The beauty of baseball is that it takes a full team to win. Sometimes, the best players do not always get to display their skills in the most important games. That is not the case for Kyle Harrison. The left-handed pitcher has competed in many big games throughout his four years at De La Salle High School in California, amidst their current dynasty.
De La Salle has won four division titles in a row, and Harrison has been integral for two of them. His performance in the championship game as a junior clinched their most recent title.
After winning the championship game, Harrison embarked on the showcase circuit, and his performance for USA’s 18U National team caught the attention of scouts. He has good size at six-feet, two-inches tall, weighing 200 pounds, but he does have room to fill out. He is the 63rd-best prospect, according to MLB.com, and he has a commitment to UCLA.
Strengths
Kyle Harrison has a smooth delivery with a three-quarters arm slot. His hands and legs are well in sync for the entirety of his delivery, giving him good deception. Scouts feel he has the ability to be a solid MLB pitcher with his repertoire. He receives grades of 50/80 on all facets of his game, except for one. Therefore, his floor should be higher than other prospects.
The one facet of his game without a grade of 50/80 is his slider that grades out at a 55. The slider is his best pitch and his go-to for getting batters out. It sits in the high-70 MPH range, and it gives left-handed hitters an especially hard time. Perfect Game feels the pitch has slurve-type movement, and he tunnels it well with his fastball.
Speaking of his fastball, it sits in the low-90s, topping out at 93 MPH. It has good life to it. Batters have a hard time getting the barrel to the ball because the his arm slot gives the pitch a unique angle. He shows a good feel for his changeup, as well. He does not have struggles when it comes to controlling any of these pitches.
Harrison managed to get one start in before the season was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In that start, he struck out 11 batters in five innings with no walks. His fastball velocity was still hitting 93 MPH in the fifth inning.
Weaknesses
Although Harrison has a high floor, he does not have a particularly high ceiling. Therefore, he is not a considered a project for MLB teams. He has not reached his ceiling yet so there is still room to develop. However, realizing his untapped potential will not bring his ability to the same level as other prospects.
Harrison’s velocity is worth mentioning as a weakness. He has seen success and he has superb pitchability although he is a pitcher who will have to rely more on his ability to control his stuff since he will not overpower the batter.
Signability could be an issue for Harrison with his commitment to UCLA. There is no definitive information about his desire to honor his commitment. While that means it is possible that he chooses to forgo college, it is also not a guarantee that he will, depending on when he gets drafted.
MLB Comp
Kyle Harrison compares well to Kansas City Royals pitcher Danny Duffy. Duffy throws a much harder slider than Harrison does, and his fastball has a tick more velocity at this point in time. The similarities come in the build and the pitch usage.
Duffy is an inch taller and five pounds heavier so they have similar size. Duffy uses his fastball and slider over 70% of the time while mixing in his changeup as his third-most-used of five pitches.
Although he lacks a high ceiling, Kyle Harrison is a safe pick for a high school pitcher because of his high floor, assuring teams that he is not a project that they will be taking a chance on.
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
