Prep Baseball Report

Top-10 Profiles of 2020: No. 9 Owen Murphy


Diego Solares
Staff Writer

As the year starts to unwind, our staff will start to highlight the top-10 most viewed profiles from 2020 – starting at 10 and counting down.

Our ninth most viewed profile of this year is Riverside Brookfield RHP/INF Owen Murphy, a legitimate two-way prospect who's ranked No. 3 overall in the state’s 2022 class and No. 70 overall nationally. A former PBR Future Games participant, Murphy has long been touted as one of the top prospects in his class, but his performance this summer elevated his prospect status as a whole. We saw him take the rubber at a PBR Wisconsin tournament in July and this is what one of our scouts had to say about that outing:

“... Murphy sat an easy 88-91 mph throughout his outing and touched 92 mph several times in his fourth inning of work. His fastball velocity plays up a tick or two because of the spin he gets on it, in the 2,300 to 2,500 RPM range, and the extension he creates downhill. It was a fastball heavy outing for Murphy, but he did work in some sharp sliders in the later innings that sat 78-80 mph with a 2,100 to 2,200 rpm average. The Fighting Irish commit threw five scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and he struck out nine batters. Murphy has a tremendous ceiling on the mound.”

While he may be best suited as an arm in the future, Murphy’s a legitimate threat at the plate too, where his compact right-handed stroke works comfortably through the zone. He profiles as an impact type of prospect for the Fighting Irish down the road, although his talent on the mound and pedigree might garner some serious draft interest next July.

We're slated to see Murphy next at Preseason All-State in March.

TOP-10 PROFILES OF 2020, NO. 9: OWEN MURPHY


Scouting Report

7/25/20
Notre Dame commit. Ranked no. 59 in the entire country for the 2022 class. Proportional, athletic 6-foot-1, 180-pound frame with more room to add strength. Got the nod for RakeCity against Elite Baseball Training early Saturday morning. Playing up an age level, Murphy fit right in with the ‘21 class and was flat-out dominant. An exceptional athlete that moves tremendously well on the mound, Murphy sat an easy 88-91 mph throughout his outing and touched 92 mph several times in his fourth inning of work. His fastball velocity plays up a tick or two because of the spin he gets on it, in the 2,300 to 2,500 RPM range, and the extension he creates downhill. It was a fastball heavy outing for Murphy, but he did work in some sharp sliders in the later innings that sat 78-80 mph with a 2,100 to 2,200 RPM average. The Fighting Irish commit threw five scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and he struck out nine batters. Murphy has a tremendous ceiling on the mound.

2/16/20
Positional Profile: RHP
Body: 6-foot-1, 180-pounds. Athletic, proportional frame.
Delivery: Highly-athletic on the mound, strong front side, on line with target, lands square with present rhythm throughout, easy velocity.
Arm Action: RH. Short, loose, lively arm action, high 3/4 slot.
FB: T92, 89-91 mph. Comes out easy, plays mostly straight with heavy action, strikes to all corners of the zone.
CB: 75-79 mph. 11/5 shape, plays down in the zone.
CH: 81-84 mph. Near fastball arm speed, showed arm-side run, strikes.

Positional Profile: SS
Body: 6-foot-1, 180-pounds. Athletic, proportional frame.
Hit: RHH. Athletic setup, active pre-pitch movement in hands, smooth load, leg lift timing trigger.  Quick hands, long path, generates easy lift, favored his pull-side, power potential.
Power: 92 mph exit velocity from the tee.
Arm: RH. INF - 83 mph. Long, loose arm action, high 3/4 slot.
Defense: Athletic defensive actions, smooth, fluid footwork, fields out in front. Soft hands, clean funnels, quick to release, plays through the baseball.
Run: 7.2 runner in the 60. 

9/13/19

Verbally committed to Notre Dame.

7/31/19

2019 Future Games: 6-foot, 175-pound, right-handed pitcher; highly-athletic, loose-bodied, projectable, young look. One of two 2022 pitchers on Team Illinois. Created a lot of buzz after his one-inning performance in the first game. Struck out two in his one inning. Live, athletic arm action, works fast from a ¾ to high ¾ slot. Pounded the bottom of the strike zone with all of his offerings. Fastball, lively, control at the bottom of the zone, late run and sink, sat 84-87 mph. Featured a sharp slider, thrown with intent, tight spin, swing-and-miss pitch, 73-74 mph. Flashed a changeup in warmups with late fade action, thrown for a strike.

2/17/19

6-foot, 170-pound right-handed pitcher, athletic frame and actions with room for added strength, high upside. Simple delivery, leg coiled at sturdy balance, drop and drive delivery, extends in-line to home, foot strikes square, athletic throughout with quick twitch, smooth rhythm. Arm plays short and loose, hides on back side, quick arm speed, high ¾ slot, regular effort. Showed a three pitch feel in the zone. Fastball came out easy, straight with run at times, sat 84-85 mph. Slider, tight and late 11/5 break, throws it with conviction, 77-79 mph. Changeup faded and ran to his arm side,72-76 mph.


 

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