Tyler Thornburg

Scouts and opposing coaches inevitably invoke Tim Lincecum when discussing Thornburg, which certainly is a compliment. It started last summer, when Thornburg closed for Brewster in the Cape Cod League. He struck out 18 in 17 innings and racked up eight saves, using a delivery similar to Lincecum's, and his size (5-foot-11, 190 pounds) is in the same ballpark, though he's thicker. That helped Thornburg hold up through the grind of being Charleston Southern's top pitcher as well as a middle-of-the-order hitter who often plays right field when he doesn't pitch. He made an early statement with a complete-game, 158-pitch victory against Florida, which won the Southeastern Conference regular-season crown. He also mixed in a loss at Presbyterian, the Big South's ninth-place team. A rough season with the bat and the impending draft prompted the Buccaneers to keep Thornburg's focus on the mound in the season's final month, and he ranked third in the Big South in strikeouts while leading the league with a .213 opponent average. He has top-five-rounds stuff with a low-90s fastball that has topped out at 95 mph. His fastball lacks life and can be pretty flat, which makes his power curveball his best pitch. Thornburg is still looking for a consistent third pitch to round out his repertoire. He's likely more of a middle reliever, a quick-armed set-up man in the Scot Shields mold who should be off the board by end of the fifth round.