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Kyle Harrison, P
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Scouting report
Harrison was tougher to see at 2020 instructs than most other pitchers because the Giants did not allow scouts behind home plate at their minor league complex (which was smart -- it's pretty cramped on those metal bleachers). That meant he had to be seen when he pitched on the road. After he topped out at 94 during his pre-draft summer, Harrison was up to 97 in the Fall of 2020. This is not a traditional high school pitching prospect. Harrison has a prototypical frame but his delivery is an anomaly. He gets very low to the ground and takes a huge stride home, then throws two-seamers from a sidearm slot. The combination of the low slot and drop-and-drive style delivery creates a very low release point, and then flat, sometimes upward angle on Harrison's fastballs. He can create arm-side tailing action on his heater (to set up a precocious changeup) and also run it up the ladder. And of course because Harrison's slot makes him a very uncomfortable at-bat for left-handed hitters, and his curveball has the sweeping action most readers associate with a lower-slot lefty pitcher, that pitch is very likely to have at least some amount of utility. He looked like a sinker pitchability prospect during my high school looks but the spike in velocity and improved fastball utility raise his ceiling considerably. Now we're looking at a young prospect who had a pitchability foundation, albeit one with a strange look, experiencing a pretty significant velocity spike. (Fall Instructional League)