MIKE JANES
MIKE JANES
BA GRADE
55
Risk: Extreme
FB: 60.
CB: 45.
CHG: 60.
CTL: 45.
Born: Feb. 5, 1998. B-T: B-R. Ht.: 6-3. Wt.: 205. Drafted: HS—Colleyville, Texas, 2017 (5th round). Signed by: Brandon Agamennone.
A few years ago, Scherff was one of the hardest-throwing pitchers in the sophomore class as he could already get to 92-93 mph. But Scherff admits he wasn’t mature enough to yet understand the work involved in keeping that velocity. He gained weight as the summer wore on and he wore down, losing 5-6 mph off his fastball. Scherff learned from the experience, upper his workout regime, dropped 40 pounds of bad weight, regained his velocity and turned himself into one of the better arms in the 2017 draft class.
Scherff claimed Gatorade Texas player of the year honors in 2017 after going 8-0, 0.44 and striking out 89 in 48 innings as a senior at Colleyville (Texas) Heritage. His performance made him a consideration for the Red Sox with their first-round pick. While signability concerns pushed him into the fifth round, he passed on a scholarship at Texas A&M to sign for $700,000. He didn’t pitch after signing, but the Red Sox said that he was healthy but with a heavy spring workload they kept him out of any official outings. Scherff, a former linebacker in football, has a number of delivery traits—size, strength, athleticism, repeatability—that suggest starter potential, and his command of a low- to mid-90s fastball that tops out around 97 mph is unusual for a high school pitcher. He shows some late fade on his changeup, which could become a swing-and-miss weapon. His curveball is inconsistent but flashes the potential to be a decent third pitch. That arsenal gives Scherff a chance to start, though his ability to generate tremendous arm speed from a relatively upright/low-extension delivery might eventually push him to the bullpen.
Scherff will have an opportunity to open at low Class A Greenville in 2018. If he solidifies a three-pitch mix anchored by an elite fastball, he has the ceiling of a No. 3 starter, though it’s also easy to imagine him complementing his fastball with one swing-and-miss secondary option as a reliever, with a fallback option of two-pitch, late-game reliever.
Year |
Club (League) |
Class |
W |
L |
ERA |
G |
GS |
2017 |
Did not play |
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Year |
Club (League) |
CG |
SV |
IP |
H |
HR |
2017 |
Did not play |
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Year |
Club (League) |
BB |
SO |
K/9 |
WHIP |
AVG |
2017 |
Did not play |
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