Austin Love

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked St. Louis Cardinals #20 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
  
  Track Record: Love spent two seasons in North Carolina's bullpen before breaking out as a starter in 2021. The Cardinals drafted him in the third round after that season and signed him for a below-slot $600,000. Love began his first full season at High-A Peoria in 2022 and struggled to a 5.73 ERA, but he showed the underlying stuff to miss bats and was often victimized by bad luck.
  
  Scouting Report: While Love's maiden voyage was rough, he showcased several promising traits. He has a large, physical starter's frame at 6-foot-3, 232 pounds and a potent four-pitch mix. His fastball sits 92-94 mph and touches 97 at its peak and his mid-80s, gyro-slider is an above-average pitch that regularly misses bats. Love can get outs with those two pitches, but the rest of his arsenal is further behind. He struggles to land his fringy changeup his low-80s curveball is a below-average pitch, although it shows solid depth. He throws strikes with average control but has room to improve his command.
  
  The Future: Love has a chance to remain a starter if he can command his changeup better. If not, his fastball and slider combination should play up out of the bullpen.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50. Curveball: 40. Slider 55. Changeup 45. Control: 50.
• 
  Ranked St. Louis Cardinals #14 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: Love worked as a full-time reliever in his first two seasons at North Carolina in 2019 and 2020, but transitioned to the starting rotation for the 2021 season. He put up impressive numbers in 2021 while his draft stock shot up significantly. The Cardinals scooped him up in the third round of the July draft, and Love made seven appearances between the Florida Complex League and Low-A Palm Beach after signing. He allowed one earned run in eight innings.
  
  Scouting Report: Love uses a fastball that sat 91-94 mph as a starter and topped out at 97-98 mph. He has a pair of offspeed offerings that flash above-average, with a mid-80s slider with vertical break and a mid-80s changeup with fade and tumble. Love stood out to Cardinals officials after signing for the way he competed and his ability to command his three-pitch mix. Some opposing scouts feel Love profiles better in the bullpen, where his fastball would play up, but the Cardinals plan to use him as a starter.
  
  The Future: Love has the pitch mix and control to profile as a back-end starter, but he could also become a high-leverage reliever.
  

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #97 prospect in 2021 draft
  Love was North Carolina’s relief ace in 2019, when he appeared in a team-high 36 games and posted a 3.22 ERA over 67 innings. He was also used out of the bullpen during the shortened 2020 season but made a successful transition to starting this spring. He posted a 3.71 ERA over 102 innings and 16 starts, while striking out 129 batters (11.4 K/9) and walking 32 (2.8 BB/9)—both his strikeout and walk rate this season were career bests. Love has a workhorse frame at 6-foot-3, 232 pounds and worked back-to-back complete games in May, including a 15-strikeout game against Georgia Tech. His fastball sits in the 91-94 mph range as a starter, and while the metrics on the pitch aren’t great, there are scouts who think he could work with a double-plus fastball that has increased velocity in a bullpen role at the next level. He’s touched 97-98 mph this season. While his best secondary pitch was previously his changeup, Love’s slider has developed this spring and became his best swing-and-miss offering. It’s a mid-80s bender with solid vertical bite that he consistently lands down and to his glove side. Love does a nice job keeping his mid-to-upper-80s changeup down as well, though he works the pitch to his arm side and away from lefthanded hitters, with terrific tumbling action at its best. Both pitches have shown above-average potential at times, but not always at the same time. Love has a very short arm action and a delivery that some scouts don’t love, but he did a nice job filling up the strike zone this season.
• Ranked #255 prospect in 2020 draft
  A filled out, 6-foot-3, 232-pound righthander, Love was UNC’s relief ace in 2019, when he appeared in a team-high 36 games and posted a 3.22 ERA over 67 innings. Scouts were intrigued enough with him to wonder how he would look in a starting role, especially after seeing success in that capacity over the summer in the Cape Cod League, where he posted a 2.70 ERA in four starts and three relief appearances. However, Love was again used strictly in relief in 2020, though his best outing was an extended, 5.2-inning appearance against Dallas Baptist where he struck out nine batters. Love throws a straight fastball in the 90-94 mph range and pairs it with a no-doubt plus changeup. The change sits in the 86-88 mph range with devastating tumbling action, and he locates it consistently—his clear go-to offering. Love also throws a slider in the low 80s but the pitch lacks bite or sharp movement and backs up on him at times. Love has struggled with walks at times—he walked 5.0 per nine in the Cape and 4.9 per nine this spring—and those issues with control could limit him to a relief role at the next level as well.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
  
  Track Record: Love spent two seasons in North Carolina's bullpen before breaking out as a starter in 2021. The Cardinals drafted him in the third round after that season and signed him for a below-slot $600,000. Love began his first full season at High-A Peoria in 2022 and struggled to a 5.73 ERA, but he showed the underlying stuff to miss bats and was often victimized by bad luck.
  
