Kyle
Bender

Scrimmage - Washington commit - Coming off spring layoff and also off a bout of some sickness recently, the stuff was still coming out well, with a sinking FB 86-88 T89 mph, best offering is a tight two-plane CB 74-76 mph, feel of the zone was just a bit off with it but it's in there and will emerge again. Exaggerates the pronation of the change-up (77-78 mph) and creates a lot of side spin but the feel just wasn't there. Will next see him at the ProCase

Area Code Tryouts - Under Class Notebook

7/14-7/15/18: Medium/Large frame with very long/lean build; long limbs showing athleticism and flexibility throughout and quick twitch. Deliberately slow delivery from tall stance on mound with high front knee before sink as he goes down the hill; keeps hands at chest before long arm action gets to mid-3/4 release and uses long limbs to get extra extension down the hill. FB 83-85 T87 generally straight showing advanced life up through the zone; times where he was around the plate, but limited control during outing. CB 70-72 with inconsistent shape; best was 12-to-6 with late snap through the zone but more often 11-to-4 bend that was loopy showing late sweep. CHG 73-74 straight with limited depth/sink; ability to throw early in counts and pitch looks to still be developing. During outing Bender flashed high quality stuff, but will need to be able to harness it and repeat his delivery to take it up to next level.

PBR Norcal ProCase

Body: 6-foot-3, 185-pounds. Angular build, frame appears to be the type that will allow for considerably more size and strength gains in the coming years. Wide shoulders, sturdy legs.

Delivery: Simple mechanics, small rocker step parallel to the rubber, post foot in good position at the rubber. High knee lift then gathers well over the rubber, separating on time and then sinking just a bit into his backside before starting down the slope. Lands w/online stride, stable strike foot, creates leverage for his arm to come through. Some depth on backside of arm action w/controlled arm swing. Gets to high-3/4 slot and finishes well, w/extension. 

FB: Average FB 90.2 mph, peak of 90.8. Release height of FB is a bit higher than that of his CB and CHG, which is something he can work on in order to get all three pitches to come out of the same window/tunnel. High spin rate of 2543 (avg 2465) on the FB is well above MLB average, ranking in the 79th percentile (high range). Horizontal break also rates very well, with a high of 20" and average of 16" (rating as extreme run). Induced vertical break also had strong metrics, 17.8 (extreme ride) as a high and average of 13.8 (rating in avg range). There is a lot to chew on here with his FB and no doubt MLB clubs will value much of this as they consider what type of FB they value in their pitchers.

CB: As with the FB, his CB has strong numbers in the metrics and from how the hitters reacted, the stuff plays just as well as the numbers indicate. 75-77 mph w/high spin of 2587 (near MLB average) and average spin of 2253. He struck out 3 of the 4 batters he faced and got each of them with the CB. As much action as he gets on this strikeout quality pitch now, it can and will be better down the road, rating as a future above average pitch at a minimum.

CHG: Another quality offering, 80-83 mph, lots of run/fade (avg 16") and the spin, while high when comes to the CHG (avg 2062), is hundreds less than his FB and the movement pattern is similar, which can and will get soft contact and some swings/misses. Again, he'd do well to adjust the FB release height (5.2) closer to his CHG and CB (4.9-5.0 avg). He gets inside his change-up w/his index finger and thumb and works to turn it over and create a lot of spin.

Summary: With a desirable body type and size, three quality present pitches that all of positive metrics, as well as stuff that plays well vs hitters in the present, there is a lot to like here with Bender. Put it all together and we are talking about the ceiling of a future 3-4 starter in a MLB rotation. That is all assuming future velocity gains, getting the FB to around 93-94 and having the CB velocity come along with the FB gains. His understanding of how to use his stuff is solid and will only improve as he develops, whether in college or immediately out of HS.