SF Giants MLB draft 2020: Ranking pitching prospects available at No. 13
SF Giants MLB Draft potential pick: Reid Detmers, Louisville University
Quickly, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has proven to have an affinity for Louisville University prospects, as he took first baseman Logan Wyatt and shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald in the second and fourth rounds, respectively, last year.
Both Wyatt and Fitzgerald were featured prominently in a lineup that took Louisville to a College World Series appearance in 2019.
Left-handed hurler Reid Detmers has strung together an impressive collegiate career, and is rated as one of the better college pitching prospects in this year’s draft.
As a freshman, the southpaw struggled to the tune of a 4.85 ERA across 55.2 frames as he split time in the rotation and bullpen, but found another gear in the following year and was off to a strong start in 2020.
In four starts, Detmers produced a 3-0 record with a 1.23 ERA while collecting 48 strikeouts in 22 innings.
At the college level, the ability to generate swings-and-misses has never been an issue for Detmers as his pitching acumen has often been above the competition.
Detmers features a fastball that sits around 89-92 MPH, so he does not possess the premium velocity that today’s pitchers need. He pairs this with three secondary offerings including a curveball, slider, and changeup.
Mason McRae of Prospects 365 speculates that Detmers not only has an above-average breaking ball, but it could be the best curveball in this year’s draft class:
"“One could make the argument that Detmers has the best curveball in the class, ranging from 75-80 mph and earning grades as high as 70 by some outlets. Though Detmers’ ceiling is a little lower than other pitchers you’ll read about in this mock, the floor is high for such a valuable position”"
In a way, selecting Detmers would be a bit of a boring, albeit somewhat safe, pick. His pitch mix and fastball velocity both remind me of Barry Zito in his days with the Oakland Athletics. In the video below, the southpaw flashes a curveball that has the 12-6 bite similar to Zito:
Though, the margin for error is thin as the curveball is really the only tangible aspect of Detmers’ game that is major league quality.
On the other hand, Detmer scores high in the pitchability category, and that could be the type of intangible quality that allows him to perform above his stuff.
The real question is, will the Louisville product fall to the Giants next month?. Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com posted his mock draft recently and predicted that the Pittsburgh Pirates would select Detmers with the seventh pick.
This would make it unlikely that Detmers would even be there for the Giants, but the left-handed pitcher has the type of profile that could see a bit of a draft-day slide.
He carries a lower ceiling than what most teams with a high pick would like, and that could be why he could potentially slide to the Giants.
If so, then this might be an opportunity for San Francisco to nab one of the best college arms available.