University of North Alabama RHP Tyler Joyner Scouting Report, February 2018

Straight fastball; modest arm side run at times, particularly when it starts to arm side, but little by way of consistent life there. Moderate downward life to it when it starts down in the zone, as well, but not noticeable/consistent and will flatten out when up in the zone. Decent velocity look even in upper 80s; ability to hide the ball a bit, and 89-90 mph fastballs can jump on hitters. Velocity fell to 86-88 mph from the stretch; work to do here to clean up mechanics enough to maintain velocity with runners on base. Velocity: 86-91.

Tough pitch to read; could call it a slider, but thrown too hard with too little downward bite to be a traditional breaking ball. Ball moves sharp and late to glove-side, but in vastly different tunnel than curveball. Cutter can go horizontal quite often; works well to get in on hands of LHH, but could use even a small amount of depth to stay off the barrel; thrown hard and shows late movement, though, so definite promise here. Velocity: 82-85.

Changeup was used sparingly in my look; firm, with a small amount of arm-side life but little noticeable feel within the strike zone. More of a show-me fourth-best pitch than anything else; admittedly would have liked to have seen it more. Velocity: 78-81.

Hittable early and lacked bite, but became significantly better as his outing wore on; legitimate side-to-side feel against both RHH and LHH. Curveball is go-to pitch when he works backwards against guys the second time through the order. 10-to-4 break with good downward plane; good feel for using it backdoor to LHH and inside to RHH. Enough tight spin here to miss bats with better command than my limited look; promising. Teammate told me that when Joyner’s curveball is on, it’s the best pitch on that entire University of North Alabama pitching staff. Velocity: 74-77.

Control is ahead of command with feel for pounding the strike zone, but not the nuances to go corner to corner with the catcher; struggled to command the ball down in the outing that I observed; fastball flattens considerably when left up and remains hittable with little margin of error. Ultimately need to see him more to fill out command profile, but some consistency issues here; fringy starter future as is with less-than-ideal command consistency side to side.

Three quarters release point with follow through that takes him to first base side. Hides the ball well; short arm swing around the back with good deception and ability to hide the ball well into his release; tough to pick up out of his hand, particularly for RHH, and ball jumps on guys because of it, even without above-average velocity. Repeatable mechanics with durable, athletic, sturdy frame; starter profile there with low effort mechanical look that can get him deep into games with ease.

Slow but varied times to the plate with runners on first base; in my look, he registered everything from 1.32, 1.37, 1.40, up to 1.44 and 1.46 to the plate. Big, strong kid with a physical frame; ideal strong lower half and core that should provide him the durability to hold up as a rotation arm in pro ball. Perhaps a modest amount of velocity left to add, but he’s more or less near final physical form.

Likely 2018 MLB Draft follow as a senior sign; polished with track record of success in college baseball which should help create a modest expectation of success early in pro ball, particularly at rookie/short-season levels early in his career. Late-round arm; no leverage to negotiate signing.

Chance to settle into a swingman/long-relief role in the big leagues in a few years; throws everything for a strike, but struggles to really show put-away pitches and may prove to be exceptionally hittable in pro ball. Development hinges on curveball; if he continues to turn curve into a legitimate #2 pitch with depth and some ability to miss bats, he’ll have a shot to push his ceiling forward; not counting on much more velocity to come and physical form is more or less final, which gives very little room for margin of error in development the next few years. Org depth floor. MLB ETA: 2022.