Samuel Strickland

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #401 prospect in 2021 draft
  Strickland has been a four-year starter for Samford, and ranked as the No. 393 player in the class for the 2020 draft, but went unselected with just five rounds for teams to work with. This spring he had his worst season, posting a 5.09 ERA over 16 starts and 81.1 innings, while striking out 70 batters (7.7 K/9) and walking 15 (1.7 BB/9). Those strikeout and walk rates have always been Strickland’s calling card and in 2020 his 30-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio was the second-best mark of all Division I arms, behind only East Tennessee State’s Landon Knack. Strickland has a four-pitch mix with a fastball that sits around 88-92 mph and has been up to 95 this spring, along with a slider, changeup and slow curveball that are all fringy pitches. He’s a low-ceiling, back-of-the-rotation arm at best with impressive command.
• Ranked #393 prospect in 2020 draft
  A three-year starter with Samford, Strickland has performed each season at the collegiate level and could see his draft stock elevated because of that long track record of performance in a shortened draft environment. A 6-foot-2, 210-pound lefthander with fringe-average-to-average stuff across the board, Strickland is a pitchability lefthander more than an overpowering arm. He throws a fastball, slider, changeup and an eephus-esque curveball that allows him to project as a low-ceiling, back-of-the-rotation type arm. He posted sub-3.00 ERAs as a freshman and sophomore over 29 combined starts, and through four starts and 23 innings this spring, Strickland had a 1.17 ERA with 30 strikeouts to just one walk. That strikeout-to-walk ratio was good for second among Division I arms behind only East Tennessee State’s Landon Knack. Scouts saw Strickland as an early day three talent in a typical draft year, but in a draft with only five rounds he doesn’t have a clear spot.