Isaac
Zaldivar

St. Mary’s commit; 5-foot-8, 160-pound frame should not fool a scout, but there is more to him than the physical stature. Confidence shined with each pitch and out that he collected.

Pitching: With an over the head delivery and tap of the foot, the big leg kick makes timing him very tough. Calm breathing before each delivery and short arm action that makes his top end 91-mph fastball sneak up on hitters. He’s able to gain depth on all of his pitches and has a sweeping slider to right-handed hitters that makes for a lot of swing and misses. Sound and consistent mechanics, balance, and tempo with strong attributes of a quality pitch maker.

FB: Topping at 91mph, he has a quick arm action with plus location that is tough on hitters. Stays down in the zone.

CB: Works this pitch down in the zone with late depth makes the curveball tough to barrel up. Uses it as a get-me-over or strikeout pitch and uses his command for outs.

CH: With a good velocity difference from the fastball, the change up was used for weak contact. He uses it mostly against left-handed hitters in good situations.

SL: The wipe away pitch that slid across the plate, makes this a swing and miss pitch.  Comes out of his hand looking like a fastball, and the late movement made it tough for hitters.

Summary: Gets the most out of his body with a four-pitch mix, and the quick movements in his wind up make him tough to hit. Displayed confidence and usability of all pitches and he sequences his offerings well.

PBR NorCal Preseason All-State:

7.98 60yd, 73 C, 2.01-2.11 Pop, 84 EV | FB 82-84, CB 69-71, CHG 75-77, SLD 73-75

PITCHER: Strong and compact build on 5-foot-7, 160-pound frame that resembles his catcher position status and somewhat belies what we think of with a pitcher. What position he settles into by the time his high school days are over is TBD, but for now, the ability he shows on the mound is certainly intriguing. Good body control throughout the delivery, high hand set and they remain high until starting down with his lift knee. Aggressive move down the slope with on-line stide. Very compact on backside, getting to a high 3/4 slot and finishing with good extension, though aggressive back hip creates some loss of energy to 1B line. Fastball sneaky 82-84 and can create tilt. Late break with good spin and shape of both the CB and SL. Enough variance of velocity to make both usable. Both with more lateral break than vertical tilt. Displayed control of change-up. Demeanor is that of a confident attacking type pitcher.

CATCHER/HIT: 5-7, 160 stout lower half with squared shoulders; space to shape frame. High hands lift off the back shoulder with front foot lift staying in back hip well; hands and back hip are in time together creating upward arc of barrel. Showed ability to stay on the baseball and allow compact barrel to work both gaps with ease (84 EV). Very quick transitions behind the plate and forward direction out of crouch; can work on keeping torso back a bit to add strength in the throws (2.01-2.11, 73 C). Kept throws straight with good bounce off the grass for MIF to make plays. Soft glove when receiving to keep pitches in the zone.

PBR CA STATE GAMES - Medium full frame with growing strength and some current strength; frame has already made jumps and can continue to shape and tighten for more growth. Two-way skills with strong arm for on the hill or behind the plate. At the dish is quiet with high hands off the back shoulder and slightly opened stance; balanced through contact with upwards path of a quick bat. Showed strength in bat picking up couple hits including long 2B into LCF; strength in frame shows up with ability to drive gaps now. Arm is loose and strong behind the plate with ability to show carry on throws to the bag (2.12-2.20 Pop); caught a guy in game at second on a tough pitch down and away throwing a strike. Arm strength translates to the mound where he went two strong innings striking out five with 1 hit. Hands lift to head with high front leg lift staying firm; really rides the back hip well getting hinge down the hill to produce late, fast arm speed from compact H-3/4 release. FB 83-85 T87 with life at the plate; lots of swings up through the zone. SLD 69-72 cutter like action with sharp actions and firm shape; projects for more bite. CHG 76-77 with arm side run. A top 2022 to follow.

5-foot-7, 145-pounds, medium frame wider chest and physical projection. His fastball had some life, little run and room for improvement. His fastball sat from 79-82 Mph and topped out at 83 MPH. Curveball has loose movement, good spin and effective when controlled can be a strikeout pitch. Curveball sat from 65-67 MPH. He didn’t utilize his changeup much but was 72-73 MPH. Had a very good day going CG striking out 9, walking 2 and giving up three hits. IS a projectable pitcher who is just hitting his stride. 

PBR Bay Area Open - Pitching: Had a good day as a infielder but also impressed on the mound. The young Zaldivar has a strong build on a compact 5-foot-7, 145-pound frame. Has a lot of rhythm in his delivery and some creative flair as well. Starts with high hands and works to create coordination between his hands and feet. Good over the rubber, long stride and stays on-line well. Very good balance and body control, particularly given his precocious age. The ball came out easily from a shallow backside arm action (as you'd expect from a catcher) and with those mechanics there are plenty of velocity ticks upward as he ages. Fastball came out well (78-81 mph) and has some angle, the release point looked to also help the fastball play up a bit. Big 12/5 curveball from his overhand slot, flashed enough depth to be able to throw it in the zone. Fading change-up (69-71 mph) was thrown with confident feel and arm speed. Also showed ability to hold stuff and feel utilizing slide step.

Bay Area Open INF: Medium frame with length in the torso and wider chest; projectable build that has space to grow and tighten; fluid stride staying inline. Tall stance with very high hands and high back elbow hinging into back hip as hands pull back with short foot lift; fluid and loose swing with loose wrists having some whip of the barrel on upward path. Bat flashed speed when turning to pull the ball and ability to adjust barrel length to work in the middle of the field showing carry into gaps (80 EV). Short, quick strides in infield showing late glove movements and ability to pick hops out of the dirt; flashed the ability to stay in time and keep the ball on the bag. Arm is strong and loose able to make all the throws from the position looking like a pitcher in the infield (82 MPH). Skills have good fundamentals with some tools that he can keep improving.