Pre-draft rankings: 193rd on Baseball America, 141st on MLB Pipeline, 95th on FanGraphs

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound right-hander has been a helium name for scouts in Colorado during the 2024 spring season. He made a significant step forward with his velocity and now throws his fastball in the 90-95 mph range after pitching in the upper 80s and touching 93 in 2023. He also has impressive feel to spin a slider around 80 mph that has big spin rates and above-average potential with late turning action. Shepardson primarily uses his fastball/slider combination, but he does throw a four- and two-seam variation of the fastball that have different shapes. He pitched at the MLB Draft combine in June where he showed potential with an 87-88 mph changeup that flashed tons of tumble and fading life and could be a key piece of his arsenal moving forward, as well as a slower curveball at 79-80 mph. He throws from a fair delivery and three-quarters slot and has been a scattered strike-thrower in the past, which combined with his primary two-pitch mix, adds some reliever risk.

Shepardson is committed to San Francisco where his brother, Blake, currently pitches.

 

 

 

 

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Grant Shepardson (@grant.shepardson_) • Instagram photos and videos