Pitching Prospects Not Getting Enough Love

Chris Clegg highlights five pitching prospects that are off to great starts not getting much buzz.

Every season, plenty of pitching prospects make changes during the offseason and come into the new season looking like a different pitcher. Some names catch on and become buzzy. Others perform but never get the love. Buzzy pitching prospects like Brett Wichrowski, Logan Evans, and Winston Santos, among others, have caught on quickly, but if you missed out, there is hope. There are plenty of other pitching prospects making noise that are not quite as buzzy and we are going to talk about them.

Let’s discuss five underrated pitching prospects who are standing out.

Underrated Pitching Prospects

Michael Forret, RHP, BAL, 20, A

I won’t lie and say Forret was on my radar prior to his first start of 2024 and when the numbers really popped, I had to go watch for myself. A 14th-rounder in the 2023 draft, Forret was selected out of State College of Florida Manatee, a junior college that allowed him to be drafted at 19 years old. Forret turned 20 at the beginning of April, just before his first pro start.

After spending the offseason at Tread Athletics, he saw his fastball tick up from 91-93 to averaging 95.5 mph and topping at 97. According to Tread’s X account, he worked to clean up his spine mobility and focused on the weight room, which allowed him to add nearly ten pounds. His mechanics were also cleaned up, allowing him to transfer energy more easily and reach more velocity. It is not just bullpens that the velocity jump happened, it is also in games.

Forret also refined his arsenal at Tread, ridding of his curveball and throwing a gyro slider, sweeper, and changeup. If the arsenal changes can stick and the velocity holds, Forret becomes a very intriguing arm.

After allowing five earned his first time out over three innings, Forret’s last two starts have been incredible. Ten scoreless innings with just three total hits and one walk allowed while racking up 15 strikeouts. He has a 40 percent CSW on the season, a 67.6 percent strike rate, and an impressive 23 percent swinging strike rate.

Tyler Woessner, RHP, MIL, 24, AA

Woessner not only has a great name, but a great arsenal that is going highly unnoticed, at least in my opinion.

Sitting 92-94 in 2023, he made a huge velocity jump in the offseason and can now reach 99 in shorter stints, but works in the mid-90s consistently throughout starts. The 6’4” righty gets excellent movement on his sinker, limiting hard contact but also getting whiffs.

The slider has been nasty, generating whiffs at a very high clip. Woessner also had a new curveball that has a ton of vertical drop and is sitting in a different velocity band than the slider. Both pitches have been excellent swing-and-miss offerings. He will flash a changeup at times, which can be an average pitch as well.

Having a starter frame, Woessner has been able to hold his velocity in the mid-90s deeper into starts, which will go a long way toward him being a starting pitcher. Through three starts and 15 innings pitched, Woessner has allowed just three earned runs and two walks while striking out 21 batters. The CSW sits at an impressive 38.3 percent, and he is throwing strikes at an above-average clip of 65 percent.

Woessner should be getting much more love than he does.

Mason Adams, RHP, CHW, 24, AA

Adams is one of the more underrated arms in the minors, but he is never really getting talked about, likely due to his stuff not being overpowering. A former 13th-rounder out of Jacksonville University, the 6’0” righty has taken things to another level this season as he had a 2.81 ERA across 16 innings with 22 strikeouts to just two walks.

Adams’ fastball sat 90-92 last season on the fastball and is up a tick this year, but it is the command that is allowing it to play up. The breaking ball will enable him to have success and has aided in some of the bat-missing ability. He misses a ton of bats with his slider, which has late bite and drop, and he is comfortable throwing it to both lefties and righties. He will mix in a changeup on occasion as well.

The bat missing has improved, as Adams has a 14.4 percent swinging strike rate on the season, and his 70.2 percent strike rate has just been insane. Adams has just two walks to 22 strikeouts on the year. The pitch ability and mentality on the mound could take Adams a long ways.

Andrew Morris, RHP, MIN, 22, A+

While his most recent outing of five earned runs across 3.2 innings inflated the season-long line, Morris has pitched very well this year. In his first two outings of the year, Morris allowed just one earned run across 10 innings pitched with 15 strikeouts and one walk.

In 2023, Morris pitched between Single-A and High-A, posting a 2.88 ERA across 84.1 innings of work, and never got much love. The former fourth-rounder pitched three seasons in college at Mesa State before transferring to Texas Tech for his final season.

The fastball sits 92-95, touching 97 mph with good life on it. Having a deceptive delivery, Morris’ fastball plays up a bit. His slider is his best offering, sitting in the upper 80s with depth and sweep, and the changeup shows nice fading action. The curveball has some potential in the upper 70s as well.

Just watch Morris pitch, and you will see what I mean by the funkiness. So far this season, Morris has a 36 percent CSW and a 71 percent strike rate, a good recipe for success.

Ian Seymour, LHP, TB, 25, AA

Unfortunately, injuries have eaten up most of Seymour’s career to this point, but the former 2020 second-rounder looks healthy and is off to a great start in 2024. Having a 1.20 ERA in 15 innings of work so far, he has punched out 22 batters and walked just three.

The changeup is the bread and butter here, as Seymour misses plenty of bats with its separation from the fastball and arm speed. It gets a nice fade and depth, which is a large reason why he can miss bats. The fastball does not overpower hitters but features a slider and an occasional cutter.

Seymour has a violent delivery, which leads to some concerns about whether he will be a reliever in the long term. He is throwing strikes at a solid rate of 67 percent this year to pair with a 17 percent swinging strike rate. Don’t be shocked when we see Seymour in Triple-A soon and potentially pitching in Tampa at some point in 2024, even if it is out of the bullpen.