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Physical Description: Medium,
athletic frame. Minimal projection remaining.
Mechanics: Throws from a high-three-quarters arm slot.
Drop-and-drive delivery with substantial effort. Starts on the
third base side of the rubber, but then steps towards first base
before raising his front leg. Medium-high leg kick. Pronounced
arm hook behind then whips it forward. Hides the ball well
behind. Lands on line to the plate, but falls off hard toward
first base. Release point can get inconsistent. Funky look for
hitters with his vertical slot.
Fastball:
92-95 mph. Tops out at 97 mph. Pitch has fringe life. Has
sinking action at the lower end of the range, more armside run
at the high end. Control is
ahead of command at this point, but both are at least average
already. Needs to do a better job consistently getting ahead of
hitters with his fastball and is much more comfortable pitching
to his glove side than arm side. Fastball velocity and quality
decrease as the game goes on. Velocity has increased since early
in his career. Potential average pitch.
Slider:
84-90 mph. One pitch, but shows two movement profiles, with
longer, horizontal movement at lower velocities and more
cutterish break on the higher end. Primarily thrown 84-87 mph.
Improved considerably in 2023 to the point where it is a viable
secondary offering with bat-missing ability, and in some outings
is his go-to pitch. Potential above-average pitch.
Curveball: 76-82 mph. Long, 12-to-6 breaking
ball with depth. Has confidence in the pitch and will throw it
in any count. Potential average pitch. |
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Splitter: 81-85 mph. New-ish pitch in 2023 that
evolved from his changeup, which itself he had developed from a
split-change. Some will show drop, but is still inconsistent
right now. Potential fringe-average pitch.
Career
Notes: Father, Lance Dobbins, played baseball at
Alabama and in the Diamondbacks system. All-State in high
school. Pitched as a reliever in the College World Series as a
freshman in 2019. Midweek starter as a sophomore in
pandemic-shortened season. Injured his UCL during a preseason
scrimmage in 2021 and missed the season after undergoing Tommy
John surgery in March. Participated in the Fall Performance
Program in 2021 as a rehabber. Returned in June 2022 to make his
pro debut in Salem. Was set to participate in the 2022 Fall
Performance Program that was canceled due to Hurricane Ian.
Summation: Potential up-and-down depth
starter or multi-inning reliever. Ceiling of a back-end starter.
At his best, will show plus velocity and three secondary pitches
that can all get hitters out. Has pitches that move in all
directions and confidence that he can throw any of them for
strikes. Effortful delivery brings injury and consistency
concerns, and needs to improve his fastball command. Fastball
can get hittable later in games, and he needs to show he can
consistently get left-handed hitters out to profile as a
starter, but has developed into one of the more intriguing arms
in the system.
Links
Red Sox select
Hunter Dobbins with eighth-round pick
(7.12.2021)
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