Team Mid-Atlantic Breakdown: Pitchers Part II
August 21, 2020
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In our fifth and final part of our Future Games: Team Mid-Atlantic breakdown we look at four 2022 arms from the 2020 edition of Team Mid-Atlantic.
Team Mid-Atlantic: 2023 Pitchers
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Nick Ciliberti RHP / OF / Riverside, VA / 2022Projectable 6-foot-1, 215-pound frame. Ciliberti has a low effort repeatable delivery. Shorter arm circle and moves into an over the top arm slot working downhill. The fastball was 81-84 and touched 85 a few times. Showed a breaking ball at 68-72 mph that had two different looks. Had a bigger 12/6 breaking ball that he had no issues getting over for strikes and then was able to put hitters away with a tighter short action breaking ball that got swings and misses down in the zone. The fastball was easy out of the hand and appears to have more velo there. If he can continue to mix those two breaking balls into his repertoire and the velocity keeps ticking up he has the potential to be a starter at the next level.
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Bryce Cooper RHP / 3B / Cave Spring, VA / 2022Projectable 6-foot-4, 195-pound frame with plenty of room to add strength. Cooper shows athleticism in delivery and movements. Slower paced start to the delivery that is under control and builds up pace late. Hand breaks down on the backside before making a quick move to get it up to a high three-quarter arm slot. Fastball was 80-82 and touched 83 a few times with some downhill plane. The curveball was solid with arm speed and depth. Got up and down with 12/6 shape at 70-71 mph. Did a nice job changing eye levels and keeping hitters off balance with the breaking ball.
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Brian Curley RHP / 2B / Trinity Episcopal , VA / 2022Athletic 5-foot-9, 170-pound right handed arm that offers high fastball spin from a short quick arm action. Shoulders are closed and slightly uphill moving down the mound. Works with intent and challenges hitters throughout counts. The fastball sat 85-88 mph with a spin rate that got up to 2517 rpm. The fastball plays. It got plenty of swings and misses at both ends of the zone and has plenty of carry. The slider has hard late life at 74-76 mph and has the makings of a legitimate next level pitch. Showed a changeup at 80-83 that had feel for the zone, but was his third pitch. Curley offers a real two pitch mix with makings of a bullpen arm that can get swings and misses. Really like how he comes at hitters and the slider has potential to be plus.
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James Gladden RHP / C / Archbishop Curley, MD / 2022Athletic 6-foot, 180-pound frame with some projection left to it. Works with some pace and intent. Down and out stride getting down the mound and lands closed. Three-quarter arm slow that is short and quick on the backside with hand and arm speed getting through. The fastball sat 83-86 with some heavy sink that got multiple swings and misses under right handed hitters' hands. Controlled both sides of the plate well at the bottom of the zone. It was a two pitch mix with the slider playing a heavy role in Gladden's success on the mound during his outing. The slider shows swing and miss potential at 74-77 with depth. Gladden projects as a middle-back end arm that has the ability to get weak contact and strikeouts with two strong pitches. The arm moves well enough to be able to make some more gains, but even where he is the slider plays well enough to fit into a bullpen/rotation at the next level.
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