Ryan Pepiot

On the right day, Pepiot is a strike-thrower in complete command. But Pepiot also struggles with timing issues in his delivery at times and when that happens, his outings can go south quickly. Pepiot had a four-start stretch earlier this year when he struck out 39 and walked only one. He’d topped double digits in strikeouts five times by early May and ranked among the top 10 in Division I in strikeouts. But he followed that excellent stretch by walking seven in only 3.2 innings in his next start. A few starts later, he again walked seven while also hitting two batters. There is a minor head whack in Pepiot’s delivery, but he has long enough stretches of solid control to project that he may one day sort out his stretches of wildness with additional innings and maturity. Pepiot is a big-bodied righthander who can attack hitters with a 91-93 mph fastball that touches 95-96 mph. His changeup is a plus pitch as well, but one that multiple evaluators mentioned he relies on too often. It might actually be a little more effective in pro ball if he begins to use it a little more sparingly and uses his fringe-average, 80-82 mph slider and fringe-average, mid-70s curveball more often. Both will flash average or better as Pepiot shows a feel for spin, but he doesn’t use them all that much. That’s due, in part, because he doesn’t consistently locate them. Pepiot will likely go out in pro ball as a starter, but he has a solid fallback option as a power reliever with enough fastball, an ability to spin a breaking ball and a plus changeup.