Friday Recap

Sure, you can look at Vanderbilt junior right-hander Carson Fulmer and point out that he is a bit undersized and throws with effort. On the other hand you can watch him throw and realize that he’s still able to generate downhill plane on his entire arsenal and in regards to the effort, he maintains his high octane stuff throughout the outing, never dipping below 92 mph with his fastball in his six innings last night. On top of that, he’s highly athletic and by far the most fierce competitor that I’ve seen on a field this spring.

Fulmer opened the game and was just dominant in his first inning of work, sitting in the 93-96 mph range with sharp downhill and command of both sides while bumping 97 a couple of times. Both of his off-speed pitches flashed plus in the first as he threw his first changeup at 89 mph with late fade to his arm side, and his breaking ball consistently at 84 mph, almost showing slider shape with hard biting action.

As the game progressed onward Fulmer’s curveball began to show true curveball shape with 12-to-6 life and plenty of depth on the pitch in the low-80s. He showed a plus feel for the pitch and was able to go to the pitch whenever he was in trouble to escape a jam, proving to be a swing and miss offering.

Though he wasn’t sharp from first pitch to last, occasionally leaving the ball up or catching too much plate at times, Fulmer’s showed dominant stuff over his six innings with three pitches that can simply overpower a hitter. The velocity was there whenever he needed it, sitting comfortably in the 92-94 mph range, touching 95’s and even flashed a 96 in the fourth with late arm side run when on top of the pitch. Even more impressive was his ability to consistently bring the pitch in on the hands of righthanded hitters, showing a fast arm from a simple set of mechanics.

There was one pitch from Fulmer in particular that stood out to me and it came on a two-strike count with two outs. Facing a righthanded hitter, Fulmer spotted up an 88 mph changeup beautifully to his glove side, fading the pitch back over the outside corner for a called third strike to end the inning.

It’s easy to see why Fulmer is regarded as one of the top pitching prospects in the 2015 draft class as he maintains high-level stuff on the mound and does it with an abundance of confidence.