Rank History
| Year | Team | Position | Team Rank | OFP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | TEX | LHP | 41 | 35 |
Grades Update: Mar 2021
| OFP | Role | FB | CB | SL | CH | Cont/Cmd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | 30 | 40 | 55 | 45 | 40 | 45/40 |
Mar 2021 Report
Evaluator: Trevor Hooth
Age: 25 yr
Height: 6-3
Weight: 185 lbs
Hits/Throws: R/L
Acquired: 2017 Round 5
RuleV: Eligible
Physical Description: Sloping shoulders. Looks heavier than listed weight. Thick lower half with some room for projection in the upper half.
Delivery & Mechanics: High 3/4 arm slot. Higher effort delivery. Starts slightly off center to the plate towards first base. Hands start by his neck, as he rocks they drop down to his stomach and raise back up as his leg lifts. Lands closed. Quick arm. Once he starts the motion with his arm, both the throw and the back leg explode through the finish.
Fastball: 88-92. like to work up with the pitch, but it has a tendency to sail on him. Plays at the knees when the secondaries are working. Not much movement, so it gets squared up fairly often when he has to rely on it. Grade: 40
Curveball: 1-7 shape. Lots of movement can be loopy. Throws it early and often to both righties and lefties. Not afraid to double up on this pitch. Likes to backdoor righties to steals strike early, and bury it late in counts. Grade: 55
Slider: Shows plenty of sweep with just enough gyro to generate whiffs. Likes to break it inside on righties hands. He doesn't use it often, but shows feel to sequence it well enough to create whiffs. Could be an average offering, but it's under utilized. Grade: 45
Changeup: Some fade at the bottom of the zone. Mostly just flashes this pitch to change pace. Grade: 40
Control and Command: While he doesn't often miss by a lot, he nibbles so he finds himself behind in the count often. He has good enough control of all his pitches, but falling behind really limits his ability to access his arsenal because he'll rely on the fastball. His curveball command is important based on how frequently he throws it, and he shows a good ability to do that. Control: 45 | Command: 40
Overall: Latz put up some good numbers in 2019 and even garnered a late invite to the alternate site in 2020. His breaking pitches are solid and could help him carve a rotation role, but he'll need to find a way to sit in the upper echelon of his velocity more often or take a step forward in command. He likely thrives more in a long relief type role.
OFP: 35
Role: 30 - Up/Down Emergency Depth
Risk: High
