Prep Baseball Report

Top-10 Profiles of 2019: No. 4 Daniel Espino


Phil Kerber
Georgia Scouting Director

RHP Daniel Espino (Georgia Premier Academy) set amateur baseball afire last year with his blazing fast, near triple digit fastball. Standing a strong, muscular 6-foot-3, 200-pounds, Espino's arm speed and overall stuff is nothing short of electric. Due to his outstanding physical talent, Espino shot up draft boards. Committed to Louisiana State, he never stood a chance of making it on campus. In the 1st round of the 2019 MLB Draft, the Cleveland Indians selected Espino with the 24th pick.

Espino ended his prep career as the No. 2 ranked prospect in the state of Georgia and No. 10 overall. Coincidentally enough, we rated him as the 24th rated prospect in the 2019 draft, the same position h was drafted in. Espino was dominant in rookie ball, pitching 13.2 innings, striking out 16 and posting a 1.98 ERA. After a month, he was promoted to low-A where he continued to strike batters out at a high rate, sending down 18 in 10.0 innings.

No. 4: Daniel Espino

Scouting Report

8/8/18 - Tossed two perfect innings, striking out one. He was 95-97 against the leadoff hitter—2020 OF Pete Crow-Armstrong (Harvard-Westlake HS, CA)—and got him to chase a slider in the dirt for his lone strikeout. After that, he pitched at 93-95. He only threw a couple sliders at 80-81, one of which slipped out of his hand, and he showed feel for a running CH at 76. He also mixed in a soft curveball at 73. Espino has a long, one-piece arm action and pitches with a slow tempo.

 

8/3/18 - Dazzled all in attendance with an overpowering 94-99 mph fastball and a hard 80-81 mph curveball from a ¾ slot. Conservatively, the breaker was a plus pitch as right-handed hitters wanted no part of it with the hump out of the hand looking very similar to a forthcoming up/in fastball. He struck out six of the nine batters he faced without allowing a hit. Espino profiles as a starter for me with very good balance, a soft landing and solid direction to the plate.

 

7/20/18 - There was plenty of big velo being thrown around, but Espino was the big winner. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound LSU recruit touched 99 and pitched at 95-98 with his fastball. While he rightfully lived off his fastball, Espino also flashed a sharp 76 mph curveball with downer action and an 81 mph slider, showing feel for both. Espino, who’s currently ranked No. 3 overall, has a strong, mature build and generates top-of-the-scale velocity with less effort than one would think a high school kid pumping upper-90s would need. He works out of a simple side step delivery with a slight pause to gather himself. He has a long, uninterrupted one-piece arm action, generating electric arm speed at foot strike. A native of Panama, Espino was around the zone with everything, further establishing himself as the premier power arm in a shallow 2019 pitcher draft class.



Related Content