David
Eichhorn

CCS Playoffs D2 - Uncommitted. As mentioned, the large and lean framed righty was dominant in his outing consistently working 0-1 against hitters and then being able to knock them out with his above-average breaking ball. Eichhorn throws with tempo and rhythm on the mound and when his body is in sync with his compact arm, it’s absolutely electrifying stuff. The FB was 83-86 T87 MPH mainly pitching 84-85 all game with lower velocity in the 8th inning. He commanded the pitch to both sides of the plate, but was more consistent to the arm side where his run played up. The CB 70-76 MPH sat mainly 73-76, losing a little in the 8th as well. He threw the pitch to both sides of the plate and was consistently a swing and miss pitch with 12/5 shape and tight bite. The feel for the pitch was the most impressive putting into or through the zone as he needed. Eichhorn also threw a few good versions of his SPLIT (77-81 MPH) that had some bottom with late depth; it’s a decent third pitch that will help him at the next level and being more of a show pitch right now. I’ve seen the Uncommitted righty on his best and worst days this season and the projectability of the frame and arm have me sold he’s a guy who should be on a roster of a 4-year school for next season.

2/12/19 vs Monterey - Early season scrimmage. Long and lean frame moved freely and is projectable. His loose arm is compact getting to a high ¾ release quickly and freely. He went 2 innings striking out 6, walking 1 and giving up a hit. The fastball had good life and angle controlling to both sides of the plate. He worked 84-86 mph touching 88 early and being able to dial it up when he needed to. The velocity will tick up as he gets on the hill more and once the spring heats up, could easily be working at the top of his velocity. His curveball was sharp, showing late snap with 12/6 bend working 68-71 mph and getting lots of swing and misses. The third pitch was a projectable splitter flashing late dive, in the 75-77 mph range. He really attacked hitters coming out and pounding the fastball, having an understanding of what he was doing and using his offspeed to finish hitters off. As an uncommitted senior, he could be a late steal for a team at the next level.

2/4/2020 vs Delta: Eichhorn is another guy I’ve been following for the last couple seasons and the upside will have schools and MLB teams following this Spring. He followed Koenig going 4 strong innings to lock down the Delta offense, striking out 6 while giving up two hits and hitting one. The long and lean frame still has plenty of space to keep adding strength to improve the profile as he matures. The tempo building delivery shows a slight hand lift while keeping them close to the body with a high front knee. Eichhorn has really improved the usage of his lower half allowing the compact arm to stay hidden in the pocket before it’s H-3/4 release finishing with extension over the force absorbing front leg. He repeated the delivery very well during the outing and showed his ability to attack the inner half of the plate with the FB while using his two-offspeed pitches to change looks on hitters. FB 86-88 with running life from the two-seam grip; FB was live through the zone and was able to back off hitters from the plate on both sides. CB 73-74 showed ability to throw into and through the zone as needed; blending between a 12/5-to-11/4 shape and having late vertical tilt for swings and miss. CHG 78-80 working from a split grip showed ability to fade armside and have late bottom out of the zone; when he allowed the pitch to work the actions were better and more consistent. There’s lots of positive projection on Eichhorn and the ceiling could be very high if he keeps adding strength.

11/5/2019 @ West Valley College: I’ve been a big fan of Eichhorn over his final two seasons at Aptos High and still see the upside on the long and lean frame that I’ve talked about previously (See previous Notes). The squared up frame pushes 6-3 and shows the space for an added 10-15 pounds of muscle to push him to the next level. On the hill, the delivery has smoothed out allowing him to repeat it consistently and get more into his lower half to produce easy momentum down the hill; the hands stay up by the chin through an athletic, high front knee allowing the loose and easy arm to uncoil cleanly as he gets into the lower half down the hill before producing late arm speed through the 3/4 delivery. FB 85-87 T88 locating both up and down in the zone; some ride when going to the top of the zone and flashed angle going to the gloveside changing eye levels on hitters. CB 71-77 blending the shape between a 12/6 overhand CB and shorter 12/4 bending slurve that can get swings and misses; feel for the pitch and confidence with it. CHG 80 small sink flashing dive; pitch shows upside to be a quality 3rd one in the arsenal. Struck out 3 in his 3 IP, giving up a HR on a hanging CB. Another name that should pop up to a D1 level with a strong spring.