The Rockies drafted 6-foot-4, 210 pound, 18-year old Riley Pint with the fourth overall pick of the MLB draft Wednesday night.
Pint, out of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Kansas, has a fastball that has been clocked at an eye-popping 102 MPH.
Thomas Harding joined Gil Whiteley on Mile High Radio AM 1310 | FM 104.7 to discuss the Rockies first round draft picks.
“He was clocked at 102 MPH at this point, but his mechanics are a little bit wild,” said Harding. “I compare it a little bit to Jon Gray. A lot of these guys throw the ball pretty hard their pretty raw and they need some coaching and if they take to the coaching they can really take off. This guy is an excellent athlete and moves well.”
The 18-year-old has one of the most lively arms, if not, the most lively arm out of the class of pitchers in the 2016 draft.
Along with his fastball, scouts rave about his repertoire of pitchers including his changeup, which they believe to be one of the best in the draft. He also adds a plus curveball and slider.
“I’m ready to go now,” Pint told Ashley Scoby of the Kansas City Star.
The Rockies hope Pint is “ready now” because they could really use another arm to complement Jon Gray, whom they have on the fast track to being their No. 1 starter.
Pint is already committed to LSU, but it’s up to him to decide if he wants to pass up the paycheck and go play for the Tigers.
Harding is confident Pint is going to sign.
“The Rockies aren’t going to draft anybody, especially in the upper rounds who isn’t going to sign.”
The video belows gives us a sneak preview of the hard throwing right hander…
The Rockies weren’t finished drafting pitchers.
With the 38th overall pick, the Rockies selected RHP, Robert Tyler out of Georgia. Tyler throws between 89-96 MPH but has some issues with his command.
Harding explained to Gil that the schedule pitchers abide by in the majors will determine whether Tyler is going to become a starter or a late game reliever.
“Tyler had a forearm issue a couple years ago which kind of slowed him a bit but this year, in April, he shut down Florida and he came within an out of a no hitter against Alabama,” said Harding. “The question is, is he going to be a reliever like a late game reliever or a starter? Right now he’s a starter but we’ll see what happens when he gets to that five day schedule in pro ball.”
With the 45th overall pick Colorado selected Ben Bowden, a left-handed pitcher out of Vanderbilt. Bowden spent his first two years as a reliever out of the bullpen, but in his junior season Bowden won the Co-MVP of the renowned Cape Cod League, which helped him get a spot in the starting rotation.
Bowden didn’t pitch well as a starter, so he was demoted back to the bullpen where he posted a below 4.00 ERA and had 65 strikeouts against 14 walks.
“He’s been a heck of a closer,” said Harding.” He definitely knows how to attack people, he has some pretty good off-speed stuff in addition to a really nice fastball that he can run to 92-95. At the college level people have a really hard time getting the bat to the ball with him.”
Drafting all pitchers in the first round was a great strategy for a team that hasn’t had a true ace since Ubaldo Jimenez, in 2010, who had 19 wins and posted a 2.93 ERA.
The Rockies hope Tyler and Bowden will make a quick transition to the minors and work their ways up rather quickly. Both pitchers can tremendously help the Rockies bullpen which is one of the worst in the MLB with a 4.10 ERA.
As for Pint, the organization and fans hope he can compete for the number one starter role. A dream scenario would be for Pint and Gray to be one, two in the rotation for years to come. Along with one of the best offenses in the league, the Rockies chances of making a playoff run could substantially rise with these two young guns in the rotation.
Check out the rest of the podcast below…
Catch Gil Whiteley every weekday from 11a-1p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7, or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.
