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Physical Description: Athletic
frame with minimal remaining projection. Looks bigger than
listed. Average lower half, medium build.
Mechanics: Throws from a three-quarters arm slot,
starting on the third base side of the rubber. Takes two small
steps before a medium leg kick. Drives towards the plate with a
big stride and gets good extension. Left leg kicks up on
follow-through. Can tend to fall off towards third base
post-delivery. Quick, compact arm action. Slight arm hook with
some effort behind. Does not consistently finish delivery and
can lose release point at times.
Fastball:
90-93 mph. Tops out at 96 mph. Control comes and goes in
outings. Command is inconsistent, but has improved in 2022.
Struggles especially with locating to the glove side. Much more
comfortable locating arm-side at present. Potential average
pitch with refined command.
Changeup:
83-85 mph. Pitch shows late fade down and away from right-handed
hitters. Thrown with deceptive arm speed. Will throw in any
count. Inconsistent with his release at times. Has improved
significantly since he joined the organization. Advanced feel
now and his best secondary pitch. Potential above-average pitch.
Curveball: 73-76 mph. Deep, 1-to-7 break.
Has some feel for spin, but does not consistently get over the
ball. When he does, shows the ability to backdoor it for a
strike or induce swinging strikes out of the zone. Potential
average pitch.
Slider: 80-84 mph. More horizontal with shorter
break. Pitch is tighter than his curveball. Can be effective
when used in sequence with his other pitches. Mostly designed to
steal a strike early in the count. Potential below-average
pitch. |
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Career Notes: Not drafted out of high school,
but was recruited by several top Division I colleges in
California. Played for Brewster in the Cape Cod League in 2018,
struggling with control issues. Had a fairly impressive junior
season at San Diego despite walking more than 6 batters per 9
innings. Then-pitching crosschecker Chris Mears strongly
advocated for the Red Sox to select Murphy in the 2019 Draft.
Cut down on walks dramatically after signing, apparently
immediately fixing the one issue that kept him from being
selected earlier in the draft, reportedly thanks to minor
mechanical tweaks. Participated in Fall Instructional League in
2019 and 2020. Posted extreme splits in 2021, dominating
left-handed hitters (.401 OPS, 0 HR) but getting hit very hard
by right-handers (.914 OPS, 21 HR), but this has not carried
forward into 2022. Participated in 2022 Winter Warm-Up.
Summation: Potential multi-inning relief arm
and spot starter. Ceiling of a back-end starter. Lacks a
standout pitch, but has three average-to-better pitches and a
fourth that can be effective when used on occasion. Needs to
improve consistency with secondary pitches and command to allow
him to work deeper into games and develop into a consistent
starter. Chances of starting are better now than in the past now
that he has shown he can consistently get right-handed hitters
out, something he really struggled with coming into this year.
Ability to miss bats has come and gone this year and will need
to show more consistency there if he is to stick as a starter.
Links
State of the System: Low Minors Pitchers (4.2.20)
Scouting Report Update (8.12.2020)
Scout Chatter (11.30.2020) |
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