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Throws 4 pitches, 3 of them pretty darn good. Left handed hitting can't hit him and he's decent against right handed hitting as well. I expect some growing pains and I'm unsure of his ceiling. He's more of a pitcher than thrower and sometimes fantasy owners see that as a negative. He's not a soft tosser but he's not the type of pitcher to just blow you away with his fastball. Overall he may be better than most hard throwers because of his arsenal and control. Getting traded to the Twins was a blessing. Here is a 2017 scouting report.
Devin Smeltzer, Los Angeles Dodgers — 2017 Scouting Report
Dates observed in 2017: July 30; August 25; September 2; September 7
TOOL (FV)NOTES & COMMENTS
Four-Seam Fastball (50)Pretty standard four-seam look from a three-quarters angle. Modest arm-side run at times, but usually flat and straight. Won’t use it much after the first time through a lineup, opting instead to work off his two-seamer and cutter. Typically uses the four-seamer to elevate, or to dot the glove in 3-0/3-1 counts. Above-average command with it to both sides of the plate. Velocity: 91-92, T 93.
Two-Seam Fastball (50) Good, consistent arm-side run with some sneaky velocity on occasion. When down in the zone, especially to his glove side, run and sink will both show very late. Has some feel for throwing it off the plate glove side and letting it run back over the corner, but not enough consistency there yet. Enough control that it never really gets away from him arm side as many two-seamers do with young pitchers. It’s a good complement to his changeup (more on that below). Long term, this will likely grade out as a better pitch than his four-seamer thanks to the late life. Velocity: 89-90, T 92.
Cutter (45) He fell in love with it during one of my longer looks in September; he’ll use it to both RHH and LHH, with distinct pitch life form his slider so as to differentiate and mix the two. His best cutters mimic his two-seam action but go the other way (glove-side) though the cutter flattens out and loses vertical plane when it’s anywhere above the bottom third of the zone. Uses it to keep RHH honest in off the plate, and sets up his plus changeup away by backing them off early with cutters. For me, the cutter is below average on its own, in a vacuum, but it plays up in the context of Smeltzer’s entire arsenal, and specifically how he uses the cutter to set up the rest of his stuff. Velocity: 85-87,T 88.
Slider (40) Distinct enough from his cutter with more depth and break; also slightly slower with more pronounced sweeping action. Good put-away pitch to LHH, but ought not use it much to RHH; tried to sneak one particularly memorable one down and in to Rockies prospect Brendan Rodgers (RHH) in September, and Rodgers hit it over the scoreboard. To that end, Smeltzer must pick his spots carefully and use it to get hitters off-balance. If he can sequence it well, there’s obvious value in having a true breaking ball along with the cutter. Cross-body mechanics help sell the pitch, especially to LHH who struggle to stay in on Smeltzer’s arm angle. Admittedly a 40-grade is probably slightly low, but Smeltzer doesn’t always throw it much and doesn’t show a ton of confidence with it. Velocity: 79-82, T 83.
Changeup (60) Smeltzer’s best pitch across my looks. Tunnels it extremely well; it looks identical to his two-seam fastball both out of his hand and with late arm-side movement, only several miles per hour slower. Good tumble with late arm-side run; downward life even when he misses up in the strike zone. Remarkably good pitch for missing RHH bats; also draws consistent weak contact from RHH and LHH. Comfortable throwing it early in count to draw off-balance contact, or using it with two strikes as a put-away pitch. Very, very good arm action helps sell the changeup; Smeltzer throws the hell out of it with identical arm speed to his fastball through release; clearly trusts his grip to do the work. Velocity: 82-83, T 84.
Control/Command (60/50) Will struggle a bit with missing out over the plate, but generally very consistent in throwing to the bottom third of the strike zone with his entire arsenal. Can go wild in mini-spurts as he loses his release point (more on that in mechanics, below), but tends to re-discover the zone quickly after losing it now and again. Off-speed command in particular is advanced for his age and level; pinpoint fastball command must catch up, but control is more than serviceable. Bulldog mentality helps here; Smeltzer likes to challenge hitters in most every count and will rarely work behind enough to get into too many three-ball counts. Pitches to contact early in the count, which helps account for low walk rates. Paradoxically, may find he throws too many strikes as he faces better hitters soon in upper minors.
Mechanics Sets off to first base side of the rubber. Moves quickly through delivery to balance. Repetitive, fairly violent, delivery — especially for a starter. Lands closed off to plate, but with nearly on-line foot strike with toe pointing to first base batter’s box. Throws pretty significantly across his body, no doubt accounting for a good bit of deception, especially to LHH. High back elbow; inverted W. Three-quarters/high three-quarters release; that, along with his closed-off landing makes him an uncomfortable match-up for LHH. Can lose his release point at times across his body, and will over-extend to his glove-side as he adjusts. Sometimes spins pretty radically off to third base; doesn’t typically finish squared up to field his position but a good enough athlete to overcompensate in most cases.
Intangibles Very, very visibly competitive on the field. Wears his heart on his sleeve and reacts openly—good and bad—to results of his pitches. Will call out hitters if he feels he’s being disrespected; won’t shy away from conflict. Consistently walks the fine line of channeling his emotion to produce positive or negative results. Without question some emotional growth to be done here, but I love his competitiveness. Throws with a visible intensity rare for a starting pitcher. Very quick pace of play with no one on base—almost like he’s racing a clock—but slows down considerably with runners on. Smeltzer is a tough kid; at age 9, overcame a rare form of prediatric cancer called pelvic rhabdomyosarcoma. He’s been in full remission since 2012.
