Dylan
Coleman

5/9/18 -  Large, athletic frame with proportional strength. Works from a high- slot, compact in the back, effort at foot strike with some head-whack at release. Athletic for his size, but operates with a slow, deliberate tempo, perhaps due to how mightily he struggled in his start against Valparaiso, lasting only 2.1 innings while surrendering five hits, five earned runs, four walks, two hit batsmen with only two strikeouts. Never found his rhythm, yielding four runs in the first inning, facing 10 hitters, despite flashing premium velocity. Touched 97 once, pitching predominately at 94-95 in the first. Velocity dipped to 90-94 in the second, working mostly 91-92. Scattered it around the zone with tendency to jerk it gloveside. Fastball played mostly straight and got barreled up when in the zone, starting with a lead-off double to open the game on a 95-mph fastball. Fastball occasionally flashed cut, including one on a 96-mph strikeout pitch. Worked his slider 82-84 mph with 11/5 action; throws it with conviction, pulled it mostly out of the strike zone. Wasn’t working for him on this day, but could see it being an effective swing-and-miss offering. Profiles as a back-end bullpen guy down the road with the potential of pushing triple-digit velocity in the future.

4/18/18 - 6’6/240, Junior- Tall, strong-bodied, strong-armed righty. Coleman is a power pitcher who combines arm speed and arm strength from a high three-quarters slot. Ran his fastball up to 96 mph on a couple occasions and pitched at 91-94. He did not show the average to better slider at times that I witnessed last spring against Oral Roberts, but he did show two breaking pitches. A slanting 82-83 mph slider and a 77-80 mph curveball with average depth. At times the pitches blended together. In the future he may be able to separate them into two distinct pitches, such as a 86-88 true hard slider, while keeping his current curveball. The curveball has promise if he can consistently control his direction/finish to the plate which will allow him to stay on top of the pitch. Both pitches were fringe average on the day. Coleman did not throw his changeup. It is a distant fourth pitch. He has the ability to dominate an opponent, like the first inning on Friday when he struck out the side, yet will also suffer from a lack of command at times. His delivery showed more of a reliever look to it as he got quick just before ball release and jerked open at times, causing him to lose direction. His delivery became out of sync in the second inning until a well-timed visit by his pitching coach corrected it, helping him get out of the inning. The loss of direction to the plate shortens his extension while also affecting his command and finish on his pitches. With that said, he has improved his delivery from last spring when his stride was shorter, landing leg was stiffer and his release was more upright. With Coleman’s athleticism, work ethic and aptitude, one can reasonably expect him to continue to improve his delivery and cure the open front shoulder. He profiles as a late inning reliever in professional baseball, and one who may be able to run his fastball up to the century mark in a short role.