Mason Denaburg

Perhaps the most athletic pitcher in the class, Denaburg was one of the harder-throwing high school arms during the summer showcase season in 2017, touching 97 mph in short stints and serving as a reliever for USA Baseball's 18U National Team. A former two-way player, Denaburg would be a legitimate pro prospect as a catcher with a strong throwing arm and raw power with the bat. However, his stuff on the mound is too intriguing for pro teams to keep him in gear and Denaburg scrapped catching this spring with Merritt Island (Fla.) High to focus on improving as a pitcher. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound righthander made a big jump after his first start of the season, when he matched up with Eau Gallie High (Melbourne, Fla.) righthander Carter Stewart in a highly-attended Prep Baseball Report tournament. In that game, Denaburg touched 97 mph in the first inning and settled into the low 90s, regularly touching 94 mph while also showing a much-improved curveball in the upper 70s that looked like a plus pitch. Over the summer, Denaburg was extremely fastball-heavy and scouts couldn't get a good feel for his secondary offerings. The breaking ball that he showed in February gave scouts a reason to get excited. He threw a hard slider with a spike grip during the summer, but discovered a different grip when throwing bullpens and flat ground sessions during the offseason. Denaburg also throws an occasional low-80s changeup that shows promise. After the PBR event, Denaburg was more inconsistent and eventually shut things down altogether with biceps tendinitis that has caused him to miss approximately one month. The status of that injury will further complicate things as teams try to decide whether he is best served as a starter or a reliever long term, although his arm strength, athleticism and feel for spin give him a ceiling as a middle-of-the-rotation arm.