Roughly 80+ evaluators crowded the bleachers at Verrado High School on Monday night for the Santa Barbara-Verrado game, as a part of the Coach Bob National Invitational. They weren't there to take in a game between two solid teams, however. They were there to watch Santa Barbara's starter, senior right-hander Kevin Gowdy, take the mound. 

Gowdy, who starred at PG National and was great at the Perfect Game All-American Classic in August, has been talked about as a potential first round draft pick for the upcoming draft ever since his lights-out showing at National. The tall and lanky righty is super projectable, with a long and lean build, and plenty of room to gain strength. The delivery is very easy, with a very clean arm action through the back into acceleration, ending in a pretty traditional three quarters slot with very good extension through release. He's balanced throughout and does an excellent job getting out over his front side, and has consistently shown the ability to command the baseball down in the zone to both sides of the plate. 

On Monday night, perhaps inhibited by the strong, dry wind coursing throughout the field, Gowdy's command wasn't as sharp as it had been. He still flashed quality stuff, with the same easy delivery and ideal projection levels. His fastball worked 91-93 MPH early, settling in around 87-91 MPH over the course of his 4 2/3 innings. He struck out 10 and walked only 1, but was behind in the count often and struggled to command the ball to the glove side. He looked to be landing a bit more closed off at foot strike than he usually does, and was overcompensating in his upper half by over rotating a bit, which caused him to yank everything off the plate glove side. The overall mechanical profile, including the arm action, delivery, and natural athleticism he possesses, all still speak to above-average command at maturity. 

His slider was a bit inconsistent but flashed above-average, with late diving tilt and good vertical break in the low-mid 80's, showing as an average pitch throughout the evening for the most part. He only threw a few changeups on the evening, but the pitch is still a quality third offering for him. He throws it with conviction and very good arm speed, showing a clean release off his hand and good fading action when down in the zone.

At his best, an evaluator will see a projectable right-hander with a clean mechanical profile, above-average command projection, and a chance for 3 average-or-better pitches. While Monday night wasn't his best outing, the upside is still obviously there.