Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
This is the seventh in my series of 2014 MLB Draft profiles. This profile is on Sean Reid-Foley, the second Florida prep right-handed I’ve profiled. He has much more potential than I initially thought.
Previous entries
Derek Hill
Jacob Gatewood
Spencer Adams
Touki Toussaint
Kodi Medeiros
Erick Fedde
Vitals
6’3, 208 pounds
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
DOB: Aug. 30, 1995
Location
Jacksonville, Fla.
Sandalwood High School
Rankings
Baseball America: 20
ESPN: 30
MLB.com: 18
MLB Draft Insider: 21
Perfect Game: 27
Scouting Baseball: 22
Reid-Foley has been mocked to the Dodgers by Baseball America, ESPN and MLB Draft Insider in the last week.
Slot recommended bonus (No. 22): $1,980,500
Editor’s note: All information of draft prospects compiled from internet sources, scouting reports and video.
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There isn’t a ton of buzz around Sean Reid-Foley, as he isn’t the flashiest prep prospect in the 2014 draft, but he is athletic, has good stuff and good pitchability, all of which could play up under professional instruction. And he’s a strike-throw, which is most important of all.
Reid-Foley uses a 91-95 MPH fastball that has touched 97 MPH at times. He also throws a 2-seamer and can even cut it at times. But he mostly uses the 4-seamer, and can bore it in on right-handed hitters. He gets late life on the pitch. Coupled with the velocity, and dreaming on him adding a couple ticks, it could end up being a plus-plus-offering.
He has two breaking balls — a slider and a curveball. Both of them grade out as potential plus-pitches. His 10-4 slider is a low-to-mid-80s pitch that has some depth and tilt. Sometimes he’s inconsistent with the release point, causing it to flatten out. But when thrown correctly, it’s a swing-and-miss pitch.
Some have said Reid-Foley has scrapped his mid-70s curveball because it clashed too much with his slider. But he could rediscover it as a pro. It has an 11-5 break, making it sharper than a 12-6 curve. It’s easy to see how the two breaking pitches could blend together at times (not dissimilar from when sliders and cutters mix). If he does re-establish it, he could have a legitimate 4-pitch mix (the classic repertoire).
He also has a changeup that could be a nice third pitch. He throws it in the low-80s and gets good fade on the pitch. He’ll throw it against lefties and righties.
Some scouts have concerns about his delivery, but Reid-Foley doesn’t seem to have trouble repeating it. When he brings his front leg up, the bottom-half of it almost looks limp. When he strides toward the plate, he’ll almost kick his leg down as he strides forward. It looks a little awkward, but it seems to work for him. The beginning of his wind-up reminds me a bit of Chad Billingsley‘s delivery. He delivers his pitches from a high three-quarters arm slot. His stuff is really good and he’s able to repeat his delivery, despite some of the nuances in it.
Video
When I first heard of Reid-Foley, my immediate thought was “Zach Lee, 2.0.” That isn’t a bad thing. But after reading up on him and watching video, I’d say his ceiling is higher than Lee’s, based on his pure stuff. He’s a taller, more athletic Billingsley in my eyes. And he checks all the boxes of Logan White’s draft profile: athletic, strong, good fastball, good breaking ball, pitchability. Reid-Foley is from the Jacksonville area, and the Dodgers drafted Chris Anderson in the first round from the University of Jacksonville, so they have certainly done their work in that state in the past. He’s committed to Florida State, but it wouldn’t take much to get him out of that commitment. I have him ranked at No. 8 on my big board, but (spoiler alert) he’ll be ranked higher in the final version (due out Tuesday).
