- Full name Joshua Hartle
- Born
- Profile Ht.: 6'5" / Wt.: 195 / Bats: L / Throws: L
- School Reagan HS, Pfafftown, N.C.
Scouting Reports
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There have been a number of impressive prep lefthanders to come out of North Carolina, including Madison Bumgarner back in 2007 and more recently MacKenzie Gore and Blake Walston. Hartle appears to be the next southpaw in that line, though he is closer to Walston than the Gore/Bumgarner duo in terms of present stuff at the moment. Hartle stands out for his command and pitchability more than blow-you-away stuff and was voted by scouting directors as the best command pitcher in the high school class in Baseball America’s preseason poll. Despite a tall and projectable 6-foot-5, 195-pound frame, Hartle has a smooth delivery that he repeats well, throwing from a low, three-quarter slot with very little effort and great balance in his finish. While he does get a bit extended in the back of his arm slot with some stab and plunging action, that hasn’t seemed to impact his command. Hartle hasn’t yet taken a jump with his stuff and was still sitting in the low 90s and peaking at 93-94 mph this spring after dealing with an appendectomy early in the season. Hartle throws a sweepy slider in the 78-84 mph range that looks like a solid pitch that could play up given his ability to land it and steer it in and out of the zone. He also throws a mid-80s changeup with impressive fading life that looks like an above-average future offering. Hartle is committed to Wake Forest but could get drafted in the back of the first or second round, but after his season he said wasn’t intending to sign and would head to campus for his collegiate career.
