MLB Prospect Scouting Report: Bishop Letson

Scouting Grades (20-80 Scale)

Mechanics

Mechanically, Letson is similar to Nolan McLean. Like McLean, Letson uses a high leg kick and three-quarter arm slot to create deception while maintaining similar release characteristics across his pitch mix.

Both pitchers have prominent leg kicks both in the windup and from the stretch. Upon their release they both throw in the three quarter arms lot and fire home with sling shot motions. Letson tunnels his pitches well by keeping similar arm angles for all of his pitches. Letson has quality pitches which are accentuated by the same arm slot allowing him to tunnel the pitches to keep hitters off balance.

One thing to keep an eye out for is how he ends his delivery. He tends to fall away toward first base after release. While this does not necessarily indicate an injury concern on its own, it is something to monitor given the velocity he generates and the importance of maintaining a consistent finish throughout his delivery.

Pitches:

Fastball: primary pitch, generates high velocity and can be located effectively. Tunnels the fastball with his slider, keeping hitters off balance with similar velocity. Opposing hitters struggle to discern if the pitch will have late movement. The fastball also complements the changeup. Often will throw slider low in the zone and elevate and change speeds, resulting in swings and misses.

Slider: tunnels well with his fastball, late life and movement on the pitch similar to how Nolan McLean utilizes his slider/fastball combination. Not to say he is at that level but the tunneling he achieves leaves hitters baffled and guessing. It often looks like a curveball.

Change up: Solid pitch, good late dive to complement with the fastball. It is a good pitch to utilize after heavy usage of fastball, slider combination in order to pull the string on hitters

Projection:

Looks to be the next product out of the Brewers pitching factory. As it stands now, his ceiling is a middle-of-the-rotation starter, but I believe his more likely outcome is as an effective bullpen piece. To truly be effective as a starting pitcher at the big-league level, he needs to develop another secondary pitch. Adding a curveball with similar movement to his slider will help keep hitters guessing consistently. Tunneling a quality curveball with a high-velocity fastball will make him even more effective.

He has effective stuff, but his difficulty consistently working deep into games is the biggest concern in his profile. He threw seven innings earlier this year before giving up 10 runs across his next two starts. His walk rate has increased this year, and his stuff appears to become less effective as he works deeper into games. If he cannot consistently produce quality starts, I see his fastball/slider combination playing well in a bullpen role, where he can attack hitters in shorter stints. He is a high-upside pitcher, but at this point I would project him toward the bullpen rather than the rotation. He is young at 21 years old and already at the AA level, so he still has time to develop further.