FanPost

Two More Pitchers the Tigers Could Draft 9th Overall

Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

I know you guys here on Bless You Boys are getting a little sick of my constant jabber about prospects and draft targets and whatnot, but this is how I prevent myself from losing my mind completely and banging my head on the wall repeatedly before refreshing the BYB homepage only to find that there are no new comments, and repeat.

I'll be honest with you -- the other day I got so bored I watched some of Yu Darvish's near perfect game from 2013. Writing this is clearly the preferred method of filling my burning desire for baseball, especially around six or seven when the site gets reeeeeeal quiet.

You know the phrase "beating a dead horse"? Well, to discuss how poor last season was and why that happened would be beating a horse long dead. We all know. Because of that terrible season, the Tigers get the ninth overall pick in the June draft.

In my first post in this sequence, I showcased high school pitcher Jason Groome and Oklahoma State pitcher Alec Hansen (my favorite draft-eligible player, by the way). Then in the second installment, I expounded the virtues of two batters, the glove-first shortstop Delvin Perez and the slugging outfielder William Benson. This time, I asked staff writer Brandon Day to please pick the guys I run down, and he humored me, selecting a pair of flamethrowing righties, Jordan Sheffield and Riley Pint.

Jordan Sheffield - RHP

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Shelly Mays - The Tennessean

Jordan Sheffield is a hard-throwing, right-handed, Tasmanian Devil of a pitcher. His raw stuff is amazing. He's got a fastball that sits in the 94-96 mph range and he can crank up to 98. He's got a breaking ball that isn't quite a slider, but is an effective out pitch anyways. He's got a circle-change which induces swing-and-miss strikes. He may be a touch undersized, but he has the athleticism to start long-term. He's confident, but not cocky. He even likes taco salad, for goodness sake! Other than occasional control issues, there is no fault found in him.

When he's healthy.

When he's not, well, that's a different story. In 2013, he had Tommy John surgery. When he got back on the mound, he threw as fast as ever, and promptly walked sixteen in three abbreviated starts. That's worse than even the most abysmal of Shane Greene's outings! Control is a major concern for Sheffield, even though he is almost a year separated from that truly lackluster performance.

Most of this past year, he has been pitching well out of the bullpen in limited innings, plus the occasional start.

Best case, not only does he get back to starting, but he also is able to develop his slider(ish) and circle change into devastating weapons to perfectly complement his burning fastball. Worst case, he never fully recovers from elbow surgery, and because of his size and his tendency to overthrow his pitches, he ends up an oft-injured reliever.

So, let's end on a positive note:

[Sheffield] has had to be very patient through the process of arm rehabilitation, but he has worked his way back and now gives himself the opportunity to help us. He has a special arm and is very athletic. Jordan certainly has a bright future ahead of him.

- Coach Corbin of Vanderbilt Baseball Organization

Overview: Good offspeed stuff, great fastball, Tommy John patient already, typical low-floor/high-ceiling player

MLB Comparison: I racked my brain and couldn't think of anything, if you guys do, let me know in the comments.

Riley Pint - RHP

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Shotgun Spratling - D1Baseball

Trivia Time! Today's question: Who was the last right-handed pitcher taken out of high school with the first overall pick in the draft? Answer: No answer! That's right, no high school right-handed pitcher has ever been picked first overall. Why? Is it because of unpredictability? Righties being a dime a dozen? Volatility of pitchers in general? I can't say why for sure, and I'm sure no one really does, but it's a fact.

Pint is the most recent of the various athletes to make a run at being the first, and is also the best pitching prospect to come out of Kansas since (yes, it's ironic on several levels, I know) righty Mike Pelfrey, who was also one of the more recent to make a solid run at the first overall pick, and ended up being drafted ninth.

Pint has one of the leading (if not the best) fastballs in the draft, consistently reaching the 90's, touching 98 mph, and holding it's velocity deep into starts. He has lots of room to add muscle and may be able to hit that number more often.

He also boasts two good offspeed pitches - a changeup and a knuckle-curve. The changeup ranges from 80 to 85 mph and displays good fade. The knuckle-curve is a rarer pitch, and it is one he learned as a 10-year-old from the catcher on his elementary school travel team. The pitch (along with a variant called a spike curveball) is becoming more and more popular, though, because it can add up to 2.5 mph to the pitcher's normal curveball. His is thrown at 79-82 mph.

His third offspeed is a slurvy slider, but has high potential and could be even better than his curve. It is thrown harder than his curve, and has good bite, but is more like a curveball than a true slider.

Cooper Johnson, a catcher who spent 13 innings with Riley Pint at the Midwest Scouts Association draft prospect workout in late July had this to say about Pint:

Riley’s a hell of a pitcher. His stuff’s electric . . . His (fastball), obviously, he’s got a lot of velo, and the ball moves two or three inches late in the zone. That definitely makes it tough, and he can run it up to 97, 98... He gets up there for sure. Slider’s good at times when he throws it, sometimes he’ll let up, and it’ll hang a little bit. But when he throws it, it’s good. He definitely has good presence, a lot of confidence on the mound. He gets up there and he’s a competitor, so I had a lot of fun catching him.

The only concern with Pint is that he has some trouble repeating his delivery mechanics and sometimes struggles to lock into an arm slot. There is some effort in his delivery, so that leads to future concerns about his elbow.

Overview: Electric stuff, high potential, some injury risk

MLB Comparison: Jose Fernandez, Noah Syndergaard, Justin Verlander

*MLB Comparison is best case scenario. These players may not end up being as good as these comparisons, but it is what they could become.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the <em>Bless You Boys</em> writing staff.