The Cincinnati Reds have selected right-handed pitcher Bryce Bonnin out of Texas Tech. He was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 2017 draft in the 26th round. He was the 102nd rated prospect in the draft by Baseball America, 121st by MLB Pipeline, and 207th by Fangraphs.
Bryce Bonnin Scouting Report
Height: 6′ 2″ | Weight: 205
B/T: R/R | DOB: October 11, 1998
A potential 2nd-3rd round pick back in 2017 out of high school, Bryce Bonnin fell in the draft after teams felt he was a tough sign. That led to him winding up at Arkansas as a freshman in 2018, but he transferred to Texas Tech in 2019 for a chance to pitch in the rotation. With the Raiders he’s made 17 starts and just 2 relief appearances in the last two seasons.
His fastball will work in the 93-95 MPH range and he tops out around 97 on his best days. The pitch plays up due to a high spin rate. His slider also shows itself as a plus offering, working in the mid 80’s. There’s also an average curveball and average change up. The starter’s repertoire is there for Bryce Bonnin.
With that said, there are some concerns that he’ll remain a starter in the long run. He’s struggled to throw strikes, walking 63 batters in 97.2 innings during his three seasons. His ERA hasn’t been great in college, either, sitting at 4.61 in his 18 starts and 12 relief appearances.
Mechanically he doesn’t repeat things well, which is likely the reason he struggles to consistently throw strikes. He throws across his body and looks more like a reliever. He’s considered to be quite athletic, though, and if he can clean up his mechanics a bit and that results in better control, there’s some good upside here as a starter. If the fallback is a reliever with two plus pitches, there’s nothing wrong with that profile.
College Stats
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Bryce Bonnin on being drafted by the Reds
“I was cut. I had a shoulder injury that Arkansas didn’t think I’d recover from. Luckily (Texas) Tech saw that I probably could and I was able to land there and rehab that fall and by my sophomore spring I was back to 100%. It was just one of those things I had to overcome,” said Bryce Bonnin on why he transferred from Arkansas to Texas Tech.
“I honestly had no idea they (Cincinnati) were that interested until a few picks before and they called and I was really excited. I was just glued to the tv those few picks I had to wait. Journey’s not over, this is just the beginning of my journey and I hope that I make the Reds proud and can live up to them taking me. Like I said just very blessed for this opportunity. ”
“I’ve been staying in Lubbock. Me and a few guys at Tech built a home gym. It said I was 190, but I’m about 205 right now,” said Bonnin. “Me and the guys have been working out together. I’ve put on about 15 pounds since all of this (pandemic) started.”
“I’ve got my 2-seam, got my 4-seam, slider that is kind of my go to. I do throw a change up every now and then, but mostly a fastball-slider guy. I see myself as a power pitcher, a guy that likes to attack hitters and try to rack up as many strikeouts and weak contact as possible. That’s kind of the plan that Tech had for me and them seeing the tools that I had and pitching to my strengths,” said Bonnin. “Our pitching coach Matt Gardner, I can’t thank him enough for everything he’s done and to help me develop to get to this point. “
looks like a cheap pick, hope, they someone they can sign in the 4th or 5th.
To me it seems both pitchers drafted so far seem marginal. Wonder if they think the Driveline training will unlock something that has not shown up so far,
I am hoping they are saving money early and taking driveline fits and then plan to spend 2-3 million to sign their 4th or 5th round pick
I hope the Reds take a top 100 pick in the next round. If not this is one poor draft when looking at the rankings of Fangraphs.
I like this pick a lot. Easy loose motion, FB has that late life you like to see, super athletic. You can see the mechanics aren’t very clean, but he seems to have a lot of athletic intelligence so it looks like a safe bet that he’ll be able to apply the necessary changes with enough reps. I like taking players like this in the later rounds, especially now that the Reds have the resources to maximize his tools.