DeJong #5 swingman ceiling
Scouting Report
To be honest, if we’re basing this on these stats alone, we wouldn’t know what his tendencies are, because of such a small sample size. So we must go further.
One thing that jumps out at me is his size. You always like a pitcher who is 6 feet, 4 inches. The part that scares me, is his weight. When you’re 6’4’’, you have to weigh more than 185 lbs to be very successful. It’s just too lanky; you need to build some muscle. With that being said, DeJong isn’t a power pitcher, as his fastball sits in the high 80s and sometimes rises to the low 90s. I’m sure the velocity will rise once he fills out his tall, lean frame, which gives him great upside. Dejong’s secondary pitches aren’t as lights out as some other prospects, but he uses his advanced head for the game to make up for it. With that advanced head comes the ability to make adjustments, and develop better than your average player. He throws a hard, biting curve, and is just starting to throw a change up now.DeJong is different from other prospects because he doesn’t just go out there throwing, he’s a real smart pitcher. That is probably what is responsible for the superb stats. I’m not sure that will translate to the majors, and it may not even hold for higher levels of the minors, but right now, he has a ton of potential.
CB Buckner