The Tampa Bay Rays selected left-handed pitcher Matthew Liberatore with the 16th overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft.
Matthew Liberatore drafted by the Rays with the No. 16 overall pick
Source: MLB.com
Liberatore struck out 104 batters in 60 innings while posting a 0.93 ERA for Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale, Arizona as a senior, and was named the 2017-18 Gatorade Arizona Player of the Year.
Baseball America described Liberatore as having “the frame and pitchability that teams can dream on, with a fairly clean and quick arm as well as makeup that scouts rave about.”
Liberatore is committed to go to the University of Arizona.
“Matthew Liberatore is a bulldog,” said Jeff Baumgartner, coach of nearby rival O’Connor High School in Phoenix, per the Arizona Republic. “Filthy four pitches and the kind of swagger to use it in any count. Best high school pitcher I have ever seen and I’m happy to see him graduate.”
From Shaun P. Kernahan at Minor League Ball, who projected Liberatore’s ceiling as a No. 2 major league starter:
The 6’5 lefty pitcher is a throw back of sorts as he is not going to light up the radar gun, but he can pitch well beyond his years. He can still touch 95-96 MPH but typically sits in the 91-94 mph range with his fastball. Coming from a loose three quarter slot means he gets good run on the fastball and can really locate it.
The 16th overall pick has an allotted slot value of $3,603,500.
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