  Scouting Report: While Love's maiden voyage was rough, he showcased several promising traits. He has a large, physical starter's frame at 6-foot-3, 232 pounds and a potent four-pitch mix. His fastball sits 92-94 mph and touches 97 at its peak and his mid-80s, gyro-slider is an above-average pitch that regularly misses bats. Love can get outs with those two pitches, but the rest of his arsenal is further behind. He struggles to land his fringy changeup his low-80s curveball is a below-average pitch, although it shows solid depth. He throws strikes with average control but has room to improve his command.
  
  The Future: Love has a chance to remain a starter if he can command his changeup better. If not, his fastball and slider combination should play up out of the bullpen.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50. Curveball: 40. Slider 55. Changeup 45. Control: 50.
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
  
  Track Record: Love spent two seasons in North Carolina's bullpen before breaking out as a starter in 2021. The Cardinals drafted him in the third round after that season and signed him for a below-slot $600,000. Love began his first full season at High-A Peoria in 2022 and struggled to a 5.73 ERA, but he showed the underlying stuff to miss bats and was often victimized by bad luck.
  
  Scouting Report: While Love's maiden voyage was rough, he showcased several promising traits. He has a large, physical starter's frame at 6-foot-3, 232 pounds and a potent four-pitch mix. His fastball sits 92-94 mph and touches 97 at its peak and his mid-80s, gyro-slider is an above-average pitch that regularly misses bats. Love can get outs with those two pitches, but the rest of his arsenal is further behind. He struggles to land his fringy changeup his low-80s curveball is a below-average pitch, although it shows solid depth. He throws strikes with average control but has room to improve his command.
  
  The Future: Love has a chance to remain a starter if he can command his changeup better. If not, his fastball and slider combination should play up out of the bullpen.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50. Curveball: 40. Slider 55. Changeup 45. Control: 50.
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 45/High
  
  Track Record: Love worked as a full-time reliever in his first two seasons at North Carolina in 2019 and 2020, but transitioned to the starting rotation for the 2021 season. He put up impressive numbers in 2021 while his draft stock shot up significantly. The Cardinals scooped him up in the third round of the July draft, and Love made seven appearances between the Florida Complex League and Low-A Palm Beach after signing. He allowed one earned run in eight innings.
  
  Scouting Report: Love uses a fastball that sat 91-94 mph as a starter and topped out at 97-98 mph. He has a pair of offspeed offerings that flash above-average, with a mid-80s slider with vertical break and a mid-80s changeup with fade and tumble. Love stood out to Cardinals officials after signing for the way he competed and his ability to command his three-pitch mix. Some opposing scouts feel Love profiles better in the bullpen, where his fastball would play up, but the Cardinals plan to use him as a starter.
  
  The Future: Love has the pitch mix and control to profile as a back-end starter, but he could also become a high-leverage reliever.
• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Love worked as a full-time reliever in his first two seasons at North Carolina in 2019 and 2020, but transitioned to the starting rotation for the 2021 season. He put up impressive numbers in 2021 while his draft stock shot up significantly. The Cardinals scooped him up in the third round of the July draft, and Love made seven appearances between the Florida Complex League and Low-A Palm Beach after signing. He allowed one earned run in eight innings.
  
  Scouting Report: Love uses a fastball that sat 91-94 mph as a starter and topped out at 97-98 mph. He has a pair of offspeed offerings that flash above-average, with a mid-80s slider with vertical break and a mid-80s changeup with fade and tumble. Love stood out to Cardinals officials after signing for the way he competed and his ability to command his three-pitch mix. Some opposing scouts feel Love profiles better in the bullpen, where his fastball would play up, but the Cardinals plan to use him as a starter.
  
  The Future: Love has the pitch mix and control to profile as a back-end starter, but he could also become a high-leverage reliever.
  
• July, 2021 Scouting Report
  Love was North Carolina's relief ace in 2019, when he appeared in a team-high 36 games and posted a 3.22 ERA over 67 innings. He was also used out of the bullpen during the shortened 2020 season but made a successful transition to starting this spring. He posted a 3.71 ERA over 102 innings and 16 starts, while striking out 129 batters (11.4 K/9) and walking 32 (2.8 BB/9)—both his strikeout and walk rate this season were career bests. Love has a workhorse frame at 6-foot-3, 232 pounds and worked back-to-back complete games in May, including a 15-strikeout game against Georgia Tech. His fastball sits in the 91-94 mph range as a starter, and while the metrics on the pitch aren't great, there are scouts who think he could work with a double-plus fastball that has increased velocity in a bullpen role at the next level. He's touched 97-98 mph this season. While his best secondary pitch was previously his changeup, Love's slider has developed this spring and became his best swing-and-miss offering. It's a mid-80s bender with solid vertical bite that he consistently lands down and to his glove side. Love does a nice job keeping his mid-to-upper-80s changeup down as well, though he works the pitch to his arm side and away from lefthanded hitters, with terrific tumbling action at its best. Both pitches have shown above-average potential at times, but not always at the same time. Love has a very short arm action and a delivery that some scouts don't love, but he did a nice job filling up the strike zone this season.