Luis Medina

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Athletics #13 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/High
  
  Track Record: Medina was a flame-throwing righthander who needed to throw more strikes when the Yankees signed him for $280,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2015. That reputation has stuck with Medina as a professional, who reached Double-A Somerset for the first time in 2021. He returned to Somerset to start 2022 and posted a 3.38 ERA through 17 starts. Medina was one of four players Oakland acquired from the Yankees in exchange for another hard-throwing righty, RHP Frankie Montas, at the deadline. Medina was erratic upon arriving in Midland, walking 22 batters in 20.2 innings, but was much more effective in the Dominican Winter League.
  
  Scouting Report: While Medina has yet to consistently command his high-powered arsenal, no one doubts his ability to miss bats. His upper-90s four-seam fastball routinely touches triple-digits and he has shown the ability to manipulate the pitch. Scouts have long been impressed with the potential of Medina's low-80s curveball. The pitch has considerable break and flashes great shape, but he struggles to land it within the strike zone. His solid-average upper-80s changeup also continues to improve and he throws it for strikes more consistently than his breaking ball. Hitters whiffed on both pitches north of 40% of the time in 2022. Medina has never quite synced up his delivery. He's fairly athletic but has long levers and struggles with timing, especially from the stretch, and can cut himself off at the end of his delivery. Medina needs to trust his stuff more, especially with runners on base, to avoid compounding mistakes.
  
  The Future: The clock is ticking on Medina, who is out of options, to throw enough strikes to stick in a starting rotation. A future as a nasty, high-leverage reliever seems more likely, and Medina could arrive in Oakland's bullpen for good in 2023.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 70. Curveball: 60. Changeup: 55. Control: 40
• 
  Ranked New York Yankees #9 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: Medina’s path through the minors has been bumpy, to say the least. He signed with the Yankees in 2015 and was celebrated for his triple-digit fastball, but he didn’t make it past the Class A levels until 2021, largely due to ghastly command and control. After physical and mental tweaks to help him find the strike zone more, Medina went 6-4, 3.39 in 22 appearances (21 starts) between High-A and Double-A with a high strikeout rate (11.3 K/9) but also a high walk rate (5.1 BB/9).
  
  Scouting Report: Medina’s pure stuff is tremendous. His fastball lives in the upper 90s and peaks at 103 mph, and he pairs it with a hard, downer curveball and an improving changeup. When it’s on, his curveball is a true wipeout pitch that can generate plenty of swings and misses. Medina’s average changeup doesn’t have big-time movement but can upset hitters’ timing because of the conviction with which he throws it as well as the velocity separation. As ever, improving his below-average control is going to be the key to his success. If he can find the zone more often, he could keep his future as a starter alive. To do so, he’ll have to find more consistency with his delivery and work to keep his arm more on time and in sync.
  
  The Future: Medina is already on the 40-man roster, so his big league debut could come as soon as next season. He still has to conquer Triple-A, where he’ll face much more seasoned hitters who will give his control its biggest test yet.
  
• 
  Ranked New York Yankees #9 prospect in 2021
  Fastball: 70. Changeup: 60. Curveball: 70.Control: 40.
  
  TRACK RECORD: Medina already touched 100 mph by the time he was 16 years old and signed with the Yankees for $280,000 out of the Dominican Republic. Medina has continued to throw hard in pro ball, but his control has been non-existent and he has yet to advance past high Class A. The Yankees still added Medina to the 40-man roster after the 2019 season and brought him to the alternate training site in 2020.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Medina has the best pure stuff in the Yankees’ system. All three of his pitches are potentially plus, including an upper-90s fastball that peaked at 102 mph at the alternate site and a double-plus, hammer curveball. But that stuff is a tease more often than not because of his poor command and control. He has averaged 7.1 walks per nine innings in his career with a heavy dose of wild pitches annually. Medina began showing improvement with decreased fastball usage but still needs more work. Medina controls his changeup best of his three pitches and often uses the potential plus offering to get back in counts.
  THE FUTURE: Medina has a long way to go to get to even playable control, but his stuff will buy him time. He may see Double-A in 2021.
• 
  Ranked New York Yankees #7 prospect in 2020
  TRACK RECORD: The Yankees signed Medina for $280,000 on the strength of a live arm that was already producing fastballs that touched triple-digits. He skipped straight to Rookie-level Pulaski for his pro debut in 2017, then proceeded to spend the better part of three seasons showing a strange combination of near-elite stuff with nearly nonexistent control or command.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Medina's biggest strength is an elite fastball which averaged 98 mph in 2019 and peaked at 101 mph. Medina threw the fastball with enough life to induce a 32 percent swing-and-miss rate when the pitch was in the strike zone. For reference, the average is 15 percent. He backed up the fastball with a low-80s curveball—which sometimes broke like a true hammer and other times like a two-plane slider—that was swung at and missed 44 percent of the time. His third pitch is a high-80s changeup that flashes plus as well. A bit of inconsistency in his delivery—sometimes he landed a bit early and his arm slot wandered—plus a tendency to let mistakes compound led to a walk rate of just more than 6 hitters per nine innings. Something clicked on July 31 season, however, and Medina struck out 39 over the next 28 innings while allowing just five earned runs.
  
