Hiro Wyatt

School: Staples HS, Westport, Conn. Source: HS

Commit/Drafted: Southern California
Age At Draft: 18.9
BA Grade:45/Extreme
Tools:Fastball: 55. Slider: 60. Changeup: 45. Cutter: 50. Control: 45.

Wyatt showed a good fastball/slider combination last summer, when he touched 94 mph and then hit 95 at the WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla. in the fall. At the time, Wyatt was an intriguing follow, but this year he has taken a step forward, both in terms of stuff and performance. This spring he has pitched at 92-95 mph with excellent armside life and reached 97 mph. It pairs well with his low-80s slider, which has sharp bite and deep sweep away from righthanded hitters to miss bats. He also added a mid-to-upper 80s cutter to his repertoire. It doesn’t miss bats like his slider, but it tunnels well with his fastball before cutting in the opposite direction of the way his fastball moves to help him generate weak contact. Wyatt has flashed occasional feel for a changeup in the past, but it’s more of a fringe-average pitch for now that he doesn’t throw much. Wyatt isn’t that big, he has a longer arm action and had trouble commanding his fastball coming into the spring, though he has thrown strikes this spring. Some scouts still think he could end up a reliever, but the deeper repertoire with mora zip to his fastball to go with his strong performance has moved him up boards.