Austin Bergner

Bergner has been a famous prospect dating back to his high school days, when he showcased a fastball in the mid-90s, promising secondary pitches and won a pair of gold medals with USA Baseball. He made it to campus at North Carolina and was eventually selected by the D-backs in the 32nd round of the 2018 draft as a draft-eligible sophomore, but he ultimately decided to return for his junior season. Bergner has a solid arsenal of pitches and has flashed three plus offerings with his fastball, curveball and changeup. However, he’s never shown that stuff consistently and has underperformed at UNC, getting hit more often than his talent would suggest. There is also some reliever risk with Bergner, who throws with an unconventional arm action and has struggled with command—although that particular aspect of his game has improved each year in Chapel Hill. This spring, scouts have seen Bergner’s low- to mid-90s fastball and low-80s changeup as his best pitches and are starting to question his feel for spin, which adds to his list of concerns. Bergner still has plenty of talent and a 6-foot-4, 200-pound frame that scouts can dream on, but he has yet to put everything together and become the pitcher that he showed signs of out of high school.