When you first look at Matteo Pare’s “fancy” numbers like spin rate, it may not jump off the page at you as elite. However, for the 2023 Windsor Selects product there is so much more than that which makes him an arm to keep an eye on this coming summer.

Despite an average movement pattern and spin rate on his fastball, he can run it up to 88mph which sits top 10% in the country for 2023s. The best part of his fastball, however, is Pare’s ability to produce a very steep VAA when locating his fastball down in the zone. When he locates it down in the zone, he has a -7.5 VAA which is as good as it gets for arms in the 2023 class. This is due to his high release point (~6.0) and height (6’4”). This VAA makes it difficult for hitters to get the ball in the air as it is coming at them at such a steep angle.

Although we do not have movement numbers for Pare’s changeup, a fastball with that shape and VAA sets up a changeup nicely. Drop the IVB on a changeup slightly and that pitch will go from what would be a strike with his fastball to a ball well below the zone and most likely resulting in a swing and miss.

Lastly, his curveball. Having a hard curveball (74.7 mph) with some depth like Pare’s does (9.3 IVB) is a nice advantage. A curveball plays well off any type of fastball because of its own unique shape. However, with the type of fastball Pare has, a breaking ball with a bit more HB will make   for a deadly 3 pitch mix.

Pare has the size, velocity, and fastball that make it easier to tweak a pitcher’s repertoire. One option going forward is to add a slider with some HB, whether it be to change his curveball or add a new pitch. Adding a slider with HB will allow its movement pattern to differ drastically from that of his fastball. Coming out of his hand, his fastball and slider will look identical but end up on different sides of the plate.

Another little tweak going forward is finding consistency in his release point. As previously stated, this is not a mandatory fix as pitchers can still be effective with varying release points. Looking at Pare’s repertoire, however, he would benefit immensely from this as his fastball, changeup, and slider (potentially) would all look identical coming out of the hand. Here are his current release points:

Tightening this up, even just slightly, will make a big difference as it will make it tougher for more advanced hitters to pick up pitches out of his hand.

Uncommitted 2023 @MatteoPare_ of the @WindsorSelects has been sitting 85-88 with his fastball this afternoon.

The 6-foot-4 right-hander showed well this past August at the Future Games in Atlanta. #PBRIsThere ?? pic.twitter.com/to5eQ6HN2n

— PBR Ontario (@PBR_Ontario) September 26, 2021