Zac Gallen, RHP, Miami Marlins

Four-Seam Fastball 90-93 … Two-Seam Fastball 88-91 … Curveball 77-79 … Changeup 81-83 … Cutter 84-87 … Times to home with runner on first: 1.38, 1.39, 1.40, 1.40, 1.41, 1.43, 1.43, 1.44, 1.46, 1.47, 1.47, 1.47.

Lean frame; physically appears a little bit smaller than list size; not necessarily undersized for rotation role, but not ideal, either; slight build through torso and lower half with room to add muscle and aid durability long-term … Works from the extreme third base side of the rubber; hides the ball well through balance point and hand break, particularly from RHH. High three-quarters release point with significantly closed-off landing; throwing cross-body from behind RHH with closed-off deception and cross-fire release. Great downhill plane through to the plate helps play up pitch life; entire repertoire lives at the knees and plane there aided by relatively high release point … Lacks above-average velocity and stuff across the board, but entire repertoire is average and plays up because of strong command profile. Smart pitcher who sequences well; will mix it up with entire repertoire, particularly the second and third time through the order … Curveball is an 11-to-5 breaker with tight spin; throws it hard, it’ll break late; consistent depth with some command feel side to side … Changeup is pretty firm with some arm-side run; appeared to be a weapon only for use against LHH based on my look … Cutter is sneaky-good; throws it hard with very late cut action to glove side and even some two-plane depth at times that really plays up because of his release and downhill plane. Good weapon to get in on/under LHH hands and keep them honest out over the plate … Good athlete, physically fit; works quickly and fills up the zone; ideal starter tempo and command profile. Advanced and polished but not flashy; solid, but lacks high upside.

Zac Gallen is a classic high floor/low ceiling advanced college product who could realistically settle into a back-end rotation role with the Miami Marlins pretty soon. Consistent and effective with everything he throws and yet not overpowering or dominant with anything, he’s an ideal back-end arm with a strong command profile, and a deep enough repertoire to face a lineup multiple times while primarily pitching to contact. Ultimately, I think Gallen is a solid young pitcher who should carve out a nice little big league career. Long term, I wonder if the closed landing/cross-body release could one day make him a viable late-inning matchup arm against RHH, but he has more value in the rotation and shouldn’t find himself in a relief role unless he fails as a starter first.

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