NYH

Johan Oviedo, P

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Scouting report

Oviedo was one of the not-quite-ready-for-primetime players pressed into major league duty last year because of the Cardinals' COVID outbreak, and he struggled in a limited big league look. A hulking 6-foot-6, Oviedo has a workhorse starter's build that comps to a young Josh Beckett, he throws really hard, and he flashes above-average breaking stuff. All of these components are present intermittently, but Oviedo just hasn't leveled up as a strike-thrower yet, and his slider and curveball aren't nasty enough to override his loose command; they need to be located. The same is true of Oviedo's fastball. Even though it's in the mid-90s and has something close to a backspinning axis, his size creates more downhill plane on the pitch than a fastball with these other traits wants to have. I'm pretty confident Oviedo's going to be an integral part of a pitching staff eventually. At 23, it's looking more like that will be in relief further down the line, though right now it makes more sense to have him stretched out as starter depth. His repertoire depth and starter pedigree make him a strong candidate to work in a four-to-six out role. (Alternate site, MLB)