2023 MLB Draft: Rhett Lowder, RHP, Wake Forest

Player: Rhett Lowder
School: Wake Forest                                                        Position(s): RHP
Height: 6’2″                       Weight: 200 lbs.                       Bats: Right                         Throws: Right
Pitches:
Fastball: 92-95, Creates some cross body action with arm slot. Plenty of downhill weight on the pitch. Average offering.
Slider: 82-86, Cutter version and deep two plane version. Bigger version has a ton of vertical break, but both have sharp actions. Average to just above average.
Change: 84-88, Plus offering despite not a massive velo gap off fastball. Great arm action and tunneling with a ton of late fade and dip.
Delivery/Mechanics: Very repeatable, 3/4 to lower arm slot. Hitchy delivery but controlled. Quality command, 55 grade. Limited effort. Easy starter projection with good leg drive and follow through. Quick arm makes it hard to pick up ball out of hand.
Other: 2022 ACC Pitcher of the Year, likely to repeat. 11-0 with 1.52 ERA this season. https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Summary: Pitchability is the word for Lowder. While he has stuck out more than ten per nine innings of work in his time with Wake Forest, he is unlikely to be a big strikeout guy at the next level. Instead he is a pitcher who does an excellent job keeping hitters off balance and making soft contact. He doesn’t have the eye popping stuff of a guy like Paul Skenes, but he is about as compete a pitcher as the class has. Would be of little surprise if he ends up being the first player in the class to make the big leagues, where he will have plenty of success. There may not be traditional ace upside, but a quality number two starter could be in Lowder’s future.

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