Lashutka was drafted in the 19th round in 2024 out of St. Leo College, a division II school located in Florida, and signed for just $10,000. After pitching an even 100 innings in his final collegiate season, he pitched in just one game for Single-A Jupiter in his draft season. He started the 2025 season in Jupiter where he made 16 appearances and 3 starts across 40.1 innings, posting a 1.79 ERA and 0.82 WHIP, before earning a promotion to High-A Beloit in mid-June. In Beloit, Lashutka pitched in 10 games with 9 starts, and had a 2.67 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 30.1 innings. Across both levels, opponents hit just .188 against him all season, and he racked up 72 strikeouts in 70.1 innings while allowing just 45 hits. But is Lashutka a starter or destined for the bullpen? The organization monitored his workload carefully; he only completed 5 innings on 3 occasions all season, and was used mainly as a reliever in Jupiter.
Before I dive into the numbers, it is important to note that this data is taken from Lashutka’s time in Single-A Jupiter. There is no advanced data available for High-A teams.
Lashutka primarily throws a 5 pitch mix. Four seamer, changeup, sweeper, slider and curveball. The fastball is his bread and butter pitch and sits 93 mph with very good induced vertical break, averaging 19.2”. The changeup is a plus secondary offering, thrown in the mid 80s, with 8.5” of armside break. Batters whiffed 43.6% of the time on the pitch. These two pitches alone make Lashutka a weapon, but if he continues to develop his other secondaries, it’s his command that leads me to believe he can stick as a starter. Lashutka throws plenty of strikes. His 66 strike% shows his propensity to live in and around the zone, and attack hitters. Uncompetitive pitches are something that often plagues young starting pitchers, and Lashutka does not have that problem. Free passes are simply hard to come by when you face him; he had just a 2.5 BB/9 in his first full professional season. Even in a small sample size (70.2 IP), this is something to take note of.
I want to see the Marlins organization commit to Lashutka as a starting pitcher. The command is there. A deep pitch mix with swing and miss stuff is there. Now it’s about continuing to fine tune the secondary offerings within his arsenal, and proving he can pitch deeper into games. Lashutka should start once again at Beloit, but if he has a strong first half of the season, it would not shock me if he makes the jump to Double-A Pensacola at some point this summer.
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