April 18, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Scouting Report Updates: Payton Tolle, Brady Tygart and Blake Aita
While updating our scouting reports is a year-round endeavor, our trip to Spring Training provides us with one-stop access to watch players from all levels of the system, including our first chances to see players who have yet to head out to a full-season affiliate. After getting this extended sample and talking to numerous trusted sources, we come back with a wealth of information from which we make substantial updates to our scouting reports. After spending the past few weeks making a ton of updates to our player pages, cataloged as always in our Scouting Log, we wanted to highlight some of the most noteworthy here on the News Page. Today, we look at some players who made substantial jumps in our season-opening rankings update based on what we learned from camp.
Current ranking: 13th
Physical Description: Huge frame with minimal remaining projection. Looks all of listed height and weight.
Mechanics: Throws from a low three-quarters arm slot. High leg kick. Really drives off his back side and gets elite extension (7.4 feet or more). Has a very low release height. Arm action works, but has a slight stab behind. Very deceptive delivery in large part due to how close to the plate he releases the ball.
Fastball: 93-95 mph, tops out at 96 mph. Pitch has life up and both vertical and horizontal movement. Has shown premium bat-missing ability, even when used almost three-quarters of the time in college. Pitch plays well above its velocity. Command is a work in progress and control is only average. Has the traits that make you think he could gain velocity on his fastball in pro ball. Potential plus-to-better offering.
Sweeper: 82-84 mph. Long, horizontal break. Primary secondary pitch that evolved from a sweepy slider at 78-82 he threw in college. Needs to develop more consistency with the offering and the confidence to rely on it, but flashes bat-missing ability Potential average offering.
Slider: 86-88 mph. Short, horizontal cut-slider. Has more depth on occasion. Solid bite. Potential fringe-average offering.
Changeup: 88-90 mph. Inconsistent feel and shape. Uses very sparingly. Work in progress. Potential below-average offering.
Summation: Wide range of outcomes from a left-handed reliever to a middle of the rotation starter. Very unique pitching prospect given his size and delivery. Could have some untapped potential, as he has only began to focus exclusively on pitching in his junior season. His extension would grade near the top of all pitchers in pro ball. Misses a ton of bats with his fastball even though it sits in the low-to-mid-90s. Needs to improve command and control and develop his secondary pitches to stick as a starter, but has a relatively high floor as a fastball dominant left-handed reliever. Breaking balls both show potential, but changeup lags behind. Type of arm that you want to bring into the player development system with some standout traits to build on.
Current ranking: 32nd
Physical Description: Medium frame with a sturdy lower half. Solid pitcher's build with some remaining projection in his upper body.
Mechanics: Throws from a three-quarters arm slot starting on the third base side of the rubber. Effortful delivery with a lot of moving parts. Jerky, longer arm action. Medium-high leg kick and slight trunk twist before coming forward. Arm-heavy delivery, then lands stiff. Loose, live arm.
Fastball: 92-94 mph. Tops out at 95 mph. Average life. Command and control is work in progress.
Curveball: 77-79 mph. Vertical, 12-to-6 shape. Advanced feel for spin.
Sweeper: 80-82 mph. Long, horizontal break. Nice shape. Pitch flashes bat-missing ability.
Changeup: 85-87 mph. Pitch shows late fade. Solid feel, able to pull the string on it. Thrown with deceptive arm speed. Shows confidence in the pitch and is willing to throw to both right- and left-handed hitters.
Summation: Right-hander with an intriguing four-pitch mix with advanced feel for his secondary offerings. Able to pitch backwards using his fastball as a change-of-pace pitch. Throws two breaking balls with distinct shapes and changeup shows impressive bat-missing ability. Has much better stuff than the typical Day 3 draftee, but is inconsistent from outing to outing. If fastball quality improves, could profile as a starter, but has a solid fallback in the bullpen, where his stuff could really play up.
Current ranking: 40th
Physical Description: Solid pitcher's frame. Sturdy lower half, but has some remaining projection.
Mechanics: Throws from a high-three-quarters arm slot, starting on the first base side of the rubber. Has effort in delivery. Comes from a vertical approach angle that can be difficult for hitters. Medium-high leg kick. Hides the ball well behind.
Fastball: 92-95 mph. High spin rate. Solid command and control profile. Velocity ticked up in spring training 2025 after sitting in the 89-92 mph range in college. Potential above-average offering.
Sweeper: 80-82 mph. Long, horizontal shape. Extremely high spin rate, with some over 3200 RPM. Advanced feel and has shown strong bat-missing ability. Confident using against hitters from both sides of the plate.
Cutter: 86-89 mph. Cut-slider shape. High spin rate and solid feel.
Changeup: 85-89 mph. Primarily used against left-handed hitters. Will flash bat-missing ability.
Summation: Intriguing arm with the potential for two plus pitches and bat-missing ability with three. Will be developed as a starter as he shows solid feel to pitch and complete arsenal. Velocity has already ticked up in pro ball. Analytics darling coming out of college with advanced feel for spin. Secondary stuff is ahead of fastball, but all pitches have high spin rates and has already seen a velocity jump since college.
Photo Credit: Payton Tolle, Brady Tygart and Blake Aita by Kelly O'Connor
Ian Cundall is Director of Scouting for SoxProspects.com. Follow him on Twitter/X @IanCundall and on Bluesky @iancundall.bsky.social.