  THE FUTURE: Medina will return to high Class A Tampa to see if he can continue building on his strong finish to 2019 and begin to scratch his sky-high potential.
• 
  Ranked New York Yankees #11 prospect in 2019
  Track Record: The Yankees signed Medina out of the Dominican Republic for $280,000 as a 16-year-old, when he was already showcasing a fastball that touched triple-digits. He skipped over the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and made his stateside debut in Rookie-level Pulaski in 2017 and returned there in 2018. He’s already shown some of the best pure stuff in the system, but has coupled it with some of the worst control.
  
  Scouting Report: Medina’s calling card is still his top-shelf fastball, which continues to eclipse 100 mph. At his best, Medina threw the pitch with excellent angle and sinking action. He doesn’t throw nearly enough strikes with his fastball, however, walking hitters en masse and giving up hits when he leaves it over the fat part of the plate. Medina backs up the fastball with a plus, downer curveball and a changeup that is still in its early stages but shows plus future potential. Medina’s delivery leaves a lot to be desired. He’s stiff out front and loses his release point, which has led to well below-average command and control. There are also questions surrounding his mental toughness.
  
  The Future: Medina will pitch all of season at 20 years old, so he has got time to iron out his delivery and harness his tremendous arsenal. If he can’t hack it as a starter, he still has a chance to be a dynamic reliever.
• 
  Ranked New York Yankees #7 prospect in 2018
  When the Yankees signed Medina out of the Dominican Republic in 2015 for $280,000 he was already hitting the triple digits with his fastball. He has made tweaks to improve his delivery and allow himself to throw more strikes, but he's still a raw power arm first and foremost. Medina sits in the upper 90s and topped at 102 mph in 2017 in the Rookie-level Appalachian League. He couples his fastball with a high-spin curveball and a changeup. His curve is inconsistent but flashes the potential to be a true hammer that he can either land in the zone or bury for chases, and his changeup is above-average already with the potential to be plus as well. There are some in the organization who think Medina might be better served with a slider as his primary breaking ball. As would be expected with an 18-year-old, he needs to continue to refine his fastball command. Medina is talented enough to make the jump to low Class A Charleston in 2018, but he might be better served by starting in extended spring training before moving to short-season Staten Island. He's got the ceiling of a top-flight starter. In a pitching-rich system, Medina's ceiling is among the highest.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked South Atlantic League #15 prospect in 2019
  Throughout his career, Medina has both tantalized with some of the best stuff in baseball and disappointed with long stretches of wildness that have torpedoed his success start after start. He also finished his time in Charleston with a 6.00 ERA (which was a drop from his 6.25 ERA in 2018 in the Appalachian League) thanks to 6.5 walks per nine innings, but he did show significant improvement as the season wore on. Medina had a 0.40 ERA with 29 strikeouts and six walks in 22.2 innings in his four August starts (including two with high Class A Tampa). Medina has the rare ability to dominate with just his fastball if he locates it, as he sits 96-99 mph (touching 100-101 mph), but the fastball's movement makes it play even better as it generates an abnormally high number of swings and misses in the strike zone. His breaking ball is just as good. At times, it's a hard, 12-to-6 curveball, and at other times it morphs into a two-plane slider diving away from righthanded bats.
• 
  Ranked American League #13 prospect in 2018
  A 2015 international signee out of the Dominican Republic, Medina has an arm as big as any, but has yet to find success in pro ball thanks to poor control. After walking more than five batters per nine in his first stint in the Appy League in 2017, Medina's walk rate ballooned to more than 11 batters per nine in 36 innings this summer. What keeps scouts interested with Medina is a fastball that sits in the 95-96 mph range and touches 100, with impressive plane and sink. He's also got a 60-grade curveball and a changeup that could become a third plus pitch as well. He's still growing into a 6-foot-1, 175 pound frame, Medina has a good arm action but simply struggles to repeat his delivery with any kind of consistency and is just an average athlete.
• 
  Ranked American League #6 prospect in 2017
  Medina wowed scouts who saw him as an amateur by hitting 100 mph--unheard of velocity for a 16-year-old--before signing with the Yankees for $280,000. He struggled to throw strikes, however, with a completely out-of-sync delivery, which caused some to project him to the bullpen. Medina's upside is enormous. He attacks hitters with a true 80-grade fastball on the 20-80 scouting scale and sits anywhere from 96-100 mph. His fastball has natural cutting life, but he has a tendency to elevate it which causes the pitch to straighten out. Medina pairs his heater with two potentially above-average secondaries. His curveball works in an 11-to-5 arc and is his preferred knockout pitch, whereas his changeup lags a little behind. After walking 5.5 batters per nine innings in the Appy League, Medina still needs to improve the consistency of his mechanics and ability to command his fastball.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/High
  
