LHP Nick Lee

After many months of sitting in the bleachers and scouting hundreds of aspiring major league baseball players, often prospects and their scouting reports fall through the cracks, never appearing in print here on NatsGM.  In a new feature, today I provide scouting notes on four prospects, LHP Nick Lee of the Washington Nationals, Ty Buttrey with the Boston Red Sox, and high school players Blake Rutherford and Jonathan Gettys.

Nick Lee LHP Harrisburg Senators

Recently the Washington Nationals announced their 7-man squad to represent the organization in the Arizona Fall League and Nick Lee was one of the names on this list.  Drafted in the 18th round of the 2011 MLB Draft our of Weatherford College, Lee split time in 2015 with both High-A Potomac and Double-A Harrisburg, pitching 52 innings with a 3.12 ERA, a 1.404 WHIP and 57 strikeouts against 34 walks allowed.

Lee is a pure left-handed relief prospect, featuring a 93-94mph fastball that can touch 96mph with excellent late life.  He shows the ability to locate the fastball well to the glove-side but struggles with command toward the arm-side in my viewings.  In addition Lee features a 79-82mph slider with swing-and-miss potential as a chase pitch against opposing hitters.  He does a nice job of burying the slider in the dirt, but has trouble locating it in the zone for called strikes.

Now 24-years-old and owning a career 4.8 BB/9 ratio, Lee needs to start limiting his walks to allow himself to continue to climb the organizational ladder.  He has flaws in his potential major league profile, but any lefty with mid-90s velocity and an offspeed pitch that can induce whiffs is a name worth remembering for the Nationals in the future.

Ty Buttrey RHP Salem Red Sox

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A former 2012 4th round pick who received a $1.4 million bonus to sign out of high school, Buttrey owns a near ideal pitchers’ frame standing 6-6 235lbs. Buttrey is a massive 22-year-old pitcher featuring a straight over-the-top arm-slot. He is still quite raw on the mound and struggles to maintain a consistent spine angle, making it difficult to maintain his release point and hinders his command of the strike zone.

In this viewing Buttrey showed a 3-pitch mix including a 91-93mph fastball with good life and some arm-side wiggle. Buttrey also showed an inconsistent, 12-5 downward moving 76-80mph curveball and an average 82-84mph changeup with tumbling movement much like a split-finger.

Buttrey is an impressive prospect with plenty of physical promise and tools, but the refinement of his skills lags far behind a player possessing his pedigree. Any organization would be thrilled to have him in their farm system, as his immense talent could quickly turn into production on the field; however, right now this is an extremely high-risk/high-reward prospect.

Blake Rutherford CF Simi Valley, California – Perfect Game All-American Classic 8/16/15

Rutherford was one of the best hitting prospects at the Perfect Game Classic, as this UCLA commit has a dreamy 6-2 190lbs body with plenty of physical projection remaining. He shows quick, flexible wrists and noticeable bat speed through his left-handed swing. Also, Rutherford flashes some bat-to-ball aptitude also, giving him a chance to be a potential above-average hitter with average power. Defensively Rutherford shows good speed in the outfield and a solid throwing arm, which allows him to profile as a centerfielder long-term. Rutherford profiles as an above-average 2-way centerfielder with an extremely projectable body, making him a potential high 1st rounder next summer.

Jonathan Gettys LHP Gainesville, Georgia HS – Under Armour All-America Game 8/15/15

The brother of top San Diego Padres prospect Michael Gettys, Jonathan Gettys entered the Under Armour game in the 9th inning to serve as the closer for the National team. Gettys is a well-built, stocky lefty with some excess movement and a cross-fire during his delivery, though he repeats his motion fairly well while creating some deception. He sat 89-92mph with the fastball with some arm-side wiggle and a devastating 77mph hammer curveball with 1-7 movement. Armed with a powerful physique and the potential for two plus pitches, Jonathan is likely to pass on his commitment to LSU and follow his brothers’ footsteps by signing into professional baseball out of high school next year.