Zak Kent Stats & Scouting Report — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects

IP	5
ERA	0
WHIP	.8
BB/9	1.8
SO/9	14.4

Full name Zachary Allen Kent
Born 02/24/1998 in Henrico, VA
Profile Ht.: 6'3" / Wt.: 208 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Virginia Military Institute
Drafted in the 9th round (265th overall) by the Texas Rangers in 2019 (signed for $140,000).

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A 6-foot-3, 195-pound righthander, Kent throws a below-average fastball in the 87-91 mph range and has vanilla offspeed offerings, but teams could be intrigued with his strikeout-to-walk ratio this spring. Kent ranked among the top 10 pitchers in the country in total strikeouts, with 132 through 97 innings, while walking just 30.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

BA Grade: 40/High

Track Record: Kent was the Rangers’ ninth-round pick in 2019 out of Virginia Military Institute. He reached Triple-A in 2022 and was rewarded with a spot on the team’s 40-man roster before that year’s Rule 5 draft. His 2023 season was limited to just 40.2 innings in the regular season thanks to an injury before six weeks in the Arizona Fall League to make up for lost time.

Scouting Report: Kent works with a three-pitch mix of a four-seam fastball, slider and changeup, though the first two pitches are the dominant parts of his arsenal. The four-seamer with natural cutting action sits in the low 90s with high spin but the velocity needs to come up a couple of notches before it looks as good as it did in 2021, his last healthy season. The slider, thrown around 85 mph, is his best offspeed pitch with traditional three-quarters break. If he were to use only the fastball and slider, he’d be a plug-and-play reliever. To seize a spot in a rotation, he needs to bring his mid-80s changeup forward and start using it more often. The pitch is thrown with a split-finger grip and was a dominant offering the last time he pitched a full season.

The Future: The biggest goal for Kent in 2024 will be a return to health. Two injury-filled seasons have dimmed his rotation chances, but if his velocity comes back he could fit in a bullpen.

Scouting Grades Fastball: 50 | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 45
BA Grade/Risk: 45/High

Track Record: Kent pitched three successful seasons at Virginia Military Institute and whiffed 132 hitters in his junior year. The Rangers took him in the ninth round and let him get his feet wet in the lower levels of the minor leagues. He reached Double-A in 2021 and ascended to Triple-A by the end of 2022. The Rangers were intrigued enough by the progress Kent made to add him to their 40-man roster and shield him from the Rule 5 draft.

Scouting Report: Kent dealt with a litany of injuries in 2022 to his hip and back and oblique muscles, which required three separate stays on the injured list. At his best, Kent mixes and matches with a five-pitch repertoire that include four- and two-seam fastballs with the latter being introduced in the middle of the season as a way to get more grounders. Kent previously threw a split-fingered fastball but had trouble building up the necessary callouses and began throwing a traditional changeup during the season. Scouts outside the peg the changeup as fringe-average.

The Future: Kent struggled at the beginning of the season but rebounded as the season went on in between stints on the IL. His fastball-slider mix could at least make him a nasty reliever but if his other offspeeds comes forward he could have a bit more ceiling. He should make his debut in 2023.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Curveball: 50. Slider: 60. Changeup: 45. Control: 45
Track Record: Kent was plucked out of Virginia Military Institute, where he spent three solid seasons. His 132 strikeouts in his junior year were among the most in the country. The Rangers popped him in the ninth round that year and signed him for $140,000. He got his feet wet at the lowest levels of the minor leagues in 2019, then returned to action at 2020 instructional league. His 25 strikeouts were tied with Cody Bradford for the most in Texas’ camp.

Scouting Report: Kent works with a four-pitch mix, but predominantly attacks with a fastball-slider-changeup combination. His heater sits in the low 90s and peaked at 98 this season with High-A and showed excellent spin rates and solid vertical life. He paired the fastball primarily with a similarly high-spin slider in the mid 80s. He leaned on that particularly heavily once he moved to Double-A, where he used the slider roughly 45% of the time. The Rangers added a split-changeup to Kent’s repertoire at instructional league in 2020 and saw immediate benefits. The pitch sits in the high 80s and got swings and misses at an above-average clip.

The Future: Kent will likely return to Double-A in 2022. He ran into some trouble at the level to close 2021 (although a large part of those issues stemmed from two starts at homer-happy Amarillo). He could find a spot toward the back of a rotation.

