Is it safe to say that Mike Shirley has a type when drafting pitchers on Day 1?
With the 68th overall pick, the White Sox have added another left-handed pitcher to their organization. Blake Larsen, an Iowa native who transferred to IMG Academy in Florida for his final high school season, comes with some question marks but has one of the higher ceilings in the entire draft class.
Larsen, a 6’3 lefty who is currently committed to TCU, has a three-pitch mix with all of those pitches having a chance to be plus or better. His fastball currently sits in the mid-90s but has plenty of life and should add more velocity as Larsen matures. His slider generates a ton of spin and can get hitters to swing and miss often, and it should get even better down the road as he improves his command of the pitch. While he doesn’t use it nearly as often, Larsen can also use an effective changeup that sits in the upper 80s and he has a solid feel for it. Combined with a deceptive low arm slot, Larsen’s plus arsenal can cause opposing hitters plenty of issues.
The issue for Larsen lies in his command, which has been shaky for much of his high school career. He has already shown some improvements in this area since moving to Florida, however, there is still plenty of room to grow and necessary adjustments will need to be made if he is going to stick as a starting pitcher. There is some reliever risk here, but there is also front-lie starter upside as well.
The White Sox have now added two left-handed pitchers to their draft class, and two players drafted out of high school. Like Caleb Bonemer, the expectation is that the White Sox will be able to sign Larsen despite his commitment to TCU. Having the 6th highest bonus pool in the MLB, the White Sox are clearly not afraid to spend on high-upside prep players, and Larsen has as much upside as any of them.
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