Baseball Prospectus | | Eyewitness Scouting Report


	Luis Ysla Born: 04/27/1992 (Age: 22)
	Bats: Left	Throws: Left
	Height: 6' 1"	Weight: 185

Filled, medium frame with mass in midsection; violent drop-and-drive mechanics; very quick and short arm action; arm gets up early; low three-quarter slot; big head jerk; spins off toward third base with a big arm recoil; extension out front is limited due to fairly staunch front leg and aforementioned spin off; overall balance and posture in delivery is poor; lapses into flying open and will miss high and to the arm side; pitcher's release point tends to waver due to mechanical inconsistencies from pitch to pitch, negatively affecting control; places a ton of stress on the arm; delivery requires pristine athleticism to repeat, but the pitcher does not have the requisite coordination to replicate it consistently.

Evaluator	Ethan Purser
Report Date	06/09/2014
Affiliate	Augusta GreenJackets (Low A, Giants)
Dates Seen	6/9/2014
OFP	55
MLB ETA	2016
Video	No

Pitch Type	Future Grade	Sitting Velocity	Peak Velocity	Report
Fastball	60	92-94	96	Velocity: plus; sat 92-94 most of the night, touching 96 on a couple of occasions; held velocity throughout start. Command: below-average; delivery and arm slot inconsistency limits pitcher's ability to spot the pitch consistently; lapses into overthrowing and misses high and to the arm-side with regularity; limited projection due to max-effort mechanics, but additional repetitions should help in this regard. Movement: plus arm-side run with some late sink; shows explosive life on the hands of left-handed hitters; flattens out up in the zone; displays minimal plane due to lower slot and drop-and-drive mechanics. Comments: pitches aggressively with the fastball and attacks hitters with the pitch; elevates pitch to get whiffs when ahead in the count; will rely on sheer velocity at the expense of location on occasion, leaving the pitch over the heart of the plate for hitters to feast upon; velocity will play at the higher registers of this range out of the bullpen.
Slider	60	77-83	85	Command: fringe-average; shows the ability drop the pitch in as an early strike in the lower registers; sharper break in the mid-80s that was a swing-and-miss offering when located in the lower quadrants of the zone; lost command of the pitch the second time through the order, slipping under the ball with and causing it to float high in the zone. Movement: hard, late break with good tilt and two-plane break in the mid-80s; softer break in the upper-70s that is used in the zone as a freeze pitch; break on pitch varied between 1-to-7 and 2-to-8, depending on release point. Comments: will occasionally telegraph the pitch by slowing his arm and his mechanics; overall lack of control with the pitch makes it a fringe-average offering presently but flashes legitimate swing-and-miss potential with further refinement and repetitions; plays well off of the fastball.
Changeup	35	83-85	87	Command: poor; trouble locating pitch; missed high and to the arm-side and left the pitch high and hanging; Movement: displayed some arm-side run; Comments: threw only a handful of changeups in this appearance and struggled to locate the pitch; do not see the pitch becoming more than a below-average offering at the major-league level due to arm-slot inconsistency and lack of feel for the pitch.

In this look, the lack of a playable changeup and the strenuous mechanics leave limited projection for a role in the rotation. Due to the potent fastball-slider combination, Ysla has the ceiling of a high-leverage reliever, potentially in a setup role. Realistically, however, the command issues could force him into a middle-relief role, where he could be especially effective versus same-handed batters.

Ysla is 22 years old and is only in his second professional season, but the stuff is such that he could be put on the fast-track out of the bullpen in the Giants' system. He is currently seeing success out of the rotation due to his ability to overpower Low-A hitters with his arsenal and the funk that accompanies it, so it is hard to justify a move to the bullpen immediately. I'm not a believer in the rotation being his permanent home, however, and a move to the bullpen could get him to San Francisco as early as 2016.