Nick Maldonado

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #234 prospect in 2023 draft
  School: Vanderbilt Source: 4YR
  
  Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted
  Age At Draft: 23.1
  One of the top relievers in the 2023 class, Maldonado is a 6-foot-1, 207-pound righthander who throws nothing straight. He posted a 1.45 ERA over 31 innings, with a 35.4% strikeout rate and a 6.2% walk rate while attacking batters from a three-quarter slot with a whippy arm action and above-average arm speed. He averaged 93 mph on his sinking fastball this spring, and has been up to 96 mph at peak velocity, though it’s the late movement that helps him miss barrels and avoid hard contact. Maldonado has a high-spin breaking ball in the 80-85 mph range that flashes two-plane break and also mixes in an upper-80s cutter. The breaking ball is likely Maldonado’s best swing-and-miss pitch at the next level, but he has done a nice job throwing quality strikes with all three of his pitches. He’s a straight reliever prospect who should fit on the second day of the draft.
• Ranked #346 prospect in 2022 draft
  School: Vanderbilt Committed/Drafted: Never Drafted
  Age At Draft: 22.1
  A three-year reliever for Vanderbilt, Maldonado posted a 3.00 career ERA with the program, though his 2022 season was his most disappointing. He was limited by injury at times this spring, but still managed a 3.96 ERA over 13 games (including four starts) and 38.2 innings, with 34 strikeouts (19.1 K%) and 16 walks (9.0 BB%). Maldonado mostly works off a fastball/slider combination, with his fastball sitting in the 90-92 mph range and touching 95 at peak and a mid-80s slider with short-breaking action that at times looks like a cutter. He has also thrown an upper-70s curveball with more 12-to-6 shape, but it’s the slider that some scouts think could be an out-pitch for him. Maldonado might have the strike-throwing ability to earn a chance at starting at the next level, but he’s almost exclusively pitched out of the bullpen throughout his collegiate career.