Jay
Woolfolk

After retiring from football last summer and earning a spot on the USA Collegiate National Team, expectations were sky high for the uber-athletic righthander. I personally thought he could develop into a late Day One talent. However, to date this spring the 6-foot, 190-pound righthander has scuffled with his command, and as a result, his performance. His relief outing on Saturday was solid as he allowed one earned run in 3.1 innings, and he also walked four and struck out four. Featuring a two-seamer last summer, Woolfolk relied on a 92-95 mph four-seamer against Louisville and instead of a plus, swing/miss changeup he has now replaced it with a 86-88 splitter. The splitter was solid on Saturday, but nowhere near the quality of the change-of-pace he displayed for the USA CNT. Adding to his arsenal is an 87-88 cutter and a slower version slider at 81-82. Woolfolk no doubt has the athleticism, talent and pitch weapons to become a Major Leaguer, but his 16.1% walk rate this season will likely keep him out of the top-ten rounds this summer.

USA CNT: Struck out two of the three batters he faced, missing barrels with his tumbling, mid-80s changeup, a mid-80s slider and a fastball up to 95. His plus changeup is his bread-n-butter best pitch. At 6-foot, 200 pounds, Woolfolk is an elite athlete who also currently plays QB for the Hoos on the gridiron. His growth would obviously be hastened with a full-time dedication to baseball (which he made official on July 13), similar to what Brecht chose mid-season this past spring. Woolfolk has a starter’s pitch mix and excellent athleticism. However, he will need to tighten up his control in order to fill that role in Charlottesville next season and develop into a late Day One arm.

VA/DC Scout Blog

We got a chance to see Woolfolk last week and you can tell he is getting better with each start. Better feel for the zone with the fastball. Woolfolk worked 90-92 throughout and touched 93 twice with the fastball. The separator on the day was the slider. The slider was 79-82 through his three innings and missed bats on a consistent basis. Present swing and miss with late hard bite. Showed what appeared to be a curveball later on that was 74-75 mph and could throw that for strikes consistently as well. The curveball has similar shape, but takes a little bit off and gets up and down a little more. Showed one changeup during a longer at bat versus Collegiate's Hayden Rollison, that changeup was 84 mph.  

VA/DC Committed Combine

Wagner is 6-5 with an athletic frame that has some strength present and some projection left to it. He throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, long loose quick arm action and normal effort to his delivery. Shoulders are uphill and slightly closed, lands slightly open with an athletic finish. Fastball was 89-91, with downward angle and boring action to armside. Curveball was 76-78 and had sharp 11/5 break and good armspeed and some shape. Change-up was 78-79 with good armspeed and hard armside run to it.

VA/DC Scout Blog

Woolfolk showed his ability to be a legitimate high level two way prospect tonight. At the plate he was two-for-three with a triple to right center and a line drive homerun out of center field. He flashed present power and ability to drive the ball to all fields. On the mound his velo was as good as we have seen it, getting up to 92-93 mph multiple times in his three innings of work. Fastball sat at 88-91 for the first few batters, but after that he seemed to find a different gear and overpowered multiple hitters the rest of the way. The breaking ball was at 78-81 and showed hard late life at times. Woolfolk is a big time player and earns every ounce of his top player positioning in the 2021 class for the state of Virginia.

VA/DC Scout Blog

Woolfolk sat 87-88 and flashed 89 a few times. He had all four pitches working on the day as the slider was at 81-82 mph which is a little firmer than the last time we saw him. Curveball was 73-74 mph and utilized the changeup a little more this time with it sitting at 80-81 mph. Pitched into the sixth and the velocity never faded.

VA/DC Scout Blog

Woolfolk is a strong athletic build standing around 6-foot-1. Solid two way player that probably sticks on the mound at a high major school down the road, but showed ability at the plate as well. Hits from the right side with a balanced upright stance, hands load back in rhythm, and shows a slight arm bar at separation. Small pickup and stride forward with a firm front side. Swing gets on plane early with a flat path and hands work across the body at contact, but shows high level hand and barrel strength at contact. Has present power to all fields with the speed to stretch a play for extra bases. On the mound works primarily out of the stretch with a low balance point. Closes lower half and shoulders before driving down the mound with the back side. Full arm circle with quick hand and arm speed throwing from a high three-quarter arm slot. Fastball sat between 88-90 mph throughout his four innings pitched and touched 91 quite a few times. Showed solid feel for two offspeed pitches and had ability to throw both for strikes at any time. Curveball was 74-75 mph with 11/5 shape and depth. Threw a cutter at 78-79 that had late life, but showed a little more slider depth. Is a high major two sport prospect that should continue to add velo as he continues to add strength to an already impressive frame.

9.16.17:  Woolfolk is a multi-sport athlete who starts at quarterback as a freshman at Benedictine. He has an athletic projectable frame. Very good actions at short, very fast exchange and good hands. Quick feet, throws from a low three-quarters arm slot with an easy loose arm action. At plate, open athletic stance, short stride on line, explosive lower half and some balance to swing. Quick short level swing, uses whole field and showed ability to barrel consistently, power potential. Ran a 4.51 home to first.