Unowned

Jackson Kowar, P

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Scouting report

Kowar throws in the mid-90s and has a dominant changeup, so he's very likely to be an important part of a big league staff fairly soon. His breaking ball quality and his fastball's shape are flaws that push him toward the bullpen. Kowar's mid-90s heater has tailing/sinking action rather than carry and ride, which means it's going to generate groundballs more than it will miss bats. It also means it pairs really well with his changeup's action but not so much with his curveball, which has a noticeable hump that makes it easy to identify it out of his hand. But that pitch has improved a good bit since Kowar has turned pro. His curveball was comfortably below average in college but the Royals have found a way to add raw spin since acquiring him. His spin rate was up from 2150 rpm to 2400 as of 2019, still shy of big league average. Kowar threw some average curveballs this spring but it's not a consistent offering, and only has get-me-over utility even when it's good. I think Kowar's very well-suited to rely on arm strength and his awesome changeup in a bullpen role, and that he'd be a set-up man in the Ryan Madson mold were he to experience a velo bump in single-inning outings. (Alternate site)