  Track Record: Medina was a flame-throwing righthander who needed to throw more strikes when the Yankees signed him for $280,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2015. That reputation has stuck with Medina as a professional, who reached Double-A Somerset for the first time in 2021. He returned to Somerset to start 2022 and posted a 3.38 ERA through 17 starts. Medina was one of four players Oakland acquired from the Yankees in exchange for another hard-throwing righty, RHP Frankie Montas, at the deadline. Medina was erratic upon arriving in Midland, walking 22 batters in 20.2 innings, but was much more effective in the Dominican Winter League.
  
  Scouting Report: While Medina has yet to consistently command his high-powered arsenal, no one doubts his ability to miss bats. His upper-90s four-seam fastball routinely touches triple-digits and he has shown the ability to manipulate the pitch. Scouts have long been impressed with the potential of Medina's low-80s curveball. The pitch has considerable break and flashes great shape, but he struggles to land it within the strike zone. His solid-average upper-80s changeup also continues to improve and he throws it for strikes more consistently than his breaking ball. Hitters whiffed on both pitches north of 40% of the time in 2022. Medina has never quite synced up his delivery. He's fairly athletic but has long levers and struggles with timing, especially from the stretch, and can cut himself off at the end of his delivery. Medina needs to trust his stuff more, especially with runners on base, to avoid compounding mistakes.
  
  The Future: The clock is ticking on Medina, who is out of options, to throw enough strikes to stick in a starting rotation. A future as a nasty, high-leverage reliever seems more likely, and Medina could arrive in Oakland's bullpen for good in 2023.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 70. Curveball: 60. Changeup: 55. Control: 40
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/High
  
  Track Record: Medina was a flame-throwing righthander who needed to throw more strikes when the Yankees signed him for $280,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2015. That reputation has stuck with Medina as a professional, who reached Double-A Somerset for the first time in 2021. He returned to Somerset to start 2022 and posted a 3.38 ERA through 17 starts. Medina was one of four players Oakland acquired from the Yankees in exchange for another hard-throwing righty, RHP Frankie Montas, at the deadline. Medina was erratic upon arriving in Midland, walking 22 batters in 20.2 innings, but was much more effective in the Dominican Winter League.
  
  Scouting Report: While Medina has yet to consistently command his high-powered arsenal, no one doubts his ability to miss bats. His upper-90s four-seam fastball routinely touches triple-digits and he has shown the ability to manipulate the pitch. Scouts have long been impressed with the potential of Medina's low-80s curveball. The pitch has considerable break and flashes great shape, but he struggles to land it within the strike zone. His solid-average upper-80s changeup also continues to improve and he throws it for strikes more consistently than his breaking ball. Hitters whiffed on both pitches north of 40% of the time in 2022. Medina has never quite synced up his delivery. He's fairly athletic but has long levers and struggles with timing, especially from the stretch, and can cut himself off at the end of his delivery. Medina needs to trust his stuff more, especially with runners on base, to avoid compounding mistakes.
  
  The Future: The clock is ticking on Medina, who is out of options, to throw enough strikes to stick in a starting rotation. A future as a nasty, high-leverage reliever seems more likely, and Medina could arrive in Oakland's bullpen for good in 2023.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 70. Curveball: 60. Changeup: 55. Control: 40
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 50/High
  
  Track Record: Medina&#39s path through the minors has been bumpy, to say the least. He was celebrated for his pure stuff—including a triple-digit fastball—as an amateur, and has shown bursts of true dominance as a pro. His command and control were truly ghastly until late in the 2019 season, when physical and mental tweaks helped him find the strike zone more often without any sacrifice to stuff. The pandemic cost him a chance at an immediate encore, but he did get development time at the team&#39s alternate training site. He continued down the same path this year with high strikeout and walk rates.
  
