Andrew Abbott Racking Up Strikeouts With Ease
2 years agoCincinnati Reds pitching prospect Andrew Abbott, a southpaw, is a former second-round pick who has looked much better in Double-A this season than he did at the end of the 2022 campaign. Quite simply, he struggled with walks, hits, and runs during the final half of last year with Chattanooga, though he seems to have bounced back so far this season. The University of Virginia product has a low-90s fastball with solid cut that plays particularly well against left-handed hitting. Even more devastating, though, is his plus curveball with decent velocity and pronounced vertical break. This pitch complements his fastball quite nicely and has blossomed into a very strong putaway pitch. Abbott has also added a slider with good horizontal bite and a changeup that is a fine quaternary offering. Abbott put on a show this past week, mowing down batters in his April 13 outing against Mississippi. The hurler lasted six innings, allowing zero runs, zero walks, and just two hits. By far most impressive, though, was the fact that he struck out 14 batters. Adding that total to his 11 strikeouts over 4.2 innings on April 6, Abbott now owns an otherworldly 21.09 K/9 rate.
Source: FanGraphs
Source: FanGraphs