Brandon Barriera

Barriera isn’t a physically imposing pitcher by any means, but he more than makes up for his smaller, 5-foot-11, 171-pound frame with electric arm speed and standout athleticism on the mound. Barriera has one of the fastest arms in the class, and he uses that arm speed to throw a fastball that sits in the low 90s and regularly touches 96. This spring Barriera peaked at 98-99 mph, so pure stuff isn’t a question. On top of that fastball, Barriera has shown a slider in the low-to-mid 80s. The slider features a lot of horizontal movement with late turn and sharp bite at its best, and he shows good feel to land the pitch for strikes. It’s a 2,500-2,600 rpm offering and routinely gets plus grades from evaluators. The fastball/slider combination is Barriera’s bread and butter currently, but he has also shown solid feel for a firm changeup in the mid 80s. He doesn’t use the pitch often, but it has shown at least average potential and because he throws it with the same electric arm speed as his fastball, it could be a deceptive offering against better hitters at the next level. Barriera will also mix in a slower, mid-70s curveball at times to give him a four-pitch mix. Barriera fills up the strike zone and throws with a loose and fluid but whippy arm action. There’s a slight head whack in his finish, but he stays balanced and fields his position well. The Vanderbilt commit is praised for his intense and competitive demeanor on the mound, and while he doesn’t have much in the way of physical projection, he has plenty of stuff and the control that should give him a chance to start. Barriera will need to prove his durability and that his stuff can hold up to the rigors of a professional schedule, but he is a real first round talent and one of the best lefthanded pitchers in the class.