Phillies 2016 Draft: the Case for Riley Pint
The Philadelphia Phillies will make the first overall selection in the 2016 MLB Draft on Thursday night.
Few, if any, mock drafts have the Phillies going after Riley Pint with the top pick in this year’s MLB draft. None of the major site mocks from MLB.com, ESPN, or Baseball America have the Phillies selecting Pint. However, that doesn’t mean the Phillies should completely overlook him.
Pint stands at 6’5″ with long arms that bring power. His fastball sits comfortably in the mid or even high 90’s while topping out at 102 mph.
In addition, his fastball displays some sinking motion, which at such a high speed, should be enough to keep hitters off-balance.
Meanwhile, another potential top pic, Jersey shore high schooler Jason Groome, sits in the lower 90’s. That is solid, but Pint’s fastball emerges as the winner here. The Phillies shouldn’t have to tamper much with Pint’s heater very much, if at all.
Pint’s repertoire also includes a surprisingly deceptive changeup, keeping hitters off-balance at about 15 mph less than his fastball with solid break (see the final pitch of the below video for proof). On their own, the changeup-fastball combo is enough to strike batters out.
What perhaps offers the most upside from Pint is his breaking ball. The righty shows both a slider and curveball, depending on how he grips the pitch. Each offering flashes plus, and can reach that upside point under professional coaching.
A big decision for a coaching staff in the short-season leagues will be whether or not to have Pint hone in on one breaking pitch, or try to push him towards two. Each has its own benefits, but it would take longer for Pint to reach the majors should the coaches push him towards two separate breaking balls.
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Why I would like to see Pint over Groome, or even college lefty A.J. Puk, is quite simple; I think there is more upside on Pint than the either of those other talented arms.
As mentioned earlier, Groome’s fastball is inferior to Pint’s, and Pint also has the better secondary pitches. Where Groome beats out Pint is his control, but control should come as Pint works out his mechanics.
Pint’s arsenal is also as dominant, if not more so, than Puk’s. The collegiate lefty’s calling card is a power fastball, which Pint also possesses.
Puk also features a plus breaking ball; Pint’s flashes plus on both a slider and curve. Finally, Pint has a much better changeup than Puk, with Pint’s grading out as plus and Puk’s being fringe-average at best.
Puk and Groome are both viewed as the safer bets in this draft, but the Phillies have the advantage of being able to take a shot here as the club has built one of the better farm systems in MLB, with a plethora of pitching depth. The Phillies will have a safety net of plenty of other talented pitchers if Pint bottoms out.
However, Pint’s upside would be hard to pass over if I was drafting. The Phillies are in prime position to take a chance on a high-ceiling high schooler, even if they’ve already abandoned that idea in the scouting department.
While I may be saddened that the Phillies aren’t taking my favorite guy, whoever they land will become one of their top prospects in the system. With the first overall pick, it is really important to the building program that they get this one right.