With the 2018 MLB Draft quickly approaching, many teams are gearing up to select the player they hope can prosper into a star, and get them a World Series title. Teams can find anything from rare gems in the later rounds to busts in the first round. In this Last Word On Baseball Draft Profile, we take an in-depth look at pitcher Ryan Rolison.
Ryan Rolison 2018 MLB Draft Profile
Rolison is an alumnus of University School of Jackson, a high school in Jackson, Mississippi. He was a part of the graduating class of 2016. He would go into the MLB Draft after high school and was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 37th round of the 2016 MLB Draft. Instead of signing with the Padres, Rolison elected to go play for the University of Mississippi. 2 years later, Rolison will try again coming into the draft as a sophomore. This time, however, there is a good chance that Rolison will hear his name called 36 rounds earlier than he did in 2016.
Rolison is a left-handed pitcher and was one of the most polished left-handers when he was originally drafted in 2016. If he is indeed drafted in the first round, Rolison will join Drew Pomeranz as the only pitchers to be drafted in the first round in school history.
Strengths
According to a scouting report on Rolison done by MLB Pipeline, Rolison has one of the best curveballs in the entire draft. It is described as a sharp breaker that has power and depth. His fastball is also quite strong, hitting the lower 90s most of the time with an occasional 95 mixed in.
Weaknesses
From the MLB Pipeline report, his control is something that will need to improve. The good thing is his control for some pitches is in a good spot, like his fastball and curveball. His other pitches, such as his changeup and slider, are the reasons that his control has come into question. This may be due to the fact that it has been reported that Rolison’s command from game to game is inconsistent when he goes to the mound.
Final Thoughts
Ryan Rolison is a pitcher who has top-level talent coming up in this draft. The only reason that teams may be concerned is the statistics from his sophomore year at the University of Mississippi. Rolison was not his usual self, keeping a good record of 8-4 but posting a 3.95 ERA which is unusual for him. Rolison is by no means ready quite yet to be the star pitcher, but with some time to fix his few weaknesses, he will be well on his way. Not to mention the fact that Rolison has one of the strongest curveballs that many scouting reports have seen from a pitcher.
It also is big that Rolison will head into the draft as a sophomore because usually, sophomores don’t feel ready enough to enter into the draft. As it stands right now, MLB Pipeline’s Johnathan Mayo has Rolison dropping all the way to the Chicago Cubs at the 24th overall pick in his latest mock draft.
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