Joe Boyle

Boyle’s pure stuff is as good as any pitcher in the 2020 draft class. His fastball sits in the 96-99 mph range and has touched 102 mph, while his breaking ball has received plus-plus grades from scouts at its best. Boyle throws his power stuff with shocking ease and resembles an NBA player on the mound at 6-foot-7, 240 pounds. What holds Boyle back is his poor control. He walked 48 batters in 36 innings over three years at Notre Dame, with 10 wild pitches and five hit batters to boot. Scouts have noted his delivery and arm action aren’t nearly as bad as the quality of his strikes. Depending on a team's point of view, that's either a good thing or a bad thing that there are no obvious mechanical flaws to fix. When he throws stikes, Boyle overwhelms his competition with tons of whiffs on his fastball up and breaking ball down. He will often spike his breaking ball in the dirt, but batters still swing at it. Those flashes of dominance still make him a desired draft prospect, even with his horrid control. A team with multiple picks could more easily take on the risk of drafting Boyle in the early rounds. If not, he is in the mix to be selected near other top relievers in the third-to-fourth-round range.