Gabe Gaeckle

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #29 prospect in 2026 draft
  School:Arkansas Age At Draft: 21.8
  
  Drafted: Reds ’23 (20)
  
  After excelling in relief last spring, Gaeckle this spring made nine starts this spring and had mixed results. He was again nails in relief and finished the season with a 4.42 ERA with 92 strikeouts to 31 walks in 71.1 innings. An undersized righthander, Gaeckle is 6-foot, 190 pounds with a strong lower half. He has a drop-and-drive delivery with a degree of explosiveness and big-time arm speed. Gaeckle’s fastball has been up to 98 mph, though it will sit more 92-95 by the fourth inning or so. It jumps out of his hand and flashes run and ride through the zone and, unsurprisingly, is at its best when located in the top half of the zone and to his arm side. Gaeckle’s best pitch is his high-spin, mid-to-upper-80s slider that has a sharp, two-plane look with late bite. He’s still gaining a feel for his upper-70s-to-low-80s curveball, but at times it will pop out of his hand and flash depth with some sharp, downward bite. Gaeckle’s changeup is not a huge change of pace, but he’s turned over a couple of good ones this year that have flashed serious fade to the arm side. However, it’s very much a work-in-progress pitch. Gaeckle has a shorter, more compact frame and has more of a reliever look than the other arms discussed. There’s certainly a chance he ends up back in the bullpen when he transitions into professional baseball, and it will be interesting to monitor how he progresses as he gains more starting experience.
• Ranked #54 prospect in 2026 draft
  School: Arkansas Committed/Drafted: Reds ’23 (20). Age At Draft: 21.8
  
  Gaeckle was an undersized righthander who already had a Tommy John surgery on his resume in high school, but he still wowed scouts with his arm speed and pure stuff to rank as the No. 101 player in the 2023 class. He made it to campus at Arkansas, where he became a lights-out reliever as a freshman and split time in a starting role as a sophomore in 2025. Overall, Gaeckle has posted a 3.63 ERA in 114 innings with a 30.7% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate. Listed at 6-feet, 190 pounds, Gaeckle works with a drop-and-drive delivery and throws from a high three-quarters slot with tremendous arm speed. He sits in the mid 90s with his fastball and has touched 99 mph with solid riding life. He has a pair of distinct breaking balls: a sharp, mid-80s slider and a curveball in the 79-83 mph range. Both are swing-and-miss breaking balls with above-average or plus potential. He also has an upper-80s changeup that he used about 20% of the time against lefties in 2025. Gaeckle’s size and below-average strike-throwing give him plenty of reliever risk.
• Ranked #101 prospect in 2023 draft
  School: Aptos (Calif.) HS Source: HS
  
  Commit/Drafted: Arkansas
  Age At Draft: 18.8
  BA Grade:50/Extreme
  Tools:Fastball: 60. Curveball: 60. Changeup: 40. Control: 45.
  
  Undersized high school righthanders who have already had Tommy John surgery tend not to be popular in the draft, but Gaeckle is an exception. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound righthander impressed with his elite arm speed and loud stuff on the summer showcase circuit, and he kept it up by going 8-0, 0.59 with 117 strikeouts and nine walks in 59.1 innings this spring for Aptos (Calif.) High. Gaeckle has some of the best arm speed in the draft class and present stuff despite his size. His fastball sits 93-95 mph and touches 97 with ride at the top of the zone and projects to be a plus pitch. He pairs his heater with a high-spin, upper-70s curveball with 11-to-5 shape and hard biting action that generates ugly swings below the zone and projects to be another plus offering. He primarily throws his fastball and curveball and will need to develop his mid-80s changeup. Gaeckle has some effort in his delivery and, despite his low walk totals, is more effectively wild than a good strikethrower. He needs to get crisper with his command and control in order to avoid a move to the bullpen. Gaeckle’s size, delivery and injury history make him a likely reliever, but his arm strength still has teams interested as high as the second or third round. He is committed to Arkansas.