PEN

Cole Wilcox, P

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Scouting report

Wilcox was a 50 FV high school prospect who fell toward the bottom of teams' first tier of prep pitching due to the shape of his fastball and his physically-mature frame. He ended up at Georgia, pitched out of the bullpen throughout much of his freshman year and routinely sat 97-99 in that role, often touching 100. As a starter in 2020, Wilcox sat 93-96 with more consistent command (he walked no hitters in his final three starts and walked just two in 23 total innings) than he had as a freshman, and more effective slider shape. The Padres drafted Wilcox in the third round and gave him $3.3 million, which broke the record for a third rounder's bonus, one they set the previous year with Hudson Head. Wilcox went to instructs -- I have one report from the Fall and Wilcox was 93-94, which is fine considering the context -- and was then traded to the Rays as part of the Blake Snell deal. When it's right, Wilcox has a biting, two-plane out pitch in the slide piece, which sits in the 85-89 range and often has more length than any pitch that hard has a right to be. Those two pitches and his current command would be enough to project Wilcox in a late-inning bullpen role, but a better change or split (the development of which was slowed by his freshman role) would enable him to be a mid-rotation piece so long as he retains his velo in pro ball, since the shape of the heater makes it velocity-dependent. (Fall Instructional League)