Shane
Ritter

5.5.15 - Iowa commit. Long lanky highly athletic right-handed pitcher, very projectable frame, 6-foot-4, 180-pounds. Good mound presence, moxy, high competitor. Athletic in delivery, lower half works rotationally, occasional recoil finish. Pounded the zone all day. High ¾ slot, quick arm action, late hand separation. Fastball sat 86-88 mph for five innings, topped out at 89 mph, good arm side life in the hitting zone, tough to barrel, pitched it to contact and got several early count groundballs. Breaking ball showed sharp action, late in hitting zone, 76-78 mph, steeper action at 73-75 mph. Showed confidence in breaking ball, has swing and miss action. Flashed a changeup at 75-78 mph, occasional plus action, will play well against left-handed hitters. Good ceiling RHP, potential to be a good draft out of Iowa. 9IP, 6K, 2BB, 3H, 0R.

4.20.15 - Iowa recruit, currently ranked No. 12 in Illinois, No. 118 overall. 6-foot-4, 180-pound athlete with plenty of room to physically develop. Changed delivery since the Super 60 in February. Now takes small side step, slowly raises leg up to balance point, then turns hip/knee inward, pauses … delivers pitch. Fastball ranged between 85-88, touching 89 twice, mostly straight with above-average effort. Relied heavily on improved 74-76 slider that showed sharp two-plane break and thrown consistently for strikes. Nailed down the victory by throwing two scoreless innings of relief. Allowed three hits, struck out three and walked one.

4.7.15 - Lanky and athletic 6-foot-4, 180-pound right-handed pitcher works from a short, quick, high ¾ arm slot impressed pitching in 40 degree weather on Tuesday. Ritter sat 85-87 mph early on in this contest, maintaining 84-85 mph through his five innings of work. Easy to envision 88-90 mph velocity in warmer weather, was up to 90 this winter at the Super 60. Gave up one hit, two unearned runs on a dropped pop up, with five strikeouts, three walks, and two hit-by-pitches. Slider is a plus pitch, hard, late break, varies shape depending on throwing it for a strike (11/5 shape), or a chase pitch (10/ 4 shape) from 74-76 mph. Changeup also flashes plus downward movement in 79-80 mph range, but relied primarily on slider in this game.

10.24.14 - Started the game for CSA, and while his pure stuff was seemingly good, the results weren’t there. The athletic 6-foot-3 Iowa recruit topped at 91 mph, sitting 87-89 in the first inning, and showed a sharp 75-77 mph curveball at times. However, the highly talented Chandler team put up seven runs in the first two innings on Ritter.

4/10/14 - Committed to Iowa. Slender built, 6-foot-3, 175-pound frame, extremely projectable. Short, clean, 3/4 arm action with effort and recoil after extension. Stays on-line towards target with lower half, landing foot stays underneath knee in compact leg kick/load. Ritter struggled with his command on the day hitting three batters and walking one. From a rhythm standpoint his delivery utilized less effort than in his one inning relief appearance against Herscher. Fastball sat 85-87 in the first two frames, touching 88 twice in the second inning. After some lengthy innings, fastball settled in at 83-84 in his final two frames. 76-78 mph straight change occasionally used and thrown with good arm speed.  Curveball/slip pitch sat 71-74 early, and dipped into the upper 60’s later. At times showed 11-5 break, but was inconsistent with location and the movement of the pitch. At times it would drop like a hard split, other times it would have curveball shape. Ritter picked up five of his seven strikeouts with the breaking ball. It would be interesting to see if down the road Ritter went to a traditional curveball/slider grip and what type of power he’d be able to add to the pitch, because he can definitely spin the ball.

10/20/13 - Highly projectable body, long frame, slender build, 6-foot-3, 175-pound right handed pitcher. Ritter is currently the best available prospect in the Class of 2015 and shows the tools and upside to be a high level prospect at the next level. Delivery works with little effort, clean and easy arm action, works directionally towards his target. Arm works extremely well, loose, free and easy, high ¾ slot, quick athletic arm. Fastball topped out at 89 mph which is the best we’ve seen from Ritter, showed occasional run to his arm side, showed command at 87-88 mph, held velocity from the stretch. Curveball has 11/5 action, sharp bite, tight rotation, aggressive arm action, high confidence, 72-74 mph. Straight changeup, showed control and feel, slightly decelerated arm action, 75-77 mph. Ritter has proven to be a high follow prospect who still has plenty of projection to reach.

7.17.13 - High-ceiling right-handed pitcher, 6-foot-4, 180-pound athletic frame with plenty of room to develop. Arm works free and easily from 3/4 slot, quick and clean. Athletic, repeatable delivery, works downhill, maintains rhythm throughout. Fastball topped at 87 mph, sitting 84-86, with arm-side life. Has advanced feel for three pitches. Curveball flashes sharp 11/5 break, in the 69-71 range; also throws a more sweeping breaking ball in the 74-75 range. Throws changeup with excellent arm action, in the 74-78 range. With his frame, athleticism and arm looseness, Ritter should continue to see increased velocity and establish himself as a premier prospect in the Midwest.

4/16/13 - Long, lanky, projectable right-handed pitcher. Frame shows excellent projection. Long, loose arm action works cleanly and fluidly, shows projection for added velocity, quick arm. Delivery stays tall throughout, tall finish, doesn’t work downhill. Fastball is 81-83 mph from a ¾ arm slot. Fastball shows advanced arm side run, excellent lateral action. Curveball has sharp action, 11/5 plane, 69-70 mph, advanced action through the hitting zone, tight sharp bite. Pitched minimal innings last season and should see improved command with more mound time. High level young arm to follow, projects to see velocity spikes in the future. With advance arm side action on his fastball and sharp sweeping breaking ball, Ritter shows the ability to pitch laterally and be highly effective. Free and quick arm action is intriguing.