  Scouting Report: Medina&#39s pure stuff is tremendous. His fastball lives in the upper 90s and peaked at 103 mph, and he paired it with a hard, downer curveball and an improving changeup. When it&#39s on, his breaking ball is a true wipeout pitch that can generate plenty of swings and misses. By contrast, Medina&#39s changeup doesn&#39t have big-time movement but can upset hitters&#39 timing because of the conviction with which he throws it as well as the velocity separation. As ever, command and control are going to be the keys to his success. If he can find the zone more often—he had a nearly 60% strike rate in his time with Double-A Somerset—then he could keep alive his future as a starter. To do so, he&#39ll have to find more consistency with his delivery and work to keep his arm more on time and in sync.
  
  The Future: Medina is already on the 40-man roster, so his big league debut could come as soon as next season. He still has to conquer Triple-A, where he&#39ll face much more seasoned hitters who will give his command its biggest test yet.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 70. Curveball: 60. Changeup: 50. Control: 40.
• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Medina’s path through the minors has been bumpy, to say the least. He signed with the Yankees in 2015 and was celebrated for his triple-digit fastball, but he didn’t make it past the Class A levels until 2021, largely due to ghastly command and control. After physical and mental tweaks to help him find the strike zone more, Medina went 6-4, 3.39 in 22 appearances (21 starts) between High-A and Double-A with a high strikeout rate (11.3 K/9) but also a high walk rate (5.1 BB/9).
  
  Scouting Report: Medina’s pure stuff is tremendous. His fastball lives in the upper 90s and peaks at 103 mph, and he pairs it with a hard, downer curveball and an improving changeup. When it’s on, his curveball is a true wipeout pitch that can generate plenty of swings and misses. Medina’s average changeup doesn’t have big-time movement but can upset hitters’ timing because of the conviction with which he throws it as well as the velocity separation. As ever, improving his below-average control is going to be the key to his success. If he can find the zone more often, he could keep his future as a starter alive. To do so, he’ll have to find more consistency with his delivery and work to keep his arm more on time and in sync.
  
  The Future: Medina is already on the 40-man roster, so his big league debut could come as soon as next season. He still has to conquer Triple-A, where he’ll face much more seasoned hitters who will give his control its biggest test yet.
  
• July, 2021 Scouting Report
  Fastball: 70. Changeup: 60. Curveball: 70.Control: 40.
  
  TRACK RECORD: Medina already touched 100 mph by the time he was 16 years old and signed with the Yankees for $280,000 out of the Dominican Republic. Medina has continued to throw hard in pro ball, but his control has been non-existent and he has yet to advance past high Class A. The Yankees still added Medina to the 40-man roster after the 2019 season and brought him to the alternate training site in 2020.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Medina has the best pure stuff in the Yankees' system. All three of his pitches are potentially plus, including an upper-90s fastball that peaked at 102 mph at the alternate site and a double-plus, hammer curveball. But that stuff is a tease more often than not because of his poor command and control. He has averaged 7.1 walks per nine innings in his career with a heavy dose of wild pitches annually. Medina began showing improvement with decreased fastball usage but still needs more work. Medina controls his changeup best of his three pitches and often uses the potential plus offering to get back in counts.
  THE FUTURE: Medina has a long way to go to get to even playable control, but his stuff will buy him time. He may see Double-A in 2021.
• March, 2021 Scouting Report
  Fastball: 70. Changeup: 60. Curveball: 70.Control: 40.
  
  TRACK RECORD: Medina already touched 100 mph by the time he was 16 years old and signed with the Yankees for $280,000 out of the Dominican Republic. Medina has continued to throw hard in pro ball, but his control has been non-existent and he has yet to advance past high Class A. The Yankees still added Medina to the 40-man roster after the 2019 season and brought him to the alternate training site in 2020.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Medina has the best pure stuff in the Yankees’ system. All three of his pitches are potentially plus, including an upper-90s fastball that peaked at 102 mph at the alternate site and a double-plus, hammer curveball. But that stuff is a tease more often than not because of his poor command and control. He has averaged 7.1 walks per nine innings in his career with a heavy dose of wild pitches annually. Medina began showing improvement with decreased fastball usage but still needs more work. Medina controls his changeup best of his three pitches and often uses the potential plus offering to get back in counts.
  THE FUTURE: Medina has a long way to go to get to even playable control, but his stuff will buy him time. He may see Double-A in 2021.
• December, 2020 Scouting Report
  Fastball: 70. Changeup: 60. Curveball: 70.Control: 40.
  
