Austin Smith Stats & Scouting Report — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects

IP	68
ERA	4.5
WHIP	1.206
BB/9	3.971
SO/9	11.25

Full name Austin Brian Smith
Born 06/22/1999 in Cedar Park, TX
Profile Ht.: 6'4" / Wt.: 210 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Arizona
Drafted in the 18th round (547th overall) by the Atlanta Braves in 2021 (signed for $80,000).

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Smith played three years at Division III Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, and was the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference pitcher of the year in his sophomore season. He transferred to Arizona and was expected to compete for a regular rotation spot after sitting 95-99 mph, touching 100, during the 2020 fall season. The velocity dropped to the low-to-mid 90s in the spring and he struggled to consistently throw strikes, walking 18 batters in 28 innings. Smith complements the fastball with a slider that flashes plus. His past record and power arm will get him drafted by a team hoping to get him back to where he was before the 2021 regular season.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

BA Grade/Risk: 45/Extreme

Track Record: Smith was a standout starter for Division III Southwestern, but after transferring to Arizona his struggles with control limited him in a split starter/reliever role. The Braves took a chance on his power arm and signed him for $80,000 in the 18th round in 2021. Smith closed games for High-A Rome in 2022 and showed swing-and-miss stuff in the Arizona Fall League after the season.

Scouting Report: Smith has a solid pitching frame at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, but he's a straight reliever who pitches with a high-effort, violent delivery that features plenty of head whack and recoil. He pitches with a fastball and slider, and both offerings have plus potential. His fastball sits in the 94-95 mph range and touches 97, with solid riding life. His slider is a firm, upper-80s breaking ball that features tight and hard sweeping shape at the bottom of the zone and generated whiffs more than 35% of the time in 2022. His stuff is good enough to miss bats, and he has pitched to nearly a 30% strikeout rate overall with Low-A Augusta and High-A Rome in two seasons. That remained the case against AFL hitters when he struck out 14 of the 47 batters he faced.

The Future: Smith improved his walk rate from 14.7% in 2021 to 8.7% in 2022 and will need to sustain that sort of control moving forward to get a shot in a big league bullpen.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Slider: 60. Control: 35.

Draft Prospects

Scouting Reports

BA Grade/Risk: 45/Extreme

Track Record: Smith was a standout starter for Division III Southwestern, but after transferring to Arizona his struggles with control limited him in a split starter/reliever role. The Braves took a chance on his power arm and signed him for $80,000 in the 18th round in 2021. Smith closed games for High-A Rome in 2022 and showed swing-and-miss stuff in the Arizona Fall League after the season.

Scouting Report: Smith has a solid pitching frame at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, but he's a straight reliever who pitches with a high-effort, violent delivery that features plenty of head whack and recoil. He pitches with a fastball and slider, and both offerings have plus potential. His fastball sits in the 94-95 mph range and touches 97, with solid riding life. His slider is a firm, upper-80s breaking ball that features tight and hard sweeping shape at the bottom of the zone and generated whiffs more than 35% of the time in 2022. His stuff is good enough to miss bats, and he has pitched to nearly a 30% strikeout rate overall with Low-A Augusta and High-A Rome in two seasons. That remained the case against AFL hitters when he struck out 14 of the 47 batters he faced.

The Future: Smith improved his walk rate from 14.7% in 2021 to 8.7% in 2022 and will need to sustain that sort of control moving forward to get a shot in a big league bullpen.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Slider: 60. Control: 35.
BA Grade/Risk: 45/Extreme

Track Record: Smith was a standout starter for Division III Southwestern, but after transferring to Arizona his struggles with control limited him in a split starter/reliever role. The Braves took a chance on his power arm and signed him for $80,000 in the 18th round in 2021. Smith closed games for High-A Rome in 2022 and showed swing-and-miss stuff in the Arizona Fall League after the season.

Scouting Report: Smith has a solid pitching frame at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, but he's a straight reliever who pitches with a high-effort, violent delivery that features plenty of head whack and recoil. He pitches with a fastball and slider, and both offerings have plus potential. His fastball sits in the 94-95 mph range and touches 97, with solid riding life. His slider is a firm, upper-80s breaking ball that features tight and hard sweeping shape at the bottom of the zone and generated whiffs more than 35% of the time in 2022. His stuff is good enough to miss bats, and he has pitched to nearly a 30% strikeout rate overall with Low-A Augusta and High-A Rome in two seasons. That remained the case against AFL hitters when he struck out 14 of the 47 batters he faced.

The Future: Smith improved his walk rate from 14.7% in 2021 to 8.7% in 2022 and will need to sustain that sort of control moving forward to get a shot in a big league bullpen.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Slider: 60. Control: 35.