Cade Cavalli

If you were creating the blueprint for an ideal pitcher’s body, Cavalli might look like the end product. A towering, 6-foot-4, 218-pound righthander who looks like an All-American quarterback, Cavalli on paper has everything you want in a frontline pitcher. He can dial his fastball up to 98 mph and sits in the mid-90s with ease. He complements it with a devastating 87-90 mph slider with impressive lateral movement that serves as an out-pitch against both lefties and righties. He also has a curveball and a changeup that are solid-average with growth potential. Cavalli throws everything out of a picturesque arm action and delivery. However, hitters tend to square up Cavalli's fastball more than his velocity would suggest, partially because his delivery is so clean it lacks deception. His fastball plays down at least a grade below its velocity and perhaps more, and he has a history of erratic control that makes it difficult to work to his secondary offerings. Additionally, Cavalli has a troubling injury history going back to his high school days. He rarely pitched during his senior year because of lingering back issues and also missed time in 2019 due to a stress reaction in his arm. While Cavalli has first-round pure stuff, big upside and one of the better bodies in the 2020 class, he could fall into the second round because of concerns about how that stuff plays, the quality of his strikes and questions about durability.