  TRACK RECORD: Medina already touched 100 mph by the time he was 16 years old and signed with the Yankees for $280,000 out of the Dominican Republic. Medina has continued to throw hard in pro ball, but his control has been non-existent and he has yet to advance past high Class A. The Yankees still added Medina to the 40-man roster after the 2019 season and brought him to the alternate training site in 2020.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Medina has the best pure stuff in the Yankees’ system. All three of his pitches are potentially plus, including an upper-90s fastball that peaked at 102 mph at the alternate site and a double-plus, hammer curveball. But that stuff is a tease more often than not because of his poor command and control. He has averaged 7.1 walks per nine innings in his career with a heavy dose of wild pitches annually. Medina began showing improvement with decreased fastball usage but still needs more work. Medina controls his changeup best of his three pitches and often uses the potential plus offering to get back in counts.
  THE FUTURE: Medina has a long way to go to get to even playable control, but his stuff will buy him time. He may see Double-A in 2021.
• July, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: The Yankees signed Medina for $280,000 on the strength of a live arm that was already producing fastballs that touched triple-digits. He skipped straight to Rookie-level Pulaski for his pro debut in 2017, then proceeded to spend the better part of three seasons showing a strange combination of near-elite stuff with nearly nonexistent control or command.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Medina’s biggest strength is an elite fastball which averaged 98 mph in 2019 and peaked at 101 mph. Medina threw the fastball with enough life to induce a 32 percent swing-and-miss rate when the pitch was in the strike zone. For reference, the average is 15 percent. He backed up the fastball with a low-80s curveball—which sometimes broke like a true hammer and other times like a two-plane slider—that was swung at and missed 44 percent of the time. His third pitch is a high-80s changeup that flashes plus as well. A bit of inconsistency in his delivery—sometimes he landed a bit early and his arm slot wandered—plus a tendency to let mistakes compound led to a walk rate of just more than 6 hitters per nine innings. Something clicked on July 31 season, however, and Medina struck out 39 over the next 28 innings while allowing just five earned runs.
  
  THE FUTURE: Medina will return to high Class A Tampa to see if he can continue building on his strong finish to 2019 and begin to scratch his sky-high potential.
• February, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: The Yankees signed Medina for $280,000 on the strength of a live arm that was already producing fastballs that touched triple-digits. He skipped straight to Rookie-level Pulaski for his pro debut in 2017, then proceeded to spend the better part of three seasons showing a strange combination of near-elite stuff with nearly nonexistent control or command.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Medina's biggest strength is an elite fastball which averaged 98 mph in 2019 and peaked at 101 mph. Medina threw the fastball with enough life to induce a 32 percent swing-and-miss rate when the pitch was in the strike zone. For reference, the average is 15 percent. He backed up the fastball with a low-80s curveball—which sometimes broke like a true hammer and other times like a two-plane slider—that was swung at and missed 44 percent of the time. His third pitch is a high-80s changeup that flashes plus as well. A bit of inconsistency in his delivery—sometimes he landed a bit early and his arm slot wandered—plus a tendency to let mistakes compound led to a walk rate of just more than 6 hitters per nine innings. Something clicked on July 31 season, however, and Medina struck out 39 over the next 28 innings while allowing just five earned runs.
  
  THE FUTURE: Medina will return to high Class A Tampa to see if he can continue building on his strong finish to 2019 and begin to scratch his sky-high potential.
• December, 2018 Scouting Report
  Throughout his career, Medina has both tantalized with some of the best stuff in baseball and disappointed with long stretches of wildness that have torpedoed his success start after start. He also finished his time in Charleston with a 6.00 ERA (which was a drop from his 6.25 ERA in 2018 in the Appalachian League) thanks to 6.5 walks per nine innings, but he did show significant improvement as the season wore on. Medina had a 0.40 ERA with 29 strikeouts and six walks in 22.2 innings in his four August starts (including two with high Class A Tampa). Medina has the rare ability to dominate with just his fastball if he locates it, as he sits 96-99 mph (touching 100-101 mph), but the fastball's movement makes it play even better as it generates an abnormally high number of swings and misses in the strike zone. His breaking ball is just as good. At times, it's a hard, 12-to-6 curveball, and at other times it morphs into a two-plane slider diving away from righthanded bats.
• July, 2018 Scouting Report
  No, the numbers have not been pretty, but the premium stuff is still there. When he’s going right, he’ll flash three plus pitches and will hit triple-digits with his fastball. Even with ghastly control numbers (19 walks in 13 innings), that’s enough to keep believing. The Yankees are working with him to get his mechanics back in line in the hopes that he can reach his ceiling.