PG Draft Spotlight: Jamie Arnold

Tyler Kotila

Jamie Arnold

Position: LHP
Height: 6-1
Weight: 192
Bats/Throws: L-L
Birthdate: March 21, 2004
High School: Tampa Jesuit
City, State: Tampa, Fla.
College Team: Florida State

Frame/Delivery/Arm Action

Arnold has a 6-foot-1, 192-pound frame and sports with a lean and slender build. There’s room to add, but presently, it's more of a lean look. Arnold has wiry strength throughout and controls the limbs well within the frame. Arnold works from a lower and extended slot as it's a sidearm slot with an extended-release and his arm slot makes for a really deceptive angle. He starts squared more toward 1B on the rubber with a sidestep into a leg lift at the belt. The hands move in unison with the leg lift, getting even with the hat's brim before breaking into the arm swing. He has plenty of length to the arm action with a long and loose stroke. He gets a ton of extension in the lead leg, using the lengthy levers to push downhill. He lands slightly towards the first-base side, further increasing the sidearm and tough release. There’s some fluidity to the delivery with deliberate actions; however, he has plenty of pace and tempo in his actions on the mound. He aims to be in control of the game and does a good job staying in control of the pace/tempo, which can speed hitters up, and it’s a tough enough angle as it is.

Arsenal/Pitch Mix

Arnold’s arsenal is headlined by the slider. It’s an elite offering with plenty of sweep and depth to it. The pitch works in the low- to mid-80s and has been up to 85 mph this spring. The pitch spins above 2,300 RPMs and generates plenty of depth. He misses bats time and time again with the pitch and can also spot it up for a strike. He punched out eight in his last outing against Penn, six of them being work of the slider, with four of those coming on whiffs. He shows a fastball that has crept up into the upper-90s (97 mph), and this spring, he’s been mostly 91-95 mph as the season gets underway. The pitch spins above 2,100 RPMs, and he equally mixes a sinker-profile fastball in the mix, too, getting a good arm-side run & sink to it. The fastball can also induce whiffs, mostly working the upper quadrants of the zone when he induces whiffs. There’s an ability to miss barrels and it has shown early on in the year. He also has been working in a splitter in 2025, debuting it last fall after only showing a distinct changeup in 2024. The splitter has good depth and profiles as average, but I’d expect a big-league team to continue adding to the pitch mix after he joins an organization. All of this makes for a tough at-bat for the opposition.

Abilities/Traits To Like

Arnold throws from a really tough arm angle and the sidearm release has been unique and made him a really interesting prospect on the circuit. He works from a 4.3” release height, -3.0-ish release side, and generates over 6-feet of extension. It’s a very similar profile to Chris Sale regarding the release, and it takes all of 1-2 pitches, so see the parallels between the two on the mound. The slider profiles similarly to Sale as well. While it’s not to say Arnold is the next Chris Sale, it’s an easy comparison to make, and the traits that Arnold has could make him attractive to organizations come draft time. He’s a consensus high-level pick with all the makings to be a Top-3 pick. Arnold misses bats like crazy at the collegiate level, and the fastball/slider combination has been really impressive early in the 2025 spring season. The fastball can miss barrels and plays up in the zone and above, hunting the swing-and-miss. It does lead to some missed spots above the zone. The slider is commanded well, being a pitch he controls and can flip for strikes, or locate backfoot to righties, or just below the zone to induce the swing-and-miss. There’s room to keep expanding and improving the pitch mix, but there are two offerings that are big-league level and will play well, with the slider being more than above-average in my eyes.

“The Buzz”

The buzz may not be “new,” given Arnold opened the season as a Top-5 prospect on most draft boards, but this spring, he has been off to a roaring start. He’s been able to shut down the opposition and has been one of the premier arms across the collegiate draft class. He’s in the running to be the best arm this spring, and the start he has put together has backed it up, limiting the opposition’s ability to do damage. It’s a really unique profile from top-to-bottom.

Summation

Arnold is going to be a top-tier draft pick this spring. He opened the year at No. 3 on the Perfect Game Draft Board. When things are all said and done, it sure feels like Arnold is most likely to be SP1 off the board, and depending on how the spring plays out, he’s likely to be a Top 3 pick overall. He’s already stacking uber-dominant starts on top of one another and that will likely continue given the track record. It’ll be fun to see Arnold get underway in ACC play with the Seminoles.

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