J. B. Wendelken Stats & Scouting Report — College Baseball, Mlb Draft, Prospects

Track Record: Drafted by the Red Sox in 2012, Wendelken has been around long enough to be traded for two players who are now out of baseball: Jake Peavy and Brett Lawrie. Wendelken made his big league debut with Oakland in 2016, got hammered and then had Tommy John surgery that fall.

Scouting Report: The key to Wendelken's comeback was reworking his delivery and arm swing with minor league pitching coordinator Gil Patterson and rehab pitching coordinator Craig Lefferts. As a result, Wendelken added a tick of velocity and rounded out his arsenal. He topped out at 98 mph and averaged 95 in the big leagues and backed up his fastball with a plus breaking ball and now-usable changeup. His fastball gets swings and misses in the zone and his curveball induces chases in and out of the zone.

The Future: In his return to Oakland, Wendelken allowed one run in 17 innings and recorded an 0.78 WHIP, hinting at his potential to pitch high-leverage relief innings in 2019.