Victor Mederos

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Los Angeles Angels #11 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 45/High
  
  Track Record: A touted Florida high school arm, Mederos’ strong commitment to Miami landed him on campus, where he was immediately thrown into the Hurricanes’ rotation. He transferred to Oklahoma State as a draft-eligible sophomore in 2022. Mederos ran up a 5.40 ERA in two college seasons, but the Angels liked his premium arsenal and drafted him in the sixth round in 2022 and signed him for an under-slot $227,750. Assigned to Double-A Rocket City in 2023, Mederos struggled with the pre-tacked baseball in the Southern League. The Angels again took a flier by calling him up twice over the summer. He made three bumpy relief appearances.
  
  Scouting Report: Mederos is a strong, tall righthander with multiple swing-and-miss weapons. His fastball has ticked up in pro ball and now sits 94-98 mph and peaks at 99. He has improved his command while adding powerful sink and armside run. Mederos’ primary out pitch is a mid-to-upper-80s, two-plane slider that flashes plus and is effective against hitters on both sides of the plate. He has added power to his downer curveball, which now ranges from 80-86 mph, though he needs to throw it for more strikes to make it an effective swing-and-miss pitch. He has a firm, upper-80s changeup with fade that he rarely uses. Praised for his makeup and leadership, Mederos is working on harnessing his emotions. He gets into trouble while getting into hitters’ counts too often. With a high-effort delivery, his projected control is limited and may never be more than fringe-average.
  
  The Future: Mederos’ power sinker and bat-missing breaking stuff could play in high-leverage relief role, though the Angels see his upside as a groundball-heavy back-end rotation arm.
  
  Scouting Grades Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 50 | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 45
• 
  Ranked Los Angeles Angels #29 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 40/Very High
  
  Track Record: Mederos won Most Valuable Player of the 2019 Under Armour High School All-America Game and arrived at Miami as a heralded recruit, but he struggled to throw strikes with the Hurricanes and transferred to Oklahoma State. He got hit hard in the Cowboys rotation, but the Angels looked past his lackluster performance and selected him in the sixth round as a draft-eligible sophomore in 2022, signing him for a below-slot $227,750. Mederos pitched briefly at High-A Tri-Cities and regained his previous buzz in instructional league, where he impressed as one of the top standouts in Angels camp.
  
  Scouting Report: Mederos is a tall, strong righthander with a competitive four-pitch mix. His four-seam fastball sits 94-97 mph as a starter and ticks up to 98-99 in short bursts. He also has a mid-90s two-seamer with powerful armside run. Mederos' fastball command has long been below-average, limiting his effectiveness, but it has improved as he's learned to throw his four-seamer up in the zone more. Mederos' primary out pitch is a plus, mid-80's slider that is effective against both righties and lefties. His low-80's downer curveball and mid-80's fading changeup are inconsistent but flash above average. Despite his spotty track record, Mederos is eager to learn and a natural leader.
  
  The Future: Mederos' plus fastball and slider project well in a bullpen, but the Angels will continue to let him start for now. How much his fastball command improves will determine if he can remain a starter long-term.
  
  Scouting Grades Fastball: 60. Curveball: 45. Slider: 60. Changeup: 45. Control: 45

