Pierce Coppola

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #89 prospect in 2021 draft
  Coppola is built like a lefthanded Tyler Glasnow with a towering 6-foot-8 frame. Like Glasnow in high school, Coppola's velocity fluctuates greatly, but he tantalizes scouts with what he could become. At his best, Coppola has sat in the low 90s, running his fastball up to 95 mph in his first start. At other times he's topped out in the low 90s, with his velocity dipping more to the upper 80s toward the middle innings and mid 80s at times. Coppola has the wide shoulders and strength projection left on his frame to hold more good weight, which should help him not only hold his velocity but potentially throw in the upper 90s. That's a scary thought for a pitcher whose fastball already plays up beyond the radar gun readings because of how much extension he's able to generate. He has an unusually diverse repertoire for a high school pitcher, with a slider, splitter, spike curveball and a cutter. Nothing is plus yet, but he flashes an average or better slider at times and his splitter shows promise to be a bat-missing pitch too. Coppola did walk a lot of hitters last summer and his walk rate this spring has been on the higher end for a top high school pitcher, but several scouts insist that he has better body control and throws more strikes than you would expect for a teenage pitcher his size. Oakland’s 6-foot-7 lefthander A.J. Puk became the sixth overall pick in 2016 after his junior year at Florida, and the hope for a team is to draft Coppola (also a Gators recruit) before he has a similar breakout.