The Cincinnati Reds have assigned 1st round pick Nick Lodolo to the Billings Mustangs for his first assignment in professional baseball. He’ll be joined by two other additions from the 2019 Reds draft, too. 7th round pick Eric Yang, a catcher out of UC Santa Barbara, and 10th round pick Jake Stevenson, a right-handed pitcher out of the University of Minnesota have also been added to the Mustangs roster prior to tonights game in Billings.
Here’s the scouting report on Nick Lodolo from draft day:
The 6’ 6? and 205-pound left-handed pitcher from TCU is having a dominant junior season. He was a 1st round pick back in 2016 out of high school, going 41st overall to the Pirates, but would go unsigned and head to college. After having solid, but unspectacular results in his first two seasons as a starter, 2019 has seen him break out in a big way. He’s made 15 starts and posted a 2.48 ERA in 98.0 innings with 21 walks and 125 strikeouts for the Horned Frogs.
The big lefty throws his fastball in the low-to-mid 90’s and he does so on a downhill plane thanks to his height and arm angle. He’s scrapped a curveball in favor of a slider that has flashed itself as a well above-average pitch in the low 80’s. His change up will also flash itself as an above-average pitch.
The consistency with his secondary offerings have been the difference maker in 2019. He’s set himself apart from the rest of the college pitchers and was the top arm on the board.
Here’s the scouting report on Eric Yang from draft day:
Eric Yang is a solid defender behind the plate with decent catch-and-throw abilities who should stick behind the dish long term. At the plate he broke out in his first year as a full-time starter, hitting .383/.492/.567 with more walks, 30, than strikeouts, 28, in 54 games played. None of his offensive tools stand out, and he’s a below-average runner, but there’s a chance he could hit for enough average and power for a catcher to work his way to the Majors if things go right.
Here’s the scouting report on Jake Stevenson from draft day:
He throws 92-94 and has hit 97 MPH with his fastball. He also shows a solid breaking ball out of the bullpen. He’s struggled to throw strikes throughout his college career. He walked 64 batters in 86.0 innings over his 4 years at Minnesota. 2019 was the only season in which he struck out more batters, 36, than he walked, 27. He’s got limited action as a starter, making 13 starts – and 11 in the last two seasons.