Michael Lorenzen is one of the more intriguing prospects in this draft because of his viability as an outfielder as well as a pitcher. Teams are split on where they think he projects best, although Lorenzen has always insisted that he is an outfielder first at Cal St. Fullerton.
MLB Draft 2013 Scouting report round-up: OF/RHP Michael Lorenzen
Michael Lorenzen is an intriguing prospect as an outfielder and a pitcher, and teams are split on which he should play in the pros.
Jeff Golden
As an outfielder, Lorenzen is as good as one can get defensively. He has good speed, excellent instincts and a cannon for an arm, but there are concerns about his bat. His pitch recognition is an issue and he swings through too many pitches, which has led some to wonder whether or not he can make it as a position player.
The safer route for Lorenzen would be as a pitcher. As an excellent athletes with a mid-90s fastball, Lorenzen projects as a good reliever in a worst case scenario with the possibility that he can be stretched out into a starter as a best case scenario. He needs polish, which is to be expected for someone who has never focused on being a pitcher, but he has proven that he has the arm and athleticism to succeed on the mound.
Anytime a player is athletic enough to play both ways, he is going to draw the attention of scouts and Lorenzen has certainly done that. The question is who drafts him and where that team sees his brightest future.
Vital statistics
| Michael Lorenzen | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pos | High School / College | Consensus Rank |
| OF/RHP | Cal St. Fullerton | 2nd round |
| B/T | Birthdate (age) | Height / Weight |
| R/R | 1/4/1992 (21) | 6'3" / 200 |
What they’re saying
- Jonathan Mayo, MLB.com: "Lorenzen has been on the radar for a while now, having been drafted in the seventh round of the 2010 Draft out of high school by the Tampa Bay Rays. He opted to head to Fullerton instead, and he still has the raw tools and the plus makeup people liked three years ago. The two-time USA Baseball Collegiate Team member hasn't consistently turned the tools into performance, though.
- Keith Law, ESPN: Lorenzen is a better prospect on the mound but has long expressed a preference to play the outfield rather than pitch, which has led to limited looks for scouts to see him throw.
- Baseball America: Some clubs prefer Lorenzen off the mound, where he attacks hitters with a 93-97 mph fastball with minimal effort. His hard curveball projects as an above-average pitch, but it's fringy now, and he needs to command it more consistently. A team that likes Lorenzen as a position player has a nice fallback of putting him on the mound if his bat doesn't pan out.
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