Recently linked with the Cincinnati Reds (ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel – subscription needed), Fordham left-handed pitcher Matt Mikulski has vaulted into the 1st round conversation despite being a previously undrafted senior.
Matt Mikulski Scouting Report
Height: 6′ 4″ | Weight: 205
Bats: Left | Throws: Left | Position: LHP
Highest Ranking: 36th (Fangraphs)
What a difference a year can make. Last season Matt Mikulski went undrafted as a junior – granted the draft was just 5 rounds – but during the offseason he changed his mechanics to shorten his arm path and it resulted in better, bigger stuff across the board.
The lefty now throws in the 93-95 MPH range, with a few games higher than that, and touches 98 MPH. His change up and slider are both average to above-average pitches depending on who you ask. There is also a “show me” curveball that he brings out every so often, but it’s a pitch he may wind up having to scrap as a professional.
Despite being absolutely dominant in 2020 and 2021, allowing just 14 earned runs in 89.1 innings (1.41 ERA), just 48 hits allowed, 36 walks, and he struck out 142 batters, some scouts believe he could wind up in the bullpen. Teams that believe the breakout combined with better control that he also showed are more real see him as a potential starter with plenty of upside.
You can read all of the 2021 MLB Draft Scouting Reports here.
Matt Mikulski Video
Sorry for the video option here – but it was the only one I could find from 2021 when his stuff took a step forward.
Matt Mikulski College Stats
Basic Information
For this draft scouting report series we are going to look at prospects rated 6th through 50th in a cumulative ranking based on the Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, ESPN, and Fangraphs draft rankings. The guys in the top five seem to have no chance of dropping to Cincinnati at 17, so we’re skipping them to focus a little more on guys with more of a shot to be Reds. The national rankings are updated throughout the month leading up to the draft, so there could be some slight changes from when the cumulative list was compiled and when you read this.
The 2021 Major League Baseball Draft will begin on July 11th and end on July 13th, taking part over a three day period of time. The Cincinnati Reds will have selections 17, 30, 35, and 53 in the first two rounds of the draft. Despite not selecting in the top five, or even the top 10, the Reds have the 4th largest bonus pool allotment to work with due to their compensation pick from losing Trevor Bauer in free agency, as well as a competitive balance round A pick (35th) that adds a lot of additional pool money.