Prep Baseball Report

Draft Spotlight: RHP Ethan Reed


Les Lukach
State Scouting Director

When you first look at Ethan Reed you can't help but notice his physical presence. At 6-foot-4, 195-pounds the Southern California signee is what you look for in a starting pitcher. He's strong, lean, and projectable. Very projectable. He's also very athletic - Reed was a contributor on the varsity basketball team at Aliso Niguel. Add all those factors up and you have a guy that scouts really like.

While Reed was a known player in local circles before last year, it was at the Area Code Games, in front of countless scouts, cross checkers and scouting directors, that he became a household name nationally.

In his appearance for the Brewers - a team comprised exclusively of players from Southern California - Reed was sharp in his two-inning outing where he struck out four and walked one. He was 92-93 with his fastball, 86-87 with his changeup, and 75-76 with his curveball all of which were eye opening to the scouts in attendance.

Fast forward to this spring and something has changed for Reed. After playing for Aliso Niguel's basketball team it seemed to have taken him a long time to get back into the baseball shape and up-to-speed. There also seemed to be some differences in his mechanics. Last summer he had more of a closed front shoulder, high 3/4 delivery whereas this spring he was more neutral with his front shoulder but with the same slot. The shoulder movement seems to have disrupted the timing of his landing - he's a little less cross body - and subsequently dropped his velocity. His low velocities at Area Code Games became his highs this season. 

Despite this, there is no denying the abundance of talent Reed possesses. His ideal frame, instincts and, most importantly, his ability to pitch and command three pitches are something that still have scouts very interested.

Just how interested will be revealed during the MLB Draft. 

Let's take a closer look at RHP Ethan Reed of Aliso Niguel High School.

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