Joshua
Rivera

VA/DC Scout Blog

Rivera is a UMBC commit and is 6-1 with a lanky athletic frame that has a ton of projection left to it. Drop and drive delivery with some crossfire to it, lands closed with a fall off finish and some recoil. Shoulders are uphill and closed, hides the ball some as he breaks down. Longer loose arm action that is quick, throws from a three-quarters arm slot with some effort to his delivery. Fastball was 88-89, topping at 90, pitch had a bit of late armside run to it. Curveball had good armspeed and hard power 11/5 to downer break, pitch was 72-74 and he spun it up to 2390 once while mostly around 2300. Changeup was 80-83 with good armspeed and some late sink to it.

VA/DC PreSeason All-State Central

Rivera is 5-11 with an athletic 170 pound frame that has some strength present and some projection left to it. He hits from the right side from an open balanced athletic stance, strides on line, smooth load back to a wrap. Hips rotate completely with some violence and he maintains good lower half balance. Hands stay inside, short to the ball, uphill swing path, some extension through the ball, generates some natural loft, showed a good approach primarily working the middle of the field, gap power present up the middle, exit velocity was 91. In the outfield, gets body behind the ball and fields through it with above average hands, quick clean exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short loose very quick arm action, position velocity was 89. Ran a 7.17 60 yard dash. On the mound, he throws from a low three-quarters arm slot, short loose very quick arm action and some effort to his delivery. Drop and drive delivery, shoulders are uphill and closed, lands closed with an athletic finish and some recoil. Fastball was 86-88, with downward angle and late hard armside run to it. Slider was 72-75 with good armspeed and sharp hard 10/4 break to it, has shape. Change-up was 83-84 with good armspeed and some late fade to it.

VA/DC State Games

Rivera is 5-11 with an athletic frame that has some strength present and a lot of projection left to it. He hits from the right side from a slightly closed balanced athletic stance, no stride, smooth load back to a slight wrap. Hips rotate with some violence and he maintains good lower half balance. Hands stay inside, short to the ball, uphill swing path, some strength at contact point, showed a primarily pull approach with the ability to work gap to gap, natural loft in his swing, exit velocity was 87. In the outfield, gets behind ball and fields through it with soft hands, quick clean exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot with a short arm action, position velocity was 89. Ran a 7.15 60 yard dash. On the mound, he throws from a three-quarters arm slot, short free arm action and nomal effort to his delivery. Shoulders are uphill and slightly closed, lands slightly closed with an athletic finish. Fastball was 82-85, with some sink and a bit of late armside run. Curveball had good armspeed and was 69-72 with hard sharp downer 11/5 break to it, flashes swing and miss down.

VA/DC Limited Series East

Interesting two-way athlete in the 2022 class. Displayed range in the outfield with arm strength to play all three positions. Appears to get solid reads and jumps off the bat. At the plate Rivera just has a knack for getting the barrel on the baseball. Had multiple hits in his two games. It is a quiet short load and hands stay tight. Short level path to contact and did a nice job of pulling the hands in on inside pitches. Very intriguing on the mound. Long loose arm stroke from a three-quarter arm slot. Fastball was 84-86 mph early and settled in at 82-86 mph. Had solid spin on the fastball in the 2200-2400 range. Showed a power curveball with big 11/5 shape at 74-76 mph and got plenty of swings and misses. Really like Rivera with the athleticism and raw arm strength.

Mid-Atlantic Fall Championships

Athletic frame, longer arm action throwing from a high three quarter slot. Creates shoulder tilt upon separation. Gets nice down action on fastball that ranged 79-81 and touched 82. Breaking ball was tight with shorter action  and potnetial to be a good pitch up to 69 mph. Pitches with some effort.