- Full name Justice De Jong
- Born 07/21/2007 in
- Profile Ht.: 6'3" / Wt.: 210 / Bats: R / Throws: R
Top Rankings
Draft Prospects
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School: Poly Prep Country Day HS, Brooklyn, N.Y. Drafted/Committed: Uncommitted
Age At Draft: 18.0
BA Grade: 50/Extreme
De Jong is a talented high school two-way player who’s young for the class and has more upside as a pitcher at the next level. He’ll be 17 on draft day and only turns 18 a few days after the draft. De Jong has a filled-out frame at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds and throws with an athletic delivery and three-quarters slot. He’s a polished strike-thrower with a good track record of throwing strikes and advanced pitchability for a high school pitcher. De Jong sits in the 89-92 mph range and has pushed his fastball up to 95 mph, though during his senior spring his velocity was inconsistent from outing to outing. More than excellent shape or power, De Jong shows an ability to land his fastball to both sides of the plate to consistently get ahead in counts and set up his secondaries. He has two breaking balls: a high-spin curveball in the mid-to-upper 70s and a soft slider in the 79-84 mph range. The two pitches blend together at times and both need a bit more consistency and bite to become above-average breaking balls. De Jong will also show flashes of a solid mid-80s changeup, but has not used the pitch much. De Jong has the command to profile as a starter, but will need to stay on top of his conditioning and continue to develop his secondaries as he begins focusing on pitching full time. He was committed to Duke before head coach Chris Pollard left for the Virginia job.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 45 | Curveball: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 55. -
School: Poly Prep Country Day HS, Brooklyn, N.Y. Committed: Duke
Age At Draft: 18.0
De Jong is a two-way player who is young for the class and shows promising building blocks for a young starting pitcher. He turns 18 in July of his draft year, has a strong frame and has already been up to 95 mph. He’s a good athlete with a sound delivery and a strong track record of throwing strikes with advanced pitchability for his age. De Jong mixes his stuff well, throwing a sharp 74-78 mph curveball that can spin above 2,600 rpm. He hasn’t used his changeup as much yet, but it has shown good sink and fade to become a bigger weapon with more reps. De Jong is a two-way player who packs a lot of strength and power into his swing from the right side, though it’s his upside on the mound that generates the most attention.
