Frank Mozzicato recently celebrated his eighteenth birthday and already has a fastball that sits in the low nineties. The lefty grew up in the family bakery but has obviously been putting a lot of work into baseball as his fastball velocity has risen by 13 MPH since 2018. The six-foot-two 175-pound lefthander is a recent graduate of East Catholic High School in Manchester, CT.
Frank’s older brother Anthony Mozzicato pitches for Central Connecticut State University. So it seems that pitching runs in the family, much like baking. If Frank decides to attend college like his brother, he has committed to play baseball at the University of Connecticut. MLB currently lists Frank Mozzicato as number 39 on its draft board.
Strengths
Frank has a fastball velocity that is in the 95th percentile of the 2021 draft class. The scouting report rates his fastball at 50 out of 80. His velocity is consistently monitored in the low 90s, but this is not even his main strength. In fact, most scouts consider Frank’s curveball to be his best pitch. The breaking ball comes with high spin and he is able to throw the pitch in the strike zone. Frank’s scouting report rates his curveball at 60 out of 80, so he should be able to strike a lot of batters out with the pitch. To add to both of these two pitches, Frank has a change-up that rates at 50 out of 80. So, Frank has a lot to work with whether he decides to attend college or go straight to the pros.
Weaknesses
While Frank has three good pitches and relatively good control, he does not currently need to use his change-up frequently. So he can be considered a two-pitch pitcher until he starts to unload his off-speed pitch more often. While that may work well at the high school level, professional hitters will likely force him to use his entire arsenal. This means that Frank will have to work to incorporate all three pitches and maintain control at the same time. But with his recent rise in velocity, Frank ought to be able to use the change-up to change speeds and throw hitters off in the future.
Frank does have good control, but it’s not great yet. This is something that he will surely develop as he progresses in his career. With that said, his control is already improving, which is a good sign as his velocity rises. Nobody expects pinpoint accuracy from a high school pitcher, but as he adds spin to his breaking ball and velocity to his fastball, maintaining control becomes more difficult. After Frank masters all three pitches, he may want to add a fourth pitch to further keep batters off balance.
MLB Comp
When Max Fried began his career, he had a great curveball, a low 90s fastball, and a change-up. Frank Mozzicato has the same three pitches as Max Fried. Both pitchers throw with their left hand. They are both tall with slim, yet athletic builds. Fried, who has been playing for the Atlanta Braves for all five years of his career, is two inches taller than Mozzicato. Max has also recently added a slider to his arsenal, which Frank may later want to add as well. Like Fried, Mozzicato may decide to wait until he masters his first three pitches prior to taking on another one. Whether Frank decides to move forward with his current pitches, or add on to his bag of tricks, there is still a lot of work to be done to make it to the big leagues.
Players Mentioned: Max Fried
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
