Connor Prielipp

Through the first seven starts of Prielipp’s Alabama career, he looked like a player who was a lock to be a top-10 draft pick, showing a mid-90s fastball from the left side and two overwhelming secondary offerings. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound southpaw posted a 0.96 ERA over those 28 innings of work, while striking out 47 batters (45.6 K%) and walking just 12 (11.7 BB%). Unfortunately, those would be all the games Prielipp threw before the 2022 draft, as Tommy John surgery cut his sophomore 2021 season short after his first three starts, leaving his draft status in flux and reliant on pre-draft bullpens. Prior to his injury, Prielipp pitched in the 91-93 mph range and touched 96, with a mid-80s slider that generated whiffs 50% of the time and a low-80s changeup that racked up plenty of whiffs as well, though his usage of the pitch was much less frequent than his fastball/slider combination. His slider is an extremely high-spin offering, and some scouts have called it a legitimate 70-grade offering. During a May bullpen, Prielipp showed solid stuff, though he wasn’t quite as crisp as his pre-injury self. He touched 93-94 in that session, snapping off a few good breaking balls in the 82-84 mph range and an 82-83 mph changeup. He showed solid control, but scattered command within the zone. On pure stuff, Prielipp stacks up with the most talented pitchers in the class, but with a very limited track record, Prielipp is still a bit of a draft wild card.