Caden Lemons

Lemons is far from his ceiling, but he started to ripen this spring. On the summer showcase circuit, Lemons was a wiry 6-foot-6 and 170 pounds. He was showing plus arm speed but pitching in the upper 80s and showing little feel for his offspeed stuff, though he flashed the ability to spin a breaking ball. He had some feel for an below-average curveball at the Metropolitan Baseball Classic in July, then reached the low 80s with a slider at the WWBA Championships in the fall. | In the spring time, Lemons was more physically filled out and showed an improved delivery. Now, he's more balanced over the rubber and is more online and direct to home plate. His fastball has ticked up as a result; he's reached 96 mph this spring, and some scouts believe he could some day reach the triple digits. His slider has shown flashes of tight spin, but Lemons's feel for spin remains raw and he rarely reaches those flashes. Lemons is likely to be a slow-moving minor leaguer, potentially spending two seasons at a short-season level so that he can continue to get stronger and refine his offspeed stuff. He may be far away from it right now, but Lemons has a tremendously high ceiling.