Darrell
McDowell

6-foot-4, 188 pounds. If you want to see what projection truly looks like, just watch DJ pitch. Smooth and effortless with a perfect build of momentum, he’s already able to throw strikes at a high level while being built like a college hooper. But what people don’t realize is he’s only at the floor of his eventual ceiling. Just last summer, he was working more in the mid 80’s T87. He’s already made a consistent jump every year in the last 3 years, and he’s nowhere near he’s eventual velocity. There’s a small adjustment or 2 that can really take him to the next level. With some slight tweaking of his sequence, his SL will soon reach a different level along with his velocity. While his SL may have been a little off in Game 3, he’s thrown it for strikes consistently every other time I’ve seen him. DJ was also dealing with bad cramps and extreme heat yesterday so it was unfortunate everyone didn’t get to see the full picture of his current talent. Regardless, McDowell is going to have a slew of phone calls and offers beginning on August 1 and he’s a hard worker who has a true passion for pitching and constantly wants to improve his game. Not only is he a rare talent with big time fast twitch fibers, but has endless ceiling that will continue to rise each look we get at him.

Uncommitted. 6-foot-4, 170 pounds. Few players in the state have had a breakout like this elite projection arm in 2023. When an MLB team is looking for a front end starter (the highest value a pitcher can have), one of the first traits they’re looking for is an effortless, repeatable delivery. DJ’s well balanced, silky delivery is naturally repeatable and clean. There’s not an ounce of stiffness in his operation, and it's built on rhythm and fluidity with nothing forced. But rhythm and fluidity aren’t possible without good timing, and that’s one of the most glaring positives in his actions on the mound. The hands pump in perfect harmony with the lift knee in “up phase” and they break and separate perfectly from each other in the “down & out phases.” This is the biggest key to McDowell having some of the best hip/shoulder separation in the entire country, and it’s incredible how well he repeats it in such a lengthy frame. Most long levered 6’4 underclassmen are going to misfire often, as it’s very tough to repeat a delivery correctly 80-100 times in a game well before filling out physically. This is my favorite trait about Darrell. He’s a strike thrower with very good balance despite having long levers that are difficult to control. This tells me when he gets more physical, he’s going to begin to develop some big time command in the future. He already is showing impressive glove side command of both his FB and SLV with consistent life. The next step for him as a pitcher will be to develop command of his FB/SLV/SPL trio arm side, which will come as he improves lower half direction. His SLV shape has taken a big step this spring, as has the SPL. Mark these words, this will be one of the biggest stars of Future Games and he will have dozens of P5’s to choose from come August 1st.

Uncommitted. Lean 6-3, 180-pound frame with tons of room to continue adding on. Relaxed and balanced delivery but works with tempo. Highly flexible and athletic, allows him to stay patient and methodical over the rubber. Full arm circle AA with a H3Q slot and advanced, natural lower half mechanics. Long stride down the mound with easy extension, using every inch of his lean frame, limits the distance a hitter has to pick up the baseball out of his hand with how close his release point is in relation to the plate. FB held velo throughout duration of his outing, sitting 88-89 and touching 90, generating several strikes. Impressive job with his SL (73-76) during the game as well, didn;t have great feel for the pitch earlier on but became a serious weapon that hitters had to respect in the later innings, several s/m on pitch and could throw in any count, keeping hitters off balance. Really exciting upside for this arm, as he adds on weight velo could still take a considerable jump, potential to be one of the top arms in his class.