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #269 prospect in 2022 draft
  School: Oklahoma State Committed/Drafted: Never Drafted
  Age At Draft: 21.1
  A draft-eligible sophomore, Mederos pitched for his fifth different school in the past six years in 2022. Mederos pitched at Coral Reef (Fla.) High in 2017, Monsignor Pace High in Miami Gardens, Fla., in 2018 and 2019, Westminster Christian High in Palmetto Bay, Fla., in 2020, Miami as a college freshman in 2021 and Oklahoma State in 2022. Two years into his college career, Mederos remains a pitcher whose potential far exceeds his present results. He missed a little time this spring with an oblique injury, but when he did pitch, he was more of an innings eater than a dominant starter. He posted a 5.59 ERA with more hits (69) than innings pitched (66). Mederos has plenty of arm speed—his fringe-average fastball sits at 93-94 mph and has touched 98. But hitters get excellent swings against it because it’s straight. His above-average slider could develop into a plus pitch. It’s relatively hard (83-85 mph) and he’s shown the ability to tighten it for strikes or add tilt with two strikes. He has yet to show much feel for a changeup, which he will need to develop to better battle lefthanded hitters if he is to remain as a starter. Mederos has plenty of upside, but after two middling seasons, he may need to head back to school to better show what he can do.
• Ranked #59 prospect in 2020 draft
  A two-time Under Armour All-American, Mederos has been seen early and often by the national scouting community and brings a physical, workhorse’s frame to the table at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds. Mederos was running his fastball up into the mid-90s and showing a hammer of a curveball before his junior season and showed similar stuff last summer. Over the offseason, Mederos worked on improving his body. Scouts say he came out early this spring looking much better in that regard, but his results were inconsistent. When Mederos is at his best, he looks like one of the better pitchers in the 2020 class. He runs his fastball up to 95-96 mph consistently and backs it up with a two-seam fastball, curveball, slider and changeup. In previous years Mederos focused on throwing all of his off-speed offerings in any count, and has developed a good feel for landing those pitches consistently, but his fastball command has been more erratic. He has shown a tendency to overthrow at times, and repeating a consistent release point with the pitch has been a challenge, leading some scouts to question his athleticism. Others believe he has solid athleticism for a big-bodied pitcher but also acknowledge that he needs to be more consistent in his delivery. While he has typically shown a 60-grade fastball, the pitch appeared closer to fringe-average in his final starts before the season ended. His curveball is his best secondary pitch, with a spin rate in the 2,600-rpm range as well as excellent power and finish. Some scouts have graded the pitch as high as a 70 on the traditional 20-80 scouting scale. However, Mederos needs to improve the consistency of that offering, like the rest of his operation. Each of his other offerings have a chance to be at least average, giving him plenty of weapons to mix and match from at-bat to at-bat. Mederos has a big league-caliber frame and repertoire, but teams will need to be confident in his ability to refine his entire game to sign him out of a Miami commitment. His natural talent fits as high as the first round, but inconsistencies and questions about strike-throwing could push him into the second or third.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 40/Very High
  
  Track Record: Mederos won Most Valuable Player of the 2019 Under Armour High School All-America Game and arrived at Miami as a heralded recruit, but he struggled to throw strikes with the Hurricanes and transferred to Oklahoma State. He got hit hard in the Cowboys rotation, but the Angels looked past his lackluster performance and selected him in the sixth round as a draft-eligible sophomore in 2022, signing him for a below-slot $227,750. Mederos pitched briefly at High-A Tri-Cities and regained his previous buzz in instructional league, where he impressed as one of the top standouts in Angels camp.
  
  Scouting Report: Mederos is a tall, strong righthander with a competitive four-pitch mix. His four-seam fastball sits 94-97 mph as a starter and ticks up to 98-99 in short bursts. He also has a mid-90s two-seamer with powerful armside run. Mederos' fastball command has long been below-average, limiting his effectiveness, but it has improved as he's learned to throw his four-seamer up in the zone more. Mederos' primary out pitch is a plus, mid-80's slider that is effective against both righties and lefties. His low-80's downer curveball and mid-80's fading changeup are inconsistent but flash above average. Despite his spotty track record, Mederos is eager to learn and a natural leader.
  
  The Future: Mederos' plus fastball and slider project well in a bullpen, but the Angels will continue to let him start for now. How much his fastball command improves will determine if he can remain a starter long-term.
  
  Scouting Grades Fastball: 60. Curveball: 45. Slider: 60. Changeup: 45. Control: 45
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 40/Very High
  
  Track Record: Mederos won Most Valuable Player of the 2019 Under Armour High School All-America Game and arrived at Miami as a heralded recruit, but he struggled to throw strikes with the Hurricanes and transferred to Oklahoma State. He got hit hard in the Cowboys rotation, but the Angels looked past his lackluster performance and selected him in the sixth round as a draft-eligible sophomore in 2022, signing him for a below-slot $227,750. Mederos pitched briefly at High-A Tri-Cities and regained his previous buzz in instructional league, where he impressed as one of the top standouts in Angels camp.
  
  Scouting Report: Mederos is a tall, strong righthander with a competitive four-pitch mix. His four-seam fastball sits 94-97 mph as a starter and ticks up to 98-99 in short bursts. He also has a mid-90s two-seamer with powerful armside run. Mederos' fastball command has long been below-average, limiting his effectiveness, but it has improved as he's learned to throw his four-seamer up in the zone more. Mederos' primary out pitch is a plus, mid-80's slider that is effective against both righties and lefties. His low-80's downer curveball and mid-80's fading changeup are inconsistent but flash above average. Despite his spotty track record, Mederos is eager to learn and a natural leader.
  
  The Future: Mederos' plus fastball and slider project well in a bullpen, but the Angels will continue to let him start for now. How much his fastball command improves will determine if he can remain a starter long-term.
  
  Scouting Grades Fastball: 60. Curveball: 45. Slider: 60. Changeup: 45. Control: 45