Anthony Simonelli

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #294 prospect in 2021 draft
  Simonelli ranked as the No. 336 player in the 2020 class after bouncing around from Coastal Carolina to St. John’s River (S.C.) JC to Virginia Tech, where he was solid in a starting role through four starts in the shortened 2020 season. This spring, he cut his walk rate fairly significantly—going from 5.5 BB/9 to 3.8 BB/9—and posted a 3.92 ERA over 13 starts and 66.2 innings, with 77 strikeouts (10.4 K/9). Simonelli has a four-pitch mix that includes a fastball, slider/cutter, curveball and changeup. While scouts don’t see a ton of swing-and-miss characteristics with his fastball, he has run it up to 95-96 mph with the ability to cut it, sink it and throw it straight. His slider/cutter is a solid breaking pitch in the 80s and he throws a more top-down curveball in the upper 70s, as well as a mid-80s changeup. With the variations on his fastball and his secondary pitches, Simonelli certainly has a deep enough pitch mix to start, though some evaluators think his fastball would play up in a bullpen role. Simonelli’s delivery fits a reliever profile, with hooking action in the back of his arm stroke and a good bit of head whack and effort in his finish.
• Ranked #336 prospect in 2020 draft
  Simonelli has bounced around a few different schools throughout his collegiate career. He started at Coastal Carolina in 2018, where he made six starts and then transferred to St. John’s River (S.C.) JC for his 2019 season. After that, Simonelli transferred to Virginia Tech, where he settled into the team’s Saturday starter role. Through four starts and 21.1 innings this spring, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound righthander posted a 2.95 ERA while striking out 26 batters (11.0 per nine) and walking 13 (5.5 per nine). Simonelli throws an average fastball in the 88-93 mph range, with three secondaries to go with it. He has a hard slider that gets a good amount of swings and misses, a changeup and a top-to-bottom curveball that are both a bit more inconsistent. Simonelli is a fringe-average strike thrower, but scouts believe his delivery—while not the most fluid—is good enough to get to average in the future. Some clubs thought of him as a 6-10 round prospect in a typical draft year.