Devin Smeltzer, Los Angeles Dodgers — 2017 Scouting Report
Dates observed in 2017: July 30; August 25; September 2; September 7
TOOL (FV)NOTES & COMMENTS
Four-Seam Fastball (50)Pretty standard four-seam look from a three-quarters angle. Modest arm-side run at times, but usually flat and straight. Won’t use it much after the first time through a lineup, opting instead to work off his two-seamer and cutter. Typically uses the four-seamer to elevate, or to dot the glove in 3-0/3-1 counts. Above-average command with it to both sides of the plate. Velocity: 91-92, T 93.
Two-Seam Fastball (50) Good, consistent arm-side run with some sneaky velocity on occasion. When down in the zone, especially to his glove side, run and sink will both show very late. Has some feel for throwing it off the plate glove side and letting it run back over the corner, but not enough consistency there yet. Enough control that it never really gets away from him arm side as many two-seamers do with young pitchers. It’s a good complement to his changeup (more on that below). Long term, this will likely grade out as a better pitch than his four-seamer thanks to the late life. Velocity: 89-90, T 92.
Cutter (45) He fell in love with it during one of my longer looks in September; he’ll use it to both RHH and LHH, with distinct pitch life form his slider so as to differentiate and mix the two. His best cutters mimic his two-seam action but go the other way (glove-side) though the cutter flattens out and loses vertical plane when it’s anywhere above the bottom third of the zone. Uses it to keep RHH honest in off the plate, and sets up his plus changeup away by backing them off early with cutters. For me, the cutter is below average on its own, in a vacuum, but it plays up in the context of Smeltzer’s entire arsenal, and specifically how he uses the cutter to set up the rest of his stuff. Velocity: 85-87,T 88.
Slider (40) Distinct enough from his cutter with more depth and break; also slightly slower with more pronounced sweeping action. Good put-away pitch to LHH, but ought not use it much to RHH; tried to sneak one particularly memorable one down and in to Rockies prospect Brendan Rodgers (RHH) in September, and Rodgers hit it over the scoreboard. To that end, Smeltzer must pick his spots carefully and use it to get hitters off-balance. If he can sequence it well, there’s obvious value in having a true breaking ball along with the cutter. Cross-body mechanics help sell the pitch, especially to LHH who struggle to stay in on Smeltzer’s arm angle. Admittedly a 40-grade is probably slightly low, but Smeltzer doesn’t always throw it much and doesn’t show a ton of confidence with it. Velocity: 79-82, T 83.
Changeup (60) Smeltzer’s best pitch across my looks. Tunnels it extremely well; it looks identical to his two-seam fastball both out of his hand and with late arm-side movement, only several miles per hour slower. Good tumble with late arm-side run; downward life even when he misses up in the strike zone. Remarkably good pitch for missing RHH bats; also draws consistent weak contact from RHH and LHH. Comfortable throwing it early in count to draw off-balance contact, or using it with two strikes as a put-away pitch. Very, very good arm action helps sell the changeup; Smeltzer throws the hell out of it with identical arm speed to his fastball through release; clearly trusts his grip to do the work. Velocity: 82-83, T 84.
Control/Command (60/50) Will struggle a bit with missing out over the plate, but generally very consistent in throwing to the bottom third of the strike zone with his entire arsenal. Can go wild in mini-spurts as he loses his release point (more on that in mechanics, below), but tends to re-discover the zone quickly after losing it now and again. Off-speed command in particular is advanced for his age and level; pinpoint fastball command must catch up, but control is more than serviceable. Bulldog mentality helps here; Smeltzer likes to challenge hitters in most every count and will rarely work behind enough to get into too many three-ball counts. Pitches to contact early in the count, which helps account for low walk rates. Paradoxically, may find he throws too many strikes as he faces better hitters soon in upper minors.
Mechanics Sets off to first base side of the rubber. Moves quickly through delivery to balance. Repetitive, fairly violent, delivery — especially for a starter. Lands closed off to plate, but with nearly on-line foot strike with toe pointing to first base batter’s box. Throws pretty significantly across his body, no doubt accounting for a good bit of deception, especially to LHH. High back elbow; inverted W. Three-quarters/high three-quarters release; that, along with his closed-off landing makes him an uncomfortable match-up for LHH. Can lose his release point at times across his body, and will over-extend to his glove-side as he adjusts. Sometimes spins pretty radically off to third base; doesn’t typically finish squared up to field his position but a good enough athlete to overcompensate in most cases.
Intangibles Very, very visibly competitive on the field. Wears his heart on his sleeve and reacts openly—good and bad—to results of his pitches. Will call out hitters if he feels he’s being disrespected; won’t shy away from conflict. Consistently walks the fine line of channeling his emotion to produce positive or negative results. Without question some emotional growth to be done here, but I love his competitiveness. Throws with a visible intensity rare for a starting pitcher. Very quick pace of play with no one on base—almost like he’s racing a clock—but slows down considerably with runners on. Smeltzer is a tough kid; at age 9, overcame a rare form of prediatric cancer called pelvic rhabdomyosarcoma. He’s been in full remission since 2012.
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