William
Fleming

Wake’s Sunday starter once again this season, Fleming is a 6-foot-6, slender-bodied right-hander who sinks it, slides it and mixes in a changeup from a three-quarter slot. Similar to my last look at him during Week Four (and the final week) of the 2020 season, Fleming shows good arm speed with his fastball and brings some velo, topping out at 95 while mostly pitching at 92 during this look. There is more angle than life with spin rates in the 2100-2300 rpm range. His present slider was sharper and more consistent at 80-83 mph than the offering he showed last spring against Louisville. He even spun a couple that were above average, getting swing-throughs by left handed batters when thrown at their backfoot. He did tend to slow down his arm when throwing both of his secondary offerings, especially his changeup early in the game. It came to the plate at 83-84 mph, spinning in the 1825-1950 rpm range. During this start, he battled for 6.1 IP and 97 pitches, allowing eight hits and three runs. The main challenge for Fleming at the next level will be the development of a putaway pitch or skill. Currently, he does a good job mixing a trio of offerings and getting to two strikes, but he’s unable to finish batters on a consistent basis.

Wake’s Sunday starter, Fleming is a 6-foot-6, 220-pound right-hander who specializes in a low-spin, two-seam sinker. His fastball release point varied from 5’11” to 6’1” in the 90-93 mph range with a 1900-2150 spin rate. There is ample arm side life as well with power bore at times which handcuffed right-handed batters. His even lower spin changeup (1570-1780 rpm) at 79-80 mph with 16-18” of depth is his best off speed offering, but he can give it away with a lower release point than his heater. The main challenge for Fleming will be the development of his breaking ball to become a sinker/slider specialist at the pro level. Currently, he throws a flat, below average slurve at 81-83 mph. The pitch lacked teeth and had fair spin in the 2000 to low 2100 rpm range. His delivery has much effort and his dragging arm action is a red flag as far as injury risk goes. He walks away from the ball with his body going forward while his arm is going back. He also leaves his glove tucked against his body instead of clearing it. (Seifert)

8/21/19:Sat comfortably in the low 90s with his heater, regularly reaching 94-95 mph. His power curve worked 82-83 mph with two-plane action and average bite while he folded in a fringy low-80s changeup with arm-side fade. Fleming works at a good tempo, attacking the zone with a breaking ball-heavy approach and rang up 24 strikeouts in 25.1 innings this summer. There’s some feel for sequencing but the execution is erratic and the overall command is below average at present, forcing the stuff to play down.

7/20/18:Two key pieces of Wake Forest’s pitching staff showed intriguing potential Tuesday. Sophomore righthander William Fleming started against the Florida League and allowed just one run over three innings of work. A lanky 6-foot-6, 205-pounder with a whippy three-quarters arm action, Fleming sat comfortably at 90-92 mph for two innings and then pitched at 89-91 in the third. His lean frame and loose arm action suggest there is plenty of room for additional velocity gains as he matures. His second pitch is an 81-83 slider that was a bit inconsistent but showed good tilt at times, flashing average. (Aaron Fitt)

Lanky righty that utilizes his size and length to work downhill and attack hitters.  It is above average arm strength and the future is bright with the build.