Steve Hajjar

Hajjar has pedigree going back to his high school days, when he was a projectable, 6-foot-5 lefthander with a fastball in the low 90s, good feel to land his breaking ball and solid athleticism. The industry put huge expectations on him last summer after he showed a fastball in the mid 90s, and at the beginning of the draft process he was considered one of the top pitchers in the class. While he’s not quite seen through that lens now, he quietly put together a strong season at Michigan without his best velocity, posting a 3.09 ERA over 14 starts and 81.2 innings, while striking out 110 (12.1 K/9) and walking 29 (3.2 BB/9). Hajjar has worked with a four-pitch mix, led by a fastball that sits in the 89-91 mph range and touches 94. The pitch has shown better in brief outings, but scouts like the vertical movement it has despite a low-spin profile. He shows good feel for a low-80s changeup with solid tumbling action and throws both a curveball and a slider. The curve is a slow bender in the mid 70s with 12-to-6 shape, while his slider sits around 80 mph with 2-to-7 movement and looks like the better swing-and-miss and chase offering. Hajjar has a bit of a funky arm slot but has always shown good feel to throw strikes and seems like a relatively safe starting profile, with more upside if he can tick his velocity up as he moves further away from an ACL injury he had as a freshman.