on his fastball. The 6-foot-2, 203-pound left-hander averages 91.6 mph on his fastball, has been up to 94 mph and creates 15.5 inches of IVB and -10 inches of horizontal break. Throwing it over 60% of the time, it generates whiffs in zone at a 36% rate and gets chased 34% of the time. The slider at 81.4 mph, 2,397 rpm spin, 1.7 inches of IVB and 8.7 inches of horizontal break is the putaway pitch to left-handers, using it 29.4% of the time against them. The slider has a 62.5% whiff rate on lefties, as well as a 42.9% chase rate and 80% putaway rate. Morris rounds out his arsenal with a changeup, mostly to right-handed hitters, sitting at 87.2 mph, 1,766 rpm and -12.0 inches of horizontal movement. The fastball and slider combination are the two weapons and he deploys them over 85% of the time, helping him generate whiffs and lock things down over the final innings for the Spikes.
Justin Gay, Trenton: The right-hander out of the University of Richmond has held off hitters through his first 11 appearances, striking out 17 over 16 2/3 innings with a 1.08 WHIP and 3.24 ERA. The Thunder reliever leads with the fastball, throwing it over 64% of the time and it averages 91.9 mph and has been up to 95.3 mph. The pitch creates ride and run, averaging 17.5 inches of IVB and 16 inches of horizontal break. He throws it for strikes 74.9% of the time, on the edges 35.9% of the time and it has a whiff rate of 30.4% and chase rate of 30.8%. The changeup at 80.9 mph and 1,620 rpm is the putaway pitch to left handers, throwing it 31.1% of the time and generating whiffs at a 60% clip. The changeup creates heavy horizontal fade, averaging 15.8 inches of horizontal break. He uses the curveball to get the right handers, deploying it 26.3% of the time against them. It comes in at 78.4 mph at 2,092 rpm with -3.6 inches of IVB and -9.4 inches of horizontal break. While it doesn’t generate the whiff rates of the changeup, it creates ground balls at a high clip of 72.7% and gets hit at 95+ mph just 9.1% of the time. The overall arsenal generates 55.6% ground balls and 31% whiffs, creating a good mix of swing and miss, combined with weak contact.
Zack Thompson, West Virginia: To say Thompson has dominated August would be an understatement as the catcher has hit in 10 of 13 games, nine being multi-hit nights and seven consisting of three hits. He even capped off his three-hit night on Thursday, Aug. 13 with a walk-off grand slam that travelled 361 feet with an exit velocity of 99.2 mph. The production has consisted of four home runs, five doubles and 20 RBIs and resulted in a wOBA of .543, outperforming his xwOBA of .399. The month has seen Thomspon become a bit of a free-swinger (58.6%) but has resulted in strong contact with a 33.3% hard-hit rate, an average exit velocity of 86.9 mph and a barrel rate of 20%. The catcher has been able to optimize his swings and put the ball in the air as well with a 28.9% line drive rate and an average launch angle of 16.2°.
Josh Willitts, Williamsport: Coming off his second Pitcher of the Week award in the second half, Willitts has allowed just one run over his 13 innings and two starts this month. The right-hander leads with his high-spin sinker, averaging 91.3 mph, has been up to 95.5 mph and averages 2,402 rpm spin. The heavy horizontal shape at 16.6” horizontal break and 7.8” of IVB helps generate ground balls 62% of the time with an average exit velocity of 86.8 mph and lives on the edges with a shadow rate of 42.9%. The slider leads his secondary stuff but there’s also feel for a curveball and changeup. The slider at 83.3 mph and 2,543 rpm is his best whiff pitch, generating swing throughs 36.4% of the time and puts hitters away with it 31% of the time. The changeup at 84.5 mph and 1,933 rpm is the main secondary offering to lefties and averages 14.6 inches of horizontal break. Willitts rounds out his arsenal with a curveball that’s utilized 10% of the time and it sits at 81.1 mph, 2,356 rpm, -3.0 inches of IVB and -12.4 inches of horizontal break. The pitch generates chases and whiffs with a chase rate of 34.2% and whiff rate of 33.3%. The four quality pitches have helped him dominate the second half with a 3-0 record, 1.34 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and .172 batting average against.
For more information about the MLB Draft League, visit mlbdraftleague.com or follow @mlbdraftleague and @draftleaguedata on X, and @mlbdraftleague on Instagram.
