Ryan
Rolison

3/21/18 - 6’3/205, Sophomore-eligible. Athletic lefty with good down plane from a 3/4 slot. Repeats his delivery. Good arm speed and extension out front. Fastball showed above average life at 90-93 mph, touching 94 early in the game. The 80-83 mph breaking ball is his ticket to the major leagues. Released from the same window as his fastball, and looking just like it, until it just disappears under the bat. Pick any scouting jargon you’d like to describe it: wipeout, snapdragon, yellow hammer. It’s a plus plus pitch. Or it could simply be described like one scout turned to me and rhetorically stated “doesn’t that pitch just have a beautiful shape?” As it turns out Rolison’s famous curveball has evolved into a slider with a lot of “gyro-spin” and a low spin efficiency, not a CB with an elite spin rate. Low spin efficiency results in downward break on sliders. The gyro-spin is the dot on the baseball that the hitter sees as the pitch approaches the plate. He threw one changeup all evening at 84 mph. It was put into play for a base hit and he never threw it again. He showed plus athleticism making a couple nifty plays fielding his position on a wet field and also showed an above average pickoff move to first base. Overall, he’s an athletic college lefty with a starter’s delivery and arm action, a fastball up to 94 (on this look) and a 70-grade breaking ball. This equates to easily being a potential top five overall pick in the draft. With the Detroit Tigers picking at No. 1 overall and their fondness for college pitching, expect Rolison to be considered for their top selection.