2019 White Sox Prospect Notes

[Padres]

Daniel Lynch, LHP, Kansas City Royals (High-A Wilmington)

Lynch is plenty projectable, with long limbs and a lean frame at 6-foot-6, 190 pounds. He uses a compact leg kick, quick separation, and medium stride to create extension and momentum towards home plate. Lynch’s mechanics aren’t perfect, as he can collapse his back side early, and drift towards the first-base side. As a result, his velocity can fluctuate, and his command phases in and out. He compensates for the drift in his delivery with a low three-quarter crossfire arm action that appears very slingy at times.

Lynch began the game sitting 94-96 and topping at 97 a handful of times. The velocity ticked down as the game went on to settle in at 93-94, and the crossfire makes it difficult for hitters to pick up the heater. He was much more consistent commanding the pitch to the arm side of the plate. The slider came in 86-90, with big horizontal break into the zone that froze hitters and got swings and misses. He didn’t command as well as he would have liked, but the deception and movement of the pitch allowed it to play up. He also flashed a curveball at 83-84, but it was inconsistent and didn’t feature as much movement as the slider. A changeup rounded out the arsenal, but it had little fading action and lagged significantly.

The body, feel for pitching, and just enough command of multiple pitches make Lynch an attractive bet for a future in the rotation. He cruised through seven innings in my look, despite the slider command and fastball velocity regressing as he went. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Lynch thrive in a late-inning relief role, where his fastball-slider combo would be more than enough to get outs. – Ricky Conti

https://www.baseballprospectus.com/pros ... y-20-2019/