Live Looks Report: Columbia & Fredericksburg

Chris Clegg breaks down Travis Sykora's start plus a ton of other players in his look of the Royals and Nationals Single-A affiliates.

I ventured over to Columbia catch the FredNats in town to see Travis Sykora plus new draftees Seaver King and Caleb Lomavita. There was a ton of talent on both sides and even some deep cut names that you might want to know for dynasty, including a 2024 20th rounder. Let’s dive in on the looks.

Columbia Fireflies vs. Fredericksburg Nationals Looks

Travis Sykora, RHP, WSH, 20, A

My love for watching Sykora pitch dates back to last year's draft, and I was pumped to get a live look at him. He made my top 100 list for the first time in my update at the end of July, and I wonder if I was a little low on him. Tuesday marked my 56th pro game this year, and honestly, Sykora’s start might have been the most dominant I have seen, right up there with Noah Schultz.

Sykora tossed five innings, allowing just three hits and one earned run on the start, but all three hits came via infield hits. A grounder to second base, a swinging bunt, and a bunt hit put three runners on in the third. Then, a third bunt of the inning allowed runs to score on a throwing error. It was a weird sequence, but sometimes what you get in Single-A. Sykora probably faces the minimum through five, if not for the weirdness. Still, after three runs(one earned), Sykora came across to score, and he retired the next nine batters of his outing, showing his resilience.

He ended the five-inning outing with five innings of work, striking out ten and not walking a batter. He tossed 69 percent of his pitches for strikes and generated 22 whiffs, good for a 51 percent whiff rate.

The fastball sat in the 94 to 96 range all night, and he commanded it quite well. It showed a good movement profile from a three-quarters release height. Given his 6’6” frame, Sykora gets good extension, allowing the fastball to play up even more. The pitch generated eight whiffs in the start.

Sykora threw his slider nearly as often as his fastball, hitting 81 to 84 mph. It showed good depth and often had late horizontal movement. However, it generated some ugly swings, and Sykora had eight whiffs on the pitch.

He rounds out the arsenal with a beautiful split-changeup that was easily a plus pitch. Sitting between 82 and 85 mph, it showed nice depth and late fading action. He especially used it against left-handed bats but did bore it on righties at times. While he did not throw it as often as the fastball and slider, it still generated seven whiffs.

Sykora repeats his mechanics extremely well, having a big leg kick and a delivery that somewhat resembles Paul Skenes if you squint. The stuff is there, Sykora throws strikes, and has a frame that can probably add 20 pounds to it. He could certainly be a mid-rotation arm for a long time.

Since June 13, Sykora has made 11 starts, tossing 52.2 innings with a 1.71 ERA. Over that span, he has 82 strikeouts and just 13 walks.

Get more detailed reports like this by subscribing below and learn about a 2024 20th rounder that is standing out plus a young international infielder with intriguing skills.