Scouting Reports

BA Grade/Risk: 45/High

Track Record: Kent pitched three successful seasons at Virginia Military Institute and whiffed 132 hitters in his junior year. The Rangers took him in the ninth round and let him get his feet wet in the lower levels of the minor leagues. He reached Double-A in 2021 and ascended to Triple-A by the end of 2022. The Rangers were intrigued enough by the progress Kent made to add him to their 40-man roster and shield him from the Rule 5 draft.

Scouting Report: Kent dealt with a litany of injuries in 2022 to his hip and back and oblique muscles, which required three separate stays on the injured list. At his best, Kent mixes and matches with a five-pitch repertoire that include four- and two-seam fastballs with the latter being introduced in the middle of the season as a way to get more grounders. Kent previously threw a split-fingered fastball but had trouble building up the necessary callouses and began throwing a traditional changeup during the season. Scouts outside the peg the changeup as fringe-average.

The Future: Kent struggled at the beginning of the season but rebounded as the season went on in between stints on the IL. His fastball-slider mix could at least make him a nasty reliever but if his other offspeeds comes forward he could have a bit more ceiling. He should make his debut in 2023.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Curveball: 50. Slider: 60. Changeup: 45. Control: 45
BA Grade/Risk: 45/High

Track Record: Kent pitched three successful seasons at Virginia Military Institute and whiffed 132 hitters in his junior year. The Rangers took him in the ninth round and let him get his feet wet in the lower levels of the minor leagues. He reached Double-A in 2021 and ascended to Triple-A by the end of 2022. The Rangers were intrigued enough by the progress Kent made to add him to their 40-man roster and shield him from the Rule 5 draft.

Scouting Report: Kent dealt with a litany of injuries in 2022 to his hip and back and oblique muscles, which required three separate stays on the injured list. At his best, Kent mixes and matches with a five-pitch repertoire that include four- and two-seam fastballs with the latter being introduced in the middle of the season as a way to get more grounders. Kent previously threw a split-fingered fastball but had trouble building up the necessary callouses and began throwing a traditional changeup during the season. Scouts outside the peg the changeup as fringe-average.

The Future: Kent struggled at the beginning of the season but rebounded as the season went on in between stints on the IL. His fastball-slider mix could at least make him a nasty reliever but if his other offspeeds comes forward he could have a bit more ceiling. He should make his debut in 2023.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Curveball: 50. Slider: 60. Changeup: 45. Control: 45
BA Grade: 45/High

Track Record: Kent was plucked out of Virginia Military Institute, where he spent three solid seasons. His 132 strikeouts in his junior year were among the most in the country. The Rangers popped him in the ninth round that year and signed him for $140,000. He got his feet wet at the lowest levels of the minor leagues in 2019, then returned to action at 2020 instructional league. His 25 strikeouts were tied with Cody Bradford for the most in Texas&#39 camp.

Scouting Report: Kent works with a four-pitch mix, but predominantly attacks with a fastball-slider-changeup combination. His heater sits in the low 90s and peaked at 98 this season with High-A and showed excellent spin rates and solid vertical life. He paired the fastball primarily with a similarly high-spin slider in the mid 80s. He leaned on that particularly heavily once he moved to Double-A, where he used the slider roughly 45% of the time. The Rangers added a split-changeup to Kent&#39s repertoire at instructional league in 2020 and saw immediate benefits. The pitch sits in the high 80s and got swings and misses at an above-average clip.

The Future: Kent will likely return to Double-A in 2022. He ran into some trouble at the level to close 2021 (although a large part of those issues stemmed from two starts at homer-happy Amarillo). He could find a spot toward the back of a rotation.
Track Record: Kent was plucked out of Virginia Military Institute, where he spent three solid seasons. His 132 strikeouts in his junior year were among the most in the country. The Rangers popped him in the ninth round that year and signed him for $140,000. He got his feet wet at the lowest levels of the minor leagues in 2019, then returned to action at 2020 instructional league. His 25 strikeouts were tied with Cody Bradford for the most in Texas’ camp.

Scouting Report: Kent works with a four-pitch mix, but predominantly attacks with a fastball-slider-changeup combination. His heater sits in the low 90s and peaked at 98 this season with High-A and showed excellent spin rates and solid vertical life. He paired the fastball primarily with a similarly high-spin slider in the mid 80s. He leaned on that particularly heavily once he moved to Double-A, where he used the slider roughly 45% of the time. The Rangers added a split-changeup to Kent’s repertoire at instructional league in 2020 and saw immediate benefits. The pitch sits in the high 80s and got swings and misses at an above-average clip.

The Future: Kent will likely return to Double-A in 2022. He ran into some trouble at the level to close 2021 (although a large part of those issues stemmed from two starts at homer-happy Amarillo). He could find a spot toward the back of a rotation.