Austin
Roberts

4/26/19: Fourth-year junior. 6-foot, 219-pound right-handed pitcher, durable build with strength, broad shoulders, athletic actions for size. Aggressive presence, uptempo style, minimal waisted time, attacked hitters all game, never got deep into counts, put away hitters. Changed timing and holds with runners on, quick pitched, picked when needed, 1.18-1.29 to the plate out of the stretch. Deception in delivery, 3rd base setup, medium leg lift with slight crunch over at waist, level and closed shouldered, lands slightly across body adding deception, toe strikes closed, controlled finish. Short arm action with early draw out of glove, arm strength type, 3/4 slot, repeated. Control guy with borderline command upside. Competitiveness is present, tiptoed between active and lax all game, effective demeanor. Fastball play was better than the velocity, more run that sink, occasional tilt, spotted up to his glove side early, showed arm side control second time through the order, maintained 87-89 mph throughout his 6 inning outing, 85-86 mph when he needed a get me over, flashed sink with lower velo. Eight of his ten K's came on the fastball. Slider was swing and miss with action all game, 10/4 shape, thrown with conviction and arm speed, showed ability to spin it and bury when needed, front door/back door to both LHH & RHH, 80-82 mph. Changeup showed better in warmups, vertical movement with occasional fade, arm side miss in game, arm slowed, 25+ mph winds worked against pitch fade, 81-83 mph. Overall, the fastball/slider combination played well on this day. Showed that he has a third pitch, need to see it play in game. Low walk rate as his stats on the day correlated with his seasonal stats; 6IP, 6H, 3R, 3ER, 2BB, 10K. On the year, 13 APP/5GS, 40.2IP, 34H, 12ER, 56Ks, 14BBs. Projects as a 5th starter/bullpen guy with the current two pitch mix he showed, with a FB velocity bump, which is very possible noting the conditions on this day (20+ mph winds), and changeup play in-game he has 4/5 starter capability. Has more bullpen experience than starting, 61 college appearances, only 21 starts. (Panayotovich)