Evan
Yates

SoCal ProCase:

Body:  6-foot-1, 180-pounds. Long and lean with a high waist. Lean, wiry strength with streamlined musculature throughout the frame. 

Delivery: Starts with hands at chest and keeps them there as he brings his front leg up to the glove before driving down the mound. Online stride with a firm, stable front leg. Compact arm action with a short stab at the bottom. Arm is quick with good extension while maintaining body control from a 3/4 slot which he repeats and maintains on all of his pitches. 

FB: Pitched 87-88 mph, while touching 90 several times. There’s movement through the zone with late life. Shows the ability to command the pitch to all quadrants in the zone. Not afraid to come inside on RHH making his second pitches play up. There’s way more velocity in the arm. Average Induced Vertical Break of 21.6” (high of 25.5”). Average Horizontal Movement of 6.8” with average spin rate of 2317 RPM (high of 2406 RPM). 

CH: Pitched 83-84 mph. Pitch shows late, snapping life at the plate with the ball virtually falling off the table. Comes from the same tunnel as the fastball and the same release point/arm slot. The pitch proved to be difficult for hitters to pick up on early resulting in consistent swing-and-miss efforts. Average Induced Vertical Break of 17.7” (93rd percentile) causing extreme ride. Average spin rate of 2422 RPM is well above the average for the 2019 MLB season of 1777 RPM. Average horizontal break of 18.6” (93rd percentile) resulting in extreme running action. The metrics show the changeup to have extreme sinking and running action. 

CB: Pitched 74-76 mph. Curveball has true 12/6 shape. Yates shows the ability to keep the ball down in the zone for strikes and more often than not, swing-and-miss results. Average spin rate of 2282 RPM with a high of 2332 RPM. Average induced vertical break of -6.3” with an average horizontal movement of -8.3” indicating the pitch has significant drop with some sweeping action. Both metrics put him in the top 15% high school averages. There’s quality depth, shape, and break to the pitch that was unhittable in his outing as he was able to spot it for strikes.

Uncommitted. 6-foot, 152-pounds. Long, lean, wiry frame with plenty of physical projection remaining. Huge hands, long arms/legs, large feet with a high waist give an indication of remaining growth. Defensively Yates shows versatility by being able to play third base and the outfield and do both at an above average level. On balls off bat to first baseman’s glove, Yates registered times of 3.85 (at him) and 3.96 (backhand). Quick hands/release play up with his strong, accurate arm (78 mph) across the diamond. Throws were in the chest of the first baseman each time. Offensively Yates’s game played better in-game than during the workout. Shows a balanced, smooth stroke with excellent control of barrel and the ability to catch up to pitches on the inner third of the plate. Most present power comes when he pulls the ball, but is able to drive balls the other way. Yates also pitches and has been as high as 87 in the past although he didn’t throw in this event.

PBR CA STATE GAMES - Lean, long and lanky with frame ready to take on more strength to make large jumps with the athletic ability already present. Showcased two-way skills with ability to be impact player both ways. At the dish showed high hands with flared elbows from a balanced, slightly squatted stance; simple sway back with slight foot lift staying balanced and athletic. Bat is compact and quick staying in the zone for a long time as he picked up multiple hard hits; attacked the pullside with long 2B and uses athletic ability moving well out of the box. Actions to fit at 3rd with the arm strength to stick; athletic enough that should be able to play a corner OF spot as well. On the hill went two innings striking out 4 and working around 4 hits. Hands start at the waist with lift showing bend over the back hip with deliberate leg lift having a slow swing; athletic on the hill showing fluid actions with extension down the hill. Arm is long and loose working from 3/4 release. FB 80-84 using on both sides of the plate and throwing with conviction. CB 67-70 with looser spin in 11/5 shape flashing small shape and ability to throw into and through the zone; when spin was tighter showed better swing and miss actions.

6-foot, 155-pounds, every time I see Yates I can’t help but look ahead to what this guy is going to be like when he fills out his long, lean, athletic frame. There’s plenty of tools to work with both offensively and defensively where he shows the flexibility and ability to play both third base and the outfield at a high level. Made a nice play in right field ranging to his right while under complete control of his body. While it wasn’t a highlight reel play, it showed his understanding of angles on balls off the bat. At the plate he didn’t get the results he wanted, but he put together a couple of really good at-bats including the one below that was an eight pitch at-bat that resulted in fly out.

IE Future Games Trials - Uncommitted. Yates is a highly projectable two-way player who at 6-foot-1, 152-pounds has a lot of present tools that will only continue to improve with his physical maturation. When hitting Yates looks to drive the ball from gap-to-gap with his quick hands that he keeps close to his body from his slightly back setup. Excellent use of the lower half, in fact, he uses his entire body well and in unison. Swing is very compact with developing power. On the dirt he demonstrates slick fielding actions with quick hands and an arm that’s able to make throws from all angles with accuracy. His footwork is excellent and he plays under control of his body. On the mound Yates is a bit raw still but his athleticism along with his clean arm action and repeatable mechanics are foundations upon which to build. Appears more comfortable, and command was a tick